Carolina Herrera Dress
This dress was designed by Carolina Herrera. Raised in Caracas, Venezuela, she grew up going to fashion shows and traveling to Europe. She said that a fashion show she attended in Paris when she was 13 inspired how she looked at clothes. In 1980 she arrived in the United States with her husband and four daughters. Just a year later she launched her brand in New York City in 1981. The brand opened with 20 dresses, but her business grew as she designed (and still does) timeless pieces that were both stylish and wearable. This size 6 dress is an early example of Herrera’s CH collection.
Connecting to the Present
Latina Entrepreneurs Today
Latina entrepreneurs are impacting communities and economies across the United States. In 2018, just over 40 percent of Latino-owned business were in three U.S. sectors: construction businesses had the highest percentage at about 16 percent; accommodation and food services made up over 13 percent; and professional, scientific, and technical services rounded out the top three at almost 11 percent of Latino-owned businesses. The women-owned Sazón Garifuna food truck is an example of Latina entrepreneurship in the accommodation and food service industry. This food truck, parked in Houston, Texas, serves Garifuna food such as pastelitos de pescado (fish empanadas) and machuca (traditional seafood stew). The Garifuna are a mixed African-Indigenous community from Central America and the Caribbean. Many Garifuna immigrants have settled in U.S. cities, like Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City.
