Elaborately patterned "blankets" were used primarily as a body wrap rather than as a bed cover and were popular items of clothing worn by the Diné people of the Southwestern United States. Always an indicator of wealth, blanket styles initially indicated the rank of the wearer. By the end of the nineteenth century, the wearing blanket became more of a fashion statement with bold, individualistic designs created to dazzle the viewer. During this period the Diné weavers drew inspiration from the large and dramatic serapes woven in the workshops of Northern Mexico during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.