Western Femininity

photos by Miguel Herrera

In the 1940s and 50s, during the heyday of Tucson’s western charm, glamour and hospitality, the idea of slowing down to soak in the sunshine, view the open skies and mountain ranges, catch a magenta sunset, or maybe just relax in the peace and quietness of the desert at one of the many guest ranches, always struck a pleasant thought.

This enchanting landscape brought many travelers out west, ready and eager to participate in our region’s lifestyle, cultural and traditional activities. The old West was also being glamorized in Hollywood and brought a lot of curious visitors here to experience a spirit in which some say would never leave them, captivated to stay once they touched the soil and took in a breath of fresh air.

One colorful and festive little dress that was sure to show up at desert picnics, fiestas and homespun rodeos, was the “squaw dress.” Also known as the fiesta or patio dress, specifically named the patio dress for the inviting outdoor lifestyle of Tucson.

This dress was the epitome of the kitsch and western femininity of the 1940s and 50s. Squaw dresses were available in a one or two-piece styles usually with a gathered, tiered-broomstick style circle skirt and a matching blouse.

This style was a modification, originally taken from the inspiration of both Navajo and Mexican women’s fashions combined. The decorative opportunities that this style of dress allowed was endless in choice of color, fabric trims and of course all the rick-rack your little heart desired.

Squaw dresses were extremely appealing for the combination of their comfortable fabric and feminine details. It was in fashion for the squaw dress to be paired with tooled leather shoes, moccasins, cowboy boots or a black ballet flat and accessorized with a concha or tooled leather belt and silver or copper jewelry pieces. Since this style of dress was particularly popular in the Southwest region, most of the labels around are from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California and some of those manufactures labels are still considered very collectable in today’s market.

These colorful dresses along with items such as tooled leather accessories, silver Native American jewelry and fiesta-motif, wool embroidered jackets were considered souvenir items, if you will, by travelers from far away destinations. Visitors were in absolute interest and awe of the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the “golden West.”

The “squaw dress” was so popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s that it became a sought-after sewing pattern available for the dressmakers at home and eventually became a national fashion trend. Many of the females from the baby boomer generation of the 1950s remember having at least one squaw dress in the closet that was made with “love” by their mother or grandmother.

Just because the squaw dress was in fashion over 50 years ago, doesn’t mean it can’t be incorporated and styled into our current wardrobes. It’s such a festive, fun and colorful piece of Arizona history to own - whether you have a squaw dress, blouse, skirt or both. Or this article has inspired you to seek one out, put your own unique personal style to it and represent a little taste of the spirit, fashion and charm of the golden American west!

* Note - The word “squaw” is no longer used in today’s terminology, but during the eras of the 40s and 50s, it was what this dress was called and identified by. At that time it was not considered offensive and is still how many people identify this style of dress today, without an intentional offensive meaning.