These politically incorrect “squaw dresses” were a fad in the 50s, and my mother made elaborate versions for me and two of my sisters. This involved sewing yards of rick-rack on blouses and 3-tired skirts made with vibrantly colored wrinkly cottons marketed, of course, as “squaw cloth.” When I was growing up in Oklahoma, and living in a neighborhood where all the streets were named after Indian tribes, I didn’t realize that this was an offensive term. I still like the style, though.
Adorable!!!
I had several of these dresses as a child also. My mother hand sewed the rick rack on the skirts. We just called them rick rack dresses I think. I don’t remember them being called squaw dresses. Whatever, I sometimes see them in antique stores and they just give you a good feeling somehow.
I love how these dress up the dresses in the illustration, like a fabulous accessory. Very nice!
These look like clothing made by the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. They also make dolls out of palmetto and dress them similarly. Older versions have the tiniest quilting. I think you’d enjoy seeing their work.