Native Fashion and the Squaw Dress

Ok, this will be my last Lloyd Kiva New post for a while. This one is about LIFE Magazine's article on Squaw dresses (left). Now, the thing about Squaw dresses is.. well, the word 'squaw' is used to describe it.

I've brought up this topic once before (click here to read the post) when I discussed a video that spotlights Southwest fashion and the Squaw dress in the 1950s. The video is rather interesting, so definitely check it out if you have a spare minute.

My dissertation advisor, Dr. Nancy J. Parezo, has conducted research on the Squaw dress, and you can read her article on this fashion phenomenon here. Essentially, she states that the Squaw dress was a categorization label for regional-style dresses in the American Southwest in the late 1940s.

Native Moderns: The White Hogan

At the same time that Lloyd Kiva New's fashion and accessories boutique was flourishing in downtown Scottsdale, the White Hogan was also gaining a reputation for innovative and superbly mastered jewelry designs, flatware, and hollow-ware.

The White Hogan Shop has its beginnings in Northern Arizona in the 1930s, and it officially opened its doors in Scottsdale in 1950.

"It's a Kiva Bag"

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee) worked with Charles Loloma (Hopi) to create couture handbags that they sold out of their boutiques in Scottsdale. These purses were so popular that in 1949 the phrase “It’s a Kiva bag,” was coined and printed in local and national newspapers.

The Kiva Center: Now and Then

The other weekend I finally did something that I've been meaning to do since I moved here to Phoenix last August: I visited the Kiva Center located on 5th Avenue in Scottsdale.

The Kiva Center was established in the 1950s by Cherokee fashion designer Lloyd Kiva New as an arts, fashion, and jewelry center. It was a place where high-class travelers could go and purchase exquisite 'souvenirs' from the great Southwest.

The artists who occupied the shops at the Kiva Center were respected, talented individuals, noted for producing quality items right there in the shops themselves. Visitors could see the artists in action, and buy a little something from the artist as evidence of their travels and experiences.