Petti Pictures--Nostalgia (PAGE 36)

Emma, of NylonNostalgia.com, sends us pictures which
are emblematic of the fine manner in which petticoats were
made with crafswomanship, pride and diversity during The Era. <sigh>

A couple more examples of the fine way
in which petticoats were made in The Era
From Sylvia Marie

Valdoata University coeds in the day
From John

From John:
A day for Era teens -
First, dance lessons, then hanging out with the girls

Memories of the way we were...<sigh>
...and when little girls dressed like little girls
(However, most times, this is still the case in Latino countries)
From Denise

This type of skirt material was
popular with some during The Era
From Sylvia Marie

From Raven W.:

"1950s Squaw dresses such as these were worn with Navajo, Hopi or Zuni silver & turquoise jewelry which was ridiculously cheap back then, as the artistry was not valued as it is today. Squaw dresses with lots of braid were made specifically as 'square dance costumes;" therefore you would only see most adult women wearing them as they went to or from a dance; the dresses were often worn with ballet flats or low moccasins (in a color coordinating with the skirt/ dress color) for the vigorous dancing.

"These costumes were usually worn with full net or taffeta petticoats, often with colored edging on the lower hem to be decorative as they twirled on the dance floor.

"That said, little girls where I grew up in Texas in the 1950's adored squaw dresses with their rick-rack and braid ornamentation, and often wore them to school (usually without net petticoats, because these were scratchy to sit on in a school desk. At the age of 7- 12, I passionately wanted a squaw dress to wear to school like many of my classmates; but my family was poor, and these dresses were expensive to buy if your mother couldn't sew you one; a skirt sometimes required dozens of yards of costly rick-rack & braid to look really good. The favored squaw dress colors for little girls in Texas tended to be pale or turquoise blues, pastel or intense yellows, and mint greens - these were cooler to wear in the days before air conditioning. Adult women at night favored more intense colors including black and red, By time I was able to afford one of these dresses, they were hopelessly out of style and I couldn't find one to buy.
"Further memories: Seeing these squaw dresses 'during the day' (as street wear) - sometimes in Houston in the daytime you would see pastel 'patio dresses' in the same pattern with the three-tiered skirts and elbow length sleeves; but plain, with no braid or trim, as casual wear by women to go grocery shopping, etc."

Rikki points to this nice video retrospective of "Western fashion"