Question about the Tear Dress

[Singing Otter]

Hey all, :)

I'm interested in knowing what you guys think about this.

I ran across an article the other day that proclaims the tear dress was created/modified in 1975 from an older dress found in a chest. Now, I think the older dresses were just plain without any ribbon or decoration and were worn everyday... atleast that's what my mom remembers.


Here's the article just incase you guys want to read it. I've heard this in a few other places too. Just thought it would make for interesting reading... :p

http://www.cherokeetrails.com/newslettermay2.htm

[Okwataga]

Now that's something to think about

Not that many old women here(NC) wear a tear dress(informal or not) everyday, is of a different matter. Most Cherokees identify with the style dress and have passed on the same basic knowledge of its being. And of course this gets passed around and around.

If you really want to look at our tribal dress say before removal and before using material we wore buckskin(Leather) shirt and skirt, some where even (dare i say) off the shoulder. But in the later 1800's to early 1900s we see many older women in a clico type dress with some type head covering(scraf, or bonnet) no leggings.....(and not many where smiling either)
But anyway, i love my dresses, i wear them before another style, (I'm not from out west or up north),
Sorry forgot where i was going with this

[Ehosah]

Cherokee Tear Dress

:D
I am Cherokee and although it would have been nice to keep the style of clothing we wore before the squatters came, (even the off the shoulder one), I was kinda proud of the fact that even a small thing such as a dress style was important enough to our government that they would take it into their hands to come up with one.
I know they say it came from an old trunk, but when my mom saw our first princess wearing the official dress, she came back and told me that she remembered the older people wearing something like that way back when. My mom was an old country girl from around Stilwell.
I like the dress, but I also wear buckskin when I dance. I think we should be free to wear buckskin too, because that was what we wore before "they" came. I just try not to look too Kiowa or Comanche.
I do disagree with the gentleman's comments about sewing the ribbons on instead of the applique' as being lazy. I like how the ribbons look and ribbons can be just has hard to get straight, especially more than one row. But what do I know, I'm not a living treasuer, , , , , yet.:Chatter

E

[Singing Otter]

LOL Ehosah! :Chatter

My mom said that she hated to wear them to school because she got picked on for being "old fashioned". That's what her grandma dressed her in back in the 40's. Her mom got really sick so she had to go live with her grandma. She told me that the dresses were pretty plain. She remembers making them with grandma out of fabric or old feed/flour sacks.

I just thought this was interesting. I like both styles. I really think the ribbon is pretty but there's something about the applique that's just awesome.