Navajo Clothing Style
The Navajo woman's traditional style of dress consists usually of foot or knee-high moccasins, a pleated velvet or cotton skirt, a matching long-sleeve blouse, concho and/or sash belt, jewelry and a shawl. Men also wear jewelry, moccasins and preferably a velveteen shirt.
Although many Navajo people wear contemporary clothing, they continue to carry on their cultural practices by wearing traditional outfits when the occasion requires it.
It is believed that before an individual can receive help from the Great Spirit, one must first wear appropriate clothing in order to be recognized.
Navajo people express their hunting and gathering heritage in their clothing, and especially in their leather moccasins. The ancestors of the Pueblo people of the Southwest preferred sandals woven from yucca and other fibers.
These child's moccasins, worn now through the sole, were found in a cache in a cliff-face in the Gobernador.
Spanish documents tell of the Navajo wearing moccasins, buckskin shirts and leggings trimmed with metal buttons for the men, and fine woven mantas, or sleeveless dresses for the women. Men, women, and children wore pendants of shell, coral, and glass beads.
