The History of Seminole Clothing and Its

Mul:tiColored Designs
HILDA J. DAVIS
Miami, Florida

VERY little is known about the Florida Seminoles and the history of their
clothing from the time they left their homes in Georgia and Alabama dur-
ing the middle of the eighteenth century until after the Seminole wars in
Florida in the nineteenth century.
When the Seminoles moved to Florida they were dressed mostly in buck-
skins, but they probably found that such clothing was too warm for the hot
and humid climate which they encountered. They took their animal skins to
the white man’s trading posts and exchanged them for calico and gingham
cloth.
The first cloth clothing, mostly of drab colored print, was sewed together
by hand. The women wore ground-length skirts and long-sleeved blouses.
Around the neck were numerous strands of colored beads. The men’s clothing
consisted of buckskin leggings and a cloth, smock-like shirt which extended to
well above the knees. It had long sleeves fastened tightly a t the wrists, and a
sash was fastened about the waist.
Any further detail on the early Seminole dress would be purely speculation,
for there is no good description of their clothing.
I n 1838 George Catlin (1866, II:219) painted a picture of the Seminole
warrior, Chief Osceola, and described his dress only as “chiefly of calicos.’’
I n 1841 Chief Wildcat and others of his tribe were gathered a t Tampa Bay.
Giddings (1863:299) wrote of Wildcat’s “many colored frock” but did not
identify the material or how the garment was made. Again, in 1843 Stanley
(18.52) made a painting of a Seminole woman. He described the woman as
being attired in a “calico dress, worked to depth of from twelve to fifteen inches
from bottom with different colors, in various devices.” None of these descrip-
tions tells us much beyond the fact that Seminole clothing of that period was
made of cloth material.
The first reasonable description of the Seminole’s clothing was not avail-
able until Clay AIacCauley (1887) paid a visit to their camps in 1880. At that
time he reported that the people were wearing clothing made chiefly of fabrics:
“calico, cotton, ginghams, and sometimes flannels” along with a few skins.
MacCauley described the men’s clothing as being of either striped or
figured cloth of “quiet” colors. A beaded belt or cloth sash was worn around
the waist, and the men either were barelegged or, on special occasions, wore
buckskin leggings. The length of the shirt was about half-way between the
waist and knees. Frequently, two or three bandannas were worn about the neck
and a turban was wrapped around the head.
The women wore long, full skirts of dark-colored calico or gingham with a
cord tied about the waist. They also wore what MacCauley referred to as a
974
[DAVIS] Seminole Clothing aitd Its Multi-Colored Designs 975
short shirt with a low neckline and bare midriff. A very narrow cape, similar
to a collar, was attached to the shirt.
Clothing of both sexes was ornamented with braids and stripes, and,
judging from photographs taken about the time of RZacCauley’s visit, these
ornamentations were strips of colored cloth appliqudd onto the garments.
Sometimes appliquks were arranged in geometric designs around the lower
part of the women’s skirts and around the lower part of the men’s shirts.
Stanley’s description of the Seminole woman’s dress “worked to depth of from
twelve to fifteen inches from bottom’’ probably refers to applique work. The
women’s skirts also had a narrow flounce two or three inches wide, which was
attached just above the knees.
MacCauley did not refer to the use of the sewing machine among the Semi-
nole during his visit i n 1880. In fact, he stated that there were “no labor saving
or labor multiplying machines.” In 1896 Willoughby (1898) made a n exten-
sive trip through the Everglades, but he did not see the sewing machine
either. However, shortly before the turn of the century the Seminole women
began to buy the hand-operated machines a t the trading posts. I t was not
long after this that the styles of both the men’s and the women’s clothing
began t o show decided changes. Nen’s shirts were extended to dress length,
several inches below the knees, and the buckskin leggings were discarded.
Some of the men acquired white men’s trousers and added other odds and ends
of clothing to their costume such as vests, and felt hats to replace the turbans.
I n the women’s clothing the small cape which was attached to the blouse
was enlarged. The original cape extended just over the shoulders and across
the front of the blouse, and in the back it dipped to a point between the shoul-
der blades. A ruffle about one and one-half inches to two inches wide bordered
the cape. Gradual extension of the cape continued until by the 1920’s it
reached to the fingertips. At the same time the sleeves of the blouse were
shortened until they no longer existed. The flounce on the skirt, which had
been located just above the knees, had now been moved up so that it was
around the hips.
By the twenties, too, the print cloth of the calico and ginghams had nearly
disappeared. The dark and subdued colors of MacCauley’s time were replaced
by bright, lively colors. The body of the women’s skirts was composed of a
single solid color and was decorated with several design bands of intricately
assembled geometric sections of many colors. Any color could be used for the
body color, and from three to seven design bands, each containing from two to
seven colors, plus two or three different bordering strips to each design band,
were inserted into the skirt. Whereas the original crude geometric designs
were appliqued to the garments, the newer designs were assembled in a long
strip and then inserted into the garment a s a separate band. Use of the sewing
machine resulted in the designs being made smaller in size and much more
complicated in pattern.
Within the last couple of decades Seminole clothing styles have changed
again. Only a few of the men have retained their long-sleeved dresses. In-
976 A merican A nthropologisl [57, 1955
stead, they wear colorful shirts, made in the manner of the old dress, along
with conventional trousers. The bandanna, which was an earlier part of their
costume, may still be seen tied around the neck.
Occasionally a woman is seen who still clings to the skirt style popular in
the twenties, with the many bands of small designs. Other styles are becoming
more popular, however. The print materials which were so common around the
turn of the century have been revived, although they are not the dark and
subdued colors they were then. Now the prints are bright and full of color.
The Seminole woman continues to cling to her geometric designs even in the
print skirts, for she inserts one band of the intricately assembled designs a
few inches above the hemline. Narrow strips of appliqud, which now replace
the flounce, are added around the hips.
The appliquC may be of more than one variety. All the women can make
their own appliqu6 from very narrow widths of material, but many of them
prefer to use rick-rack which they can buy a t the stores.
One of the most popular styles of dress developed recently involves the use
of new materials. Sheer silks, rayons, and nylons are being used in the capes.
Satins and other materials with a brilliant sheen are taking the place of the
cottons in the skirts. Like the other styles, however, a band of geometric de-
signs is inserted in the skirt four or six inches above the hemline, and the cus-
tomary narrow strips of applique are sewed on a few inches below the belt.
Practically every adult Seminole woman has her own hand-operated sew-
ing machine a t which she spends many hours. I n order to make the design
band which is so prominent in all of the skirts and in many of the men’s shirts,
the woman figures out the design she wants to make and chooses her colors
before starting to sew. There are no recorded designs, no written patterns to
follow; all the designs are developed entirely from memory.
At first glance these designs appear to be built up from small individual
pieces of cloth much in the manner of our old-fashioned patchwork quilt.
However, the Seminoles have developed a unique method of design construc-
tion which is illustrated in the accompanying Figures 1 through 5.
As is shown in Figure 1, three narrow strips of cloth, each a different color,
are sewed together lengthwise, which produces a tricolored band three to
four inches wide. This tricolored band is cut into small sections, as illustrated
by the broken lines in Figure 2. These small geometric sections are resewed
in such a manner that like colors do not go back together. Figure 3 indicates,
in reassembly, how each succeeding section is moved down about three quar-
ters of the width of one of the color sections. This process is repeated until the
desired length is attained, which in most cases is the circumference of the
skirt. The protruding points resulting from this type of combination are
trimmed off (Fig. 4), and three compatible colors, each one-half-inch to one-
inch wide, are sewed on both sides of the band, usually two above and one
below, as may be seen in Figure 5.
The method of sewing long strips together, cutting them into geometric
sections, and resewing them is employed to make all Seminole designs, re-
gardless of how complicated the final pattern may be.
DAVIS] Seminole Clothing and Its Multi-Colored Designs 977
There is one factor common to all the designs which determines the final
form. This is the angle at which the small geometric sections are cut from the
long strip. If the sections are cut perpendicular, a square or rectangular design
will be the result, and, if the sections are cut a t a n angle, it will produce a n
angular design.
The great variety of designs which is found in the Seminole clothing is
created by a combination of variants: the angle a t which the geometric sec-
tions are cut, the width of those cuts, the width and number of the single-
color strips used, and the combination in which the geometric sections are
resewed. Single-color sections placed between the geometric sections are fre-
quently used to form special designs like the swastika-type design in Figures
6 and 7 . And the herringbone pattern (Figs. 8 and 9) is developed by folding
the long composite strip in half before cutting the geometric sections. Figures
10, 11, and 12 show variations in design.
If a woman is making a skirt similar to the 1920 style, she makes u p several
design bands of which no two are alike. When these bands are completed and
the bordering strips added, the color which has been selected for the body of
the garment is torn into strips three to five inches in width. I n assembling the
skirt the design bands are separated by the body strips. On the lower edge of
the last body strip a t the bottom of the skirt a final strip of a different color is
added, it being about three-quarters of an inch wide. As a final addition of
color narrow ribbons of appliqu6 are sewed on the body strips about one-
quarter inch from the two edges. The last body strip on the top is gathered,
and the belt, made of the same material, is sewed to it. T o complete the skirt
the two ends of the cloth are brought together and sewed from the belt down
to the hemline.
There appears to be no specific ownership of these many designs by the
Seminole women. I n most instances any woman can use or change in form any
design she wishes. Only a t the Dania Reservation was it found that a design
developed and especially liked by a woman was reserved for her use alone.
Among all other groups the designs are exchanged freely.
Although there are actually two different Seminole tribes in Florida, the
Cow Creeks of the north and the hIicosukis of the south, it is not possible to
distinguish the two tribes by their clothing. The designs used and the method
of construction are the same.
There is still much controversy over where the Seminoles got their idea for
this type of clothing. Neil1 suggests that a t the end of the Seminole wars their
clothing was in such tatters that the women sewed the pieces together in
decorative patterns. This is doubtful, however, for we have already seen that
Wildcat, Osceola,and others had varicolored clothing before the end of the wars.
Sam Tommy, a Dania Seminole, believes that the present-day varicolored
designs were developed about 1916-18, when print clothing was replaced by
many pieces of single colored cloth. It was about this time that World War I
cut off the import of dyes from Germany and print material went off the mar-
ket. So, if the Seminoles wanted to continue to have a variety of colors in
their clothing, they had to make their own.
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[DAVIS] Semim!e Clolhittg and I l s Mulli-Colored Desigiis 979

Charlie Willie and part of his family showing the dress styles of 1880’s. (Bur. Amer. Ethnog.
photo, Neg. No. 1178-171-1 ; photographer unknown.)

Dress style popular in

1920’s and still worn today.
Mary Willie, Dania Reser-
vation. (Photographer: Jackie CVillie and part of his family showing the cloth-
Hugh N. Davis, Jr., 1954.) ingstylesof 1954. (Photographer: Hugh N. Davis, Jr., 1954.)
980 A merican Anthropologist [57, 19551
Some individuals of south Florida believe that the idea of banded colors
was suggested to the Seminole by the liguus snail, a very colorful tree snail
which inhabits south Florida and parts of the Caribbean. The Seminoles them-
selves, however, do not adhere to this theory, although some of them regard
the snail very highly.
Regardless of where the idea came from originally, the Seminole women
have used it to good advantage. Not only has it supplied their families with
bright and pleasing costumes, but it has also been a source of revenue. The
women make skirts, shirts, and aprons to sell to tourists. This has enabled them
to carry on an occupation at home, to add to the family income, and a t the
same time to keep their family and culture together.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CATLIN,GEORGE
1866 Illustrations of the manners and customs of the North American Indians. 2 vols.
London.
COE, CHARLES H.
1898 Red patriots: the story of the Seminole, Cincinnati, Editor Publishing Co.
FEDERAL WRITERSPROJECT
1944 New York, Oxford.
FREEMAN, ETHELC.
1942 We live with the Seminole. Natural History Magazine 49:226-36.
1944 Our unique Indians, the Seminoles of Florida. The American Indian 2, No. 2.
GIDDINGS, JOSHUA R.
1863 The Florida exiles and the war for slavery. Columbus, Ohio, Follet, Foster & Co.
Handbook of the American Indian
1910 Bureau of American Ethnology, Bull. 30. Washington, D. C.
HOWARD, OLIVER OTlS
1907 My life and experiences among our hostile Indians. Hartford, Conn., A. D. Worth-
ington.
MACCAULEY, CLAY
1887 Seminole Indians of Florida. Bureau of American Ethnology, 5th Annual Report.
Washington, D. C.
NEILL,W I L F ~ DT.
1952 Florida’s Seminole Indians. Silver Springs, Fla., Ross Allen’s Reptile Institute.
SKINNER, ALONSON
1913 Notes on the Florida Seminole. American Anthropologist 15: 63-77.
STANLEY, JOHN MIX
1852 Portraits of North American Indians. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection 2, No.
53. Washington, D. C.
SWANTON, JOHN R.
1946 The Indians of the southeastern United States. Bureau of American Ethnology,
Bull. 137. Washington, D. C.
WILLOUGIIBY, HUGH L.
1898 Across the everglades. Philadelphia, Lippincott.
WLLLSON, MRS.MINNIEMOORE
1896 Seminoles of Florida. Philadelphia, American Printing House.