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TAOS – Like a crow stealing something shiny, New Mexico’s multiple cultures all lift beauty from one another, especially when it comes to dress.

If you go

WHAT: “Wearable Art: Identity & Clothing”

WHEN: Through Jan. 29

WHERE: Millicent Rogers Museum, 1504 Millicent Rogers Road, Taos

HOW MUCH: $10/adults; $8/seniors (60+); $6/students (16-21 with ID); $6/military; $2/children (6-16); children under 6 free. Visit “Wearable Art: Identity & Clothing”Through Jan. 29Millicent Rogers Museum, 1504 Millicent Rogers Road, Taos$10/adults; $8/seniors (60+); $6/students (16-21 with ID); $6/military; $2/children (6-16); children under 6 free. Visit millicentrogers.org or call 575-758-2462

“Wearable Art: Identity & Clothing” looks at 150 years of traditional clothing made and used by Hispanic and Native American communities in the Southwest at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos.

The exhibition encompasses two rooms and runs through Jan. 29. The show features everything from a hand-woven Hopi Pueblo manta dating from before 1865 to a Taos fiesta dress from 2013.

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“It’s all about patterns,” said Carmela Quinto, interim director of the museum. “It’s all about cultures sharing ideas with each other. We influence each other, whether we be Pueblo or Hispanic.”

The desire for embellishment spans religion, language and ethnicity. Both Mexican fiesta outfits and Plains buckskin dresses come sprinkled with embroidery, beads and sequins.

A circa 1920-40 beaded Ute deerskin dress mimics the poncho style of women in Mexico. Its extensive beadwork reflects the classic patterns of Plateau Indian groups.

Ute women adopted these designs, most often using geometric shapes with a blue or pink background. Crosses and stars tumble across the leather in seed beads. Bells dangling from the sleeves add some music to the design, its hemlines dripping in fringe.

“The beadwork is very symbolic both in color and design,” Quinto said. “It’s all about clans.”

A circa 1960-70 jingle dress stitched for a Navajo powwow features cotton fabric stamped with red and green chiles dangling spiralled snuff can lids.

The jingle dress originated in pre-European times when the Ojibwe tribes of the upper Midwest and Canada hammered pieces of copper into cones. The Jingle Dance emerged after World War I when the Whitefish Bay Ojibwe community created a dance signifying a prayer for healing.

Even the word “manta” crosses continents. Spanish for “shawl,” it was appropriated by the Navajos to describe the wrap-around woolen skirts worn by both Hispanic and Native American women. Usually woven with solid borders and contrasting centers, mantas remain one of the mainstays of a Native American wardrobe.

A Hopi manta with red and blue borders was also known as a Maiden Shawl. Originally worn by unmarried Hopi girls, it later grew popular among other pueblos for both daily wear and ceremonial events.

At Hopi, young girls wore them after their katsina initiation and during puberty ceremonials.

Fiesta wear reflects triple influences from native tribes, Mexico and Spain.

Taos fiesta-goers wear heavily Mexican-influenced skirts and dresses accessorized by Navajo squash blossom necklaces and concho belts.

“The beautiful headdresses with the Spanish combs came directly from Madrid,” Quinto added.

A 2013 Taos Fiesta Princessa ensemble includes a pleated skirt and satin blouse echoing the traditional Mexican skirt and peasant blouse. Native American jewelry with a silver naja and a mantilla or lace shawl completes the silhouette.

The Taos Fiestas reflect a Spanish tradition of honoring the community’s patron saints: Santa Ana (St. Anne) and Santiago (St. James) on their Feast Days in July on the Taos Plaza.

The inverted crescent shape or naja of the squash blossom also originated in Europe. The Moors used it as a bridle ornament, thinking it would protect them from the “evil eye.”

Millicent Rogers’ own ensemble borrows from Navajo tradition. A concho belt cinches a velvet Navajo-style blouse and skirt as a blue and green turquoise tab necklace rings the neck.

“It still has the imprints of the original buttons,” Quinto said. “She probably sewed the buttons on herself. We have 600 of her buttons in the collection.”

The museum’s namesake, known as the “Standard Oil Heiress,” was a striking beauty with a flair for fashion. She collected both Native American and Hispanic jewelry, textiles, baskets and pottery. She also designed clothing and jewelry with a heavily Southwestern influence.