Wyoming artist Candace Toledo’s designs are showcased at homecoming dances, on the powwow circuit, in movies and even on stage at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York.
Her clothing line, Whiteplume Creations, represents her personal creativity along with her Navajo heritage and various northern native cultures and influences.
“A lot of love goes into my designs,” Toledo, who lives in Arapahoe, said. “There's a connection whenever I make my creations and that's important to me.”
Raised by her grandmother Alice Henry in New Mexico, Toledo was surrounded by art from an early age.
“I get a lot of creativity from my grandma. She also has taught me a lot about patience,” she said. “My grandma’s income was as a rug weaver, and that's how she provided for the family. I learned from her how to have your creativity also tie to your culture, profession and values.”
Toledo learned to create designs and weave rugs from her grandma. Toledo then went on to teach herself to make beaded jewelry but when her daughter, Zariah, needed dresses for powwows and hoop dancing, Toledo discovered that she also had a passion for dressmaking.
She had found her niche and became a self-taught seamstress, providing dresses to others outside her family. She has been grateful for the help that she has found along the way of this new artistic journey.
“If I'm struggling with something, or I'm confused about a measurement or a pattern, I love the fact that I'm always able to reach out to other seamstress for help,” she said. “Then sometimes I just go along with it to see how it will look.”
Toledo calls her designs “freestyling” since each piece is unique.
“I just go with the flow when I’m creating,” she said. “I will just put out a random design and sew it together. Sometimes, I'm not content with it, and I'll add more to the design. It is similar to painting, but in this case, we're working with applique designs and ribbon.”
Showcased Nationally
Toledo’s original designs have been worn all over the United States and even into Canada.
Musician Abraham Thomas wore one of Toledo’s original shirts when he performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2022.
“It was a geometric design, I wanted something to stand out for him on stage,” she said. “The beaded necklace he’s wearing was also made by me. This was a set for his performance. He left it up to me to look nice and this is what I came up with.”
All the clothing and jewelry she creates has a story to tell and is a personal expression that is exclusively her own, even when it is for the big screen.
“I’ve made a jingle dress for a short film featured on Disney+ and another one for a film we took part in at Calgary, Canada,” she said.
The jingle dresses she creates are lined with rows and rows of metal cones and hung from the dress to create a melody as the dancers move. Originally, these cones were made from rolled up snuff can lid but now are specially made by bead manufacturers.
The jingle dance is performed all over Indian Country and began nearly 100 years ago. The granddaughter of an Ojibwe medicine man had fallen sick and was close to death. As the man slept, he dreamt, over and over, of four women wearing jingle dresses and dancing. The women taught the man how to make this healing dress, what songs to play and how to perform the dance.
Toledo also creates ribbon dresses and shirts, moccasins, jewelry, men’s ties, modern dresses and is open to most any request, such as one customer who asked for a wedding dress.
Grandma Alice Henry, 95, is the inspiration for Candace Toledo’s art. She taught Toledo how to loom and create designs (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
Zariah Whiteplume in a series of jingle dresses designed and made by her mother, Candace. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
Zariah Whiteplume, daughter of Candace and Philip Whiteplume. She is currently a full-time student majoring in Engineering. She continues to participate in powwows when she can and hoop dances upon request. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) Zariah Whiteplume in a series of jingle dresses designed and made by her mother, Candace. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
Musician Abraham Thomas wore an original Whiteplume Creations designed by Candace Toledo when he performed at the New York Carnegie Hall in 2022. She freestyled the design. ( (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland, wore a Whiteplume Creations ribbon dress when attending a ceremony with the President. It was a huge honor for Candace Toledo that Haaland chose to wear one of her dresses. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
A wedding dress, left, festive dress, center, and homecoming dress created by Candace Toledo. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
A dress shirt, from left, men's ties and a shirt appliqué. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
Jordan Dresser poses in an original Whiteplume Creation. Candace Toledo made him a custom shirt for his campaign a few years ago. (Courtesy Candace Toledo) 
Beaded moccasins that were created by Candace Toledo of Whiteplume Creations. Also, other beadwork. (Courtesy Candace Toledo)
Contemporary Designs
Toledo said it is always an honor to be asked to create an outfit for someone, especially for a special event. One of her initial artistic clothing creations was a traditional Navajo shirt.
“My first sewing project was having to cut velvet,” she said, explaining the difficulty of working with this fabric. “I was making a graduation shirt for my nephew. It's a big honor because of my nephew's milestones for graduation, and I wanted everything to be perfect.”
Another dress she agreed to make was for her niece’s homecoming. This dress had a corset and limited amount of fabric to work with, but Toledo was ready for the challenge.
She created the wedding dress with a corset and made it fabric fabric designed by Kira Murillo, a tattoo artist and designer. Satin fabric is difficult to work with Toledo said.
“I’m always wanting to try creating other different dresses and projects because I just want to do something unique,” she said, “just to see if I was able to do it.”
As Toledo prepares for the next apparel challenge, she is excited to see where her sewing will take her.
“There's a lot of work that goes into it such as the drawing and designing,” Toledo said. “You want to make sure it fits okay and there's that elegancy.”
Toledo’s hope is to share with others a connection to Native American culture through her outfits and own personal interpretation, whether it is for the movies, special events or a powwow competition.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
