We asked six of our favorite Santa Feans to join us for a day of dressing up and musing about what we wear and what it says about who we are. Hosted by Temple Santa Fe and Pfeifer Studio it was a day of Santa Fe spring fashion and personal expression.
Why Does Fashion Matter?
Getting dressed can be fickle. We’ve all had those mornings digging through the closet for the perfect look, only to give up and throw on our favorite, well-worn t-shirt instead. It’s a moment as revealing as it is humbling, and one that got us thinking about what it takes to be both stylish and authentically you. We’re not the only ones. Even the haute-couture runways seem to agree: 2026 is the year of fashion as feeling–both in a literal and metaphorical sense.
Literally: what you wear should feel good. The best fabrics are lovely against the skin, right for the weather, and hopefully made from natural fibers. The silhouette and hemline should complement your body shape without being restrictive. Long gone are the days of lacing ourselves into teeny-tiny waistlines and overly complicated pants (unless that’s your preference… you do you.)
Feel Like Yourself Again
On the metaphorical front: what you wear is reflective of who you are. Maybe you grew up on the New England coast and prefer calm blues. Perhaps you’re outdoors type and find a way to wear your Tevas with every outfit. Maybe you survived a career in corporate America and vowed never to even look at a suit jacket again. Fashion is as individual as the people who wear it, and most authentic when it aligns with the soul.
Lucky for us, Santa Feans have excelled at authenticity long before the global trend machine caught wind. For our second annual fashion shoot, we asked six talented and totally authentic locals to join us at Temple Santa Fe in the Baca Railyard: actors Tiff Abreu and Patrick Agada of The Exodus Ensemble, author Juliet Erickson, model Royce Jarvey, artist Jessie Baca, and anthropologist Adelma Aurora Hnasko.
We had one question for them, and one for you: What do you wear to make you feel most like you?
What Our Santa Feans Had to Say About Spring Fashion and Dressing for You
Adelma wears a pink blouse from Meraki Boutique, a silver charm necklace from Peyote Bird, leather earrings from Temple Santa Fe, and her own vintage H Bar C jacket and felted hat.
Adelma Hnasko
“I love to wear clothes where I can see that they’ve been made by human hands,” says Adelma Hnasko, anthropologist and Program Manager of the new Film & Cinematic Storytelling Department at the New Mexico School for the Arts. This idea of storytelling is one which is integral to both her work and what she wears. She favors hand-stitched pieces that bear the mark of the maker from Guatemala (where she was born), to fiesta wear from closer to home in New Mexico.
Left: Adelma wears a crocheted Alanui cardigan from Santa Fe Dry Goods, a cotton Velvet tee from WearAbouts, embroidered Driftwood jeans from Meraki Boutique with a gold Annie Hackett necklace and bracelet from Living Threads Co., brass hoops from Temple. Right: Adelma wears a cotton Cino button-down from WearAbouts and a pair of embroidered Driftwood jeans from Meraki Boutique with moonstone jewelry from Peyote Bird, her own espadrilles, and a woven basket bag from Temple.
“I think the pieces hold meaning. And to wear something that honors and remembers and celebrates where we come from and where a piece has been.” Recently she found a piece her grandfather brought back from North Africa during World War II and gave to her grandmother. She’s lovingly repairing it and one day will wear it again. “It carries stories and it carries history and places and people.”
Juliet wears a handembroidered 11.11 shirt from Living Threads, a bold cuff from Temple and a silver collar from Sukhmani Designs with her own matching silver starburst earrings.
Juliet Erickson
“If I can’t do a cartwheel in it, then I’m not going to wear it.” That’s the litmus test for Juliet Erickson, author and newly appointed board member of the Santa Fe International Literary Festival. “My whole career is on a plane. I’m on a plane. I’m in a boardroom. Then I have to do a keynote, and then dinner often in the same day. It’s a big ask, but it’s got to look as good at 8 a.m. as it does at 8 p.m.” Practical yes, but with a foundation in style and quality.
Left: Juliet wears a matching Yesaet waistcoat set from Living Threads with three bright turquoise pieces from The Golden Eye. Right: Juliet wears an indigo Yoshi Kondo Bloom Jacket from TOKo and hand-beaded silver jewelry from Sukhmani Designs with her own jeans and Robert Clergerie boots.
“I’ve never been let down by quality,” she says. In the 90s she gravitated to Armani and the love affair is going strong. “What doesn’t age is good materials and good styling, right?” Santa Fe, she feels, is happy to embrace her classic Armani jacket with a pair of Levi’s. “Some of the constraints and rules and regs are thrown out the window as long as it works.”
Royce wears a handmade denim Cottle jacket from Workshop with a leather and silver strap cuff from Temple.
Royce Jarvey
Montana native Royce Jarvey, Chippewa-Cree & Blackfeet, is new to Santa Fe but it’s already feeling like home. He’s a student at IAIA studying performing arts and he’s a catwalk veteran, traveling to fashion hot spots Paris and Rome and representing top designers including major names in Indigenous design. “I just like traveling to new places and getting to see the world a little more, because it allows me to do that.” Off the catwalk he does performance work including fancy dancing – one of the most popular forms of Native American dance – as well as hip hop.
Left: Royce wears a patchwork Cottle jacket from Workshop, a Rails shirt from WearAbouts, and a layer of hand-beaded necklaces made by his grandfather Mark Jarvey with his own denim and sneaks. Right: Royce wears a Freenote Cloth overshirt and oatmeal tank from Standard & Strange and indigo 11.11 joggers from Living Threads with the hand-beaded necklaces made by his grandfather, a charm bracelet from Peyote Bird and a silver cuff from Temple.
Authenticity on the catwalk or out in the world comes from confidence and a special relationship between Jarvey and the designer. “I always try to remember that I’m showcasing their work, I’m not showcasing myself. I always remember that, it just helps me when I do photo shoots or I’m modeling that it’s not me, it’s the art I’m showing.”
Patrick wears a handprinted Ekjo shirt from TOko and cotton 11.11 joggers from Living Threads with a beaver felt Horisaki Handel & Design hat, handwoven Kaval coat from Workshop and leather jewelry from Temple.
Patrick Agada
Arriving from Chicago to Santa Fe was a process – literally – of shedding layers for actor Patrick Agada. In Chicago it was about warmth and protection, from the elements but also from what could be a chilly big city vibe. Now it’s tank tops and loose shirts. “The sun is out and I just want to feel the sun on my skin.” As an actor, costumes help him create a character. Playing a shy, nerdy high school student in the Exodus Ensemble’s retelling of Cyrano De Bergerac, he donned a shirt three sizes too big for him.
Left: Patrick wears a Freenote cotton tee, Kapital overshirt and patchwork Japanese Kountry denim from Standard & Strange with his own boots and a silver cuff from Temple. Right: Patrick wears an embroidered Kapital bomber and Freenote Cloth denim from Standard & Strange with glossy 3Sixteen sunglasses from W Department.
“It swallowed me. It made me the actor, feel really small in this big shirt.” Off stage, his look has changed in recent years. “I’m at a point where I always want to be comfortable. I used to wear clothes for the aesthetics. I’m like, I don’t care if I’m uncomfortable. I just want to look cool. But the older I get and the more mature I get, I’m just like, I actually want shoes that feel good to walk in.”
Jessie wears a cotton Kantha 11.11 dress and a leather satchel from Living Threads with silver charm jewelry from Peyote Bird, and her own felted hat.
Jessie Baca
Moving from LA to Santa Fe was a welcome change for artist Jessie Baca. There it was all about Gucci sunglasses and $3,000 jeans, she says. “I remember coming here and being like – wow – you can wear your pajamas to Whole Foods and no one looks twice.” Baca feels that what we wear in Santa Fe reflects the desert. “It’s earthy,” she says. And as an artist and mother of two it’s about practicality too. “I have peanut butter on my pants most of the time. Breastfeeding? I just wore beige,” she laughs. A typical “uniform” is a paint-splattered pair of overalls or for dressing up, and something vintage. “I’m just a compulsive recycler.”
Left: Jessie wears a matching pinstripe Kowtow set from Spirit of the Earth with silver and turquoise pins, bracelets, earrings from Peyote Bird, and bandana from Temple. Right: Jessie wears a striped Rails shirt and DL1961 denim from WearAbouts with jewelry from Peyote Bird, and her own felted hat and heritage leather boots.
Style inspiration comes from her 94-year old grandmother. “I have this green sweater that she knit that I love. And some days I need a Nana hug. I’m putting on my green sweater because it’s really thick and heavy-ish and so it feels like a hug.”
Abreu wears a checkered Péro top, a floral Péro coat, Toogood jeans and yellow Daniela Gregis espadrilles from Santa Fe Dry Goods with a colorful, tasseled tote from Temple.
Tiff Abreu
Tiff Abreu—a self-confessed military brat – grew up around the world. She studied acting in Chicago and was there at the same time as fellow actor – and boyfriend – Patrick Agada but they didn’t meet until they moved to Santa Fe to join the Exodus Ensemble. Her love of fashion came from her cousin. “She would always give me her clothes that she didn’t want anymore. And I just started exploring with that.” For her, clothing is a creative outlet – an opportunity to reflect how she’s feeling from one day to the next.
Left: Tiff wears an emerald 11.11 silk dress from Living Threads with a gold Annie Hackett bracelet, necklace from Living Threads, brass hoops from Temple. Right: Tiff wears Issey Miyake Pleats Please set from W Department with Daniela Gregis espadrilles from Santa Fe Dry Goods and Annie Hackett jewelry from Living Threads.
“I remember learning this phrase, ‘look good, feel good’. And a lot of it is, if I don’t feel good then how can I make something fun for myself? How can I feel just a little bit better?” As an actor, clothes helps her become the character. “I feel like it helps you embody the character because you’re like, ‘Oh yes, I know that person would wear something like this.’”
A very special thanks to Mikel Adair for opening Temple Santa Fe, in the Baca Railyard, to cameras and clothes for a fun-filled day. And to Pfeifer Studio, homed within Temple Santa Fe, for letting us play amongst so many things of beauty.
Story and Styling by Nika Patterson
Photography by Tira Howard
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