First Peoples dress and adornment often reflect their exposure to foreign technologies, materials and styles. This silk dress, with its puffed sleeves and gathered waistline, displays the influence of mid-19th century Western fashion in several ways. Yet despite this borrowing of style and material, there is an evident continuity of form and cultural aesthetics: the silk ribbon appliqué on the bottom of the skirt and leggings, for example, is reminiscent of the porcupine quill embroidery adorning earlier pieces.