Dress

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.