Festive mens clothing
Description
black, brown velvet, polychrome miniature glass beads, metal beads and metal sequins, consisting of a long-sleeved shirt and flared leggings sewed to beige coloured cotton trousers, embroidered with magnificent glass bead applications in floral design, slightly dam., metal beads and paillettes partly missing, small rep., slightly torn (shirt), on lifesize dummy (wire/foam).
Through trade between the colonists and the Native people new materials were introduced - wool fabric, printed cotton cloth, glass beads, silk ribbon, cotton and linen threads, scissors, needles, etc. - all contributed to a great expansion in traditional womens work. Women responded with fashion that exhibited innovation, imagination, and technical brilliance. Colourful floral patterns entered Native American fashion and were tailored into shirts and blouses. Artists began to incorporate the patterns of printed cotton cloth in their designs for bead and silk appliqué, integrating them into the context of Native-based cosmological iconographies.