Pattern, Plains Indian Buckskin Dress

Missouri River Brand Patterns

The classic apparel of the Plains Indian woman is the buckskin dress and, with all its beadwork, fringe and other decorations, it is indeed a beautiful garment. A conservative attitude among these women has caused dress styles to remain basically unchanged between the 19th. and 20th. centuries, and the dresses presented in this pattern most probably were adopted from Apache styles around 1790 by the Kiowa and Comanche, and about 1840 by the Cheyenne & Arapaho. Most dresses are straight-cut, rather than being tailored or fitted and are also rather long by today’s standards, reaching from mid-calf to just above the ankle. Our pattern is a basic, Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho style and includes information to allow adaptation to a Comanche or Kiowa type dress by varying the cutting and decoration slightly.