Originally Posted by WhoMe

It depends on how "old style" you want to go...

In its inception, grass dancers had bare legs and chest. The grass dance leaders and distinguished warriors wore small bunch bustles called "crow bustles."

Those who didn't have the right to wear the crow bustle wore tufts of prairie grass in their belts and moccasins to symbolize scalps.

These tufts of grass (hence the grass dance) are now symbolized by yarn, ribbon, torn cloth and leather strips.