Beads, beads and mo' beads

WhoMe · 08-02-2008, 05:47 PM

Are more beads better?

Do you have tribal? Or contemporary designs on your buckskin?

Who is going to be the first to make a fully top and bottom beaded buckskin?

Czechy · 08-03-2008, 12:52 PM

More beads is not necessarily better although there does seem to be a progression or evolution towards "more" in terms of amount of work and sophistication when crafting regalia. But how a buckskin dress yoke is decorated is a matter of tribal style. The fully beaded look is not traditional for every group. That's true for a lot of the Southern Plains peoples. Their partly beaded style looks every bit as nice and sometimes nicer than some Northern Plains yokes that have been fully beaded.

I have one yoke dress completed. Its based on old school Lakota pictographic drawings. The new yoke I am working on now will be I guess, "modern pan-Plains traditional" in the sense that it has a somewhat traditional layout with fairly generic geometric designs but with a modern color scheme. The yoke background will not be a solid color of beads but alternating stripes, a bit of a modern twist.

I did (briefly) kick around the thought of fully beading a yoke and a skirt just because I have never seen a modern dress like that and it would be the ultimate challenge as well as a real conversation piece. BUT, I doubt I'll ever do it. For one, I don't powwow that much so I don't need that wow factor. And so far, no one has asked me to make a skirt for them. So, the first will not come from me, lol!

SheTurtle · 08-04-2008, 11:10 AM

Can you imagine how heavy that dress would be? You'd have to be a weightlifter to wear a fully beaded dress. If you gain too much weight, you'd be popping beads like crazy!

**ac_miss** · 08-04-2008, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SheTurtle

Can you imagine how heavy that dress would be? You'd have to be a weightlifter to wear a fully beaded dress. If you gain too much weight, you'd be popping beads like crazy!

hahaha. *LOL* I was thinking the same thing!

Czechy · 08-04-2008, 12:17 PM

That's DEFINITELY a consideration!
Especially if it happened every time you sat down or got up!

GraZjones · 08-11-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoMe

Who is going to be the first to make a fully top and bottom beaded buckskin?

Fully beaded would cover all the buckskin so would defeat the purpose of using buckskin. Might be lighter to use another material, but would still be hard to move with it on

WhoMe · 08-13-2008, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GraZjones

Fully beaded would cover all the buckskin so would defeat the purpose of using buckskin. Might be lighter to use another material, but would still be hard to move with it on

Gra,

Aren't most Northern buckskin tops beaded on canvas? If the bottoms were beaded on canvas they would still have buckskin trim and fringe.

Anyways, I still predict at the rate of beadwork increasing, SOMEONE will come out with a full beaded buckskin in the next 10 years.

**eap7** · 08-13-2008, 03:09 AM

I remember seeing an old picture of a Lakota men (I think, saw the pic a few years ago) who was posed wearing fully beaded pants and vest. The pants were wild. I kept wondering how the beads didn't fall off when he moved. So maybe someone back in the day did make a fully beaded dress?!

Czechy · 08-13-2008, 09:26 AM

I've seen 3 or 4 historic dresses that were fully beaded includnig the skirt portions. Trying to remeber where they are. One little girl's dress is in the Thaw collection. An adult one is in the Smithsonian. That one was worn as a concert dress by a pianist named Minnie Sky Arrow. Unfortunately, all the pictures I have are in books and none are in digital format.

SheTurtle · 08-13-2008, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eap7

I remember seeing an old picture of a Lakota men (I think, saw the pic a few years ago) who was posed wearing fully beaded pants and vest. The pants were wild. I kept wondering how the beads didn't fall off when he moved. So maybe someone back in the day did make a fully beaded dress?!

Funny you should say that. Yesterday I saw an ad or a gallery photo of a pair of fully beaded pants for a child attributed to the Lakota. It reminded me of this thread when I saw that.

I have seen Lakota moccasins that were fully beaded that were supposed to be funeral items. Would a fully beaded dress or pants serve the same purpose?

**eap7** · 08-13-2008, 06:36 PM

Here's the picture, right here in the galleries!

http://www.powwows.com/galleries/sho....php?photo=838

back view:
http://www.powwows.com/galleries/sho....php?photo=837

**chazziff** · 08-13-2008, 06:46 PM

OMG ... those are totally ... beautiful wicked deadly ... cant even think of a word to fully describe it LOL

SheTurtle · 08-16-2008, 11:29 AM

Wow!

clk · 08-19-2008, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eap7

Here's the picture, right here in the galleries!

http://www.powwows.com/galleries/sho....php?photo=838

back view:
http://www.powwows.com/galleries/sho....php?photo=837

OMG...that is some awsome work...wonder if they ever rode horseback in those outfits?

08-02-2008, 05:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
WhoMe PauWau Coordinator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Land of 370 Broken Treaties Posts: 5,560	Beads, beads and mo' beads Are more beads better? Do you have tribal? Or contemporary designs on your buckskin? Who is going to be the first to make a fully top and bottom beaded buckskin? __________________ "Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture." WhoMe

08-13-2008, 06:36 PM	#11 (permalink)
eap7 ~Erica~ Join Date: Apr 2000 Posts: 1,239 Blog Entries: 5	Here's the picture, right here in the galleries! http://www.powwows.com/galleries/sho....php?photo=838 back view: http://www.powwows.com/galleries/sho....php?photo=837 Last edited by eap7; 08-13-2008 at 06:41 PM.

08-13-2008, 06:46 PM	#12 (permalink)
chazziff YO!! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in a big sleigh bed Posts: 6,517	OMG ... those are totally ... beautiful wicked deadly ... cant even think of a word to fully describe it LOL __________________ See I wanna move, but can't escape from you So I keep it low, keep a secret code So everybody else don't have to know So keep ya love locked down

08-03-2008, 12:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
Czechy wrapped in ribbonwork! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Here....for now Posts: 784	More beads is not necessarily better although there does seem to be a progression or evolution towards "more" in terms of amount of work and sophistication when crafting regalia. But how a buckskin dress yoke is decorated is a matter of tribal style. The fully beaded look is not traditional for every group. That's true for a lot of the Southern Plains peoples. Their partly beaded style looks every bit as nice and sometimes nicer than some Northern Plains yokes that have been fully beaded. I have one yoke dress completed. Its based on old school Lakota pictographic drawings. The new yoke I am working on now will be I guess, "modern pan-Plains traditional" in the sense that it has a somewhat traditional layout with fairly generic geometric designs but with a modern color scheme. The yoke background will not be a solid color of beads but alternating stripes, a bit of a modern twist. I did (briefly) kick around the thought of fully beading a yoke and a skirt just because I have never seen a modern dress like that and it would be the ultimate challenge as well as a real conversation piece. BUT, I doubt I'll ever do it. For one, I don't powwow that much so I don't need that wow factor. And so far, no one has asked me to make a skirt for them. So, the first will not come from me, lol!

08-04-2008, 11:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
SheTurtle Junior Dancer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Greenbelt, MD Posts: 198	Can you imagine how heavy that dress would be? You'd have to be a weightlifter to wear a fully beaded dress. If you gain too much weight, you'd be popping beads like crazy!

08-04-2008, 12:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
Czechy wrapped in ribbonwork! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Here....for now Posts: 784	That's DEFINITELY a consideration! Especially if it happened every time you sat down or got up!

08-13-2008, 03:09 AM	#8 (permalink)
eap7 ~Erica~ Join Date: Apr 2000 Posts: 1,239 Blog Entries: 5	I remember seeing an old picture of a Lakota men (I think, saw the pic a few years ago) who was posed wearing fully beaded pants and vest. The pants were wild. I kept wondering how the beads didn't fall off when he moved. So maybe someone back in the day did make a fully beaded dress?!

08-13-2008, 09:26 AM	#9 (permalink)
Czechy wrapped in ribbonwork! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Here....for now Posts: 784	I've seen 3 or 4 historic dresses that were fully beaded includnig the skirt portions. Trying to remeber where they are. One little girl's dress is in the Thaw collection. An adult one is in the Smithsonian. That one was worn as a concert dress by a pianist named Minnie Sky Arrow. Unfortunately, all the pictures I have are in books and none are in digital format.

08-16-2008, 11:29 AM	#13 (permalink)
SheTurtle Junior Dancer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Greenbelt, MD Posts: 198	Wow!

10-01-2008, 12:58 AM	#15 (permalink)
Suzze