My native ancestors wore pleated, skirted, aproned garb before Christ was even born. I don't know nearly enough about that part of my culture, but I do know that.

A standard wrap as clothing was to restrictive. Only so much give when you hunker or move or hunt. Pleats were added to allow for spread.

One native american skirted design I looked at in the library just a little while ago was one big box pleat in the front, dead center, and another in the back. BIG box pleat. The extra fabric on the sides draped nicely and the folds of the pleats allowed for a great deal of movement, while the actual pleat it self was heavy enough to stay in place and offered from protection from scrub, cacti, and even slashing claws and fangs. (It was made from leather hide) The box pleats were sewn in at the top, and the skirt it self was tied by a draw string cord around the waist. It was really a clever design. If I could get one made, I would wear one.

Strangely enough, it looked a little bit like a Utilikilt, because of the wide single box pleat in the front as an apron.