Motifs and symbols for The Last Silk Dress?

Symbolism:

"Richmond had turned out in full to bury the tenth president of the United States, John Tyler. Outside, on the icy streets, there were at least 150 carriages for the funeral cortege. I had seen the dark, riderless horse with the boots reversed in the stirrups that represented the dead man"

The reversed boots serve as a symbol of death.