Woman's skirt, black silk satin with applied braid and fringe and two detachable deep pink cotton ties, China, 1920s

Woman's skirt of black satin. One piece of garment with two straight main panels in the front and the back and a few pleated panels at sides. High waist, straight cut but slightly flaring at the bottom. Full length with no lining. It has a black cotton twill waistband and pink tapes for fastening. Black silk satin ground with a variety of applied decoration. The fringes and fancy braids are formed into points; scallops and curls surround pleated and padded rosettes of fabric. The reverse is identical to the front. It is a re-worked version of the traditional Chinese woman's skirt. Although the decoration on this skirt alludes to the older style, it is not wrapped around the body but put on over the head or pulled up from the feet.
From the early decades of the twentieth century, skirts were worn shorter than before, revealing the ankles and unbound feet. Chinese female students, associated with the idea of the 'New Woman' at this period, wore this shorter skirt, often in plain black, with a fitted jacket, usually in white. The socialite version of the same ensemble was much more glamorous. This skirt lies somewhere between the two, being black but also decorated.

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Mrs Garrett's card reads: Purchased 150 dollar. Macao

A variety of applied decoration enlivens this satin skirt. Fringes and fancy braids formed into points, scallops and curls surround pleated and padded rosettes of fabric. The reverse is identical to the front. It is a re-worked version of the traditional Chinese woman's skirt. Although the decoration on this skirt alludes to the older style, it is not wrapped around the body but put on over the head or pulled up from the feet. From the early decades of the twentieth century, skirts were worn shorter than before, revealing the ankles and unbound feet. Chinese female students, associated with the idea of the 'New Woman' at this period, wore this shorter skirt, often in plain black, with a fitted jacket, usually in white. The socialite version of the same ensemble was much more glamorous. This skirt lies somewhere between the two, being black but also decorated.

FE.51-1995