Woman's ensemble, cotton, wool, leather, wood, Romania, c.1900

T.841 Skirt - black cotton skirt, accordion pleated. The skirt is attatched to a waistband of red woolen material which ties at the front with tapes. Below the waist is a band of embroidery approximately 2.5 inches deep in red wool and green, purple and yellow silks, worked in smocking stitches on the pleating. The skirt is open at the front to a depth of 20.5 inches from the waist: below this opening, a panel of unpleated black cotton approximately 10.5 inches wide and 18 inches deep joins the edges at the hem. The hem of the skirt is faced to the underside with a band of orange wool. Three seams in the facing are ornamented with embroidery in Roumanian stitch in aniline-dyed wools. In wear the front heam of the skirt is pinned underneath the waistband. The front opening and the petticoat underneath are hidden by the apron, but the orange facing can be seen where the hem of the skirt is turned back at the sides.

T.841 A Apron - Black accordian-pleated cotton, attatched to a waistband of orange tape. Below the waist in the front is a band of embroidery in smocking stitches to match the skirt. A band of embroidery in coloured wools down the centre front matches the decoration on the underside of the skirt hem. The edges and corners of the apron are extensively trimmed with applied bands and rosettes of jaquard woven silk ribbon (possibly of French manufacture) with a pattern of red, yellow and white flowers on a purple ground.

T.841 B Blouse - White cotton. Bodice and full maygar sleeves are pleated to a high neckline with several rows of evenly spaced gathering stitches. The sleeves are gussetes under the arm, and the wrists gathered into a deep cuff. Neck band and cuffs are embroidered in black wool in cross stitch. The bodice front is embroidered with smocking stitches on the gathers at the neck. All seams are decorated with black wool embroidery, especially the seam running the full length of the sleeve from neck to wrist, which is joined with a narrow machine-embroidered insertion in white cotton and embroidered in black wool two inches on each side of this in satin and drawn thread stitches. The front neck and wrist openings are finished with buttonholing in black wool and fastened with black wool cords. The lower edge of the garment is left unfinished.

T.841 C Waistcoat - Sleeveless waistcoat of lambskin with the wool to the inside, the skin embroidered all over in a floral design in red, green, purple and salmon pink wools in sation and stem stitches. Neck, armholes, front and lower edges are decorated with narrow borders of scalloped black leather punched with metal eyelet holes and bound with black leather. The waistcoat is fastened with five metal hooks and eyes sewn to the underside of the front edges.

T.841 D Waist petticoat - Heavy white cotton woven with a small pattern produced by varying the tension in warp and weft threads. The garment consists of a wide straight front panel and eight gored panels, joined by hand sewn seams. The lefthand front seam is decorated to a height of 15 inches from the hem with white embroidery in drawn-thread and satin stitches. Waist gathered with a drawstring.

T841 E Headdress - Headdress worn by an unmarried girl on festive occasions and as a bride. Also worn for one year after marriage. Circular stiffened band open at the back covered inside with red stamped velvet, on the edges with black velvet and on the outside with red silver paper. Two wire loops fastened to the ends of the band enable it to be tied at the back. The band is thickly embroidered on the outside with atrificial peal beads, small red and white glass beads, white glass bugles, red and green silver sequins, tinsel, etc. A narrow line of bugle and sequin embroidery is worked on the inside of the crown at the top. Streamers of two varieties of jaquard woven ribbon are sewn together at the top and pinned to the back of the head band, the pin decorated on one side with a small red paper flower. One ribbon on a purple background matches that on the apron. The other is wider (3.75 inches / 9.5cm) and is woven with red, blue, white and green floral sprigs on a red ground.

T.841 F Streamers from back of neck - Nine lengths of coloured wool tape (red, blue, green, yellow and shocking pink) machine sewn together at one end. The stitching was originally covered with a piece of jacquard ribbon which has since worn away in the centre. Two narrow red tapes are sewn to the corners for tying round the neck. Each streamer ends in a 10in (25cm) tassel made of the frayed out threads of the tape, and is embroidered for approximately one foot (30cm) above the tassel with coloured wools, sequins and beads.

T.841 G Neck band - Red silk, solidly embroidered in coloured beades (red, black, yellow, white and green) with sequins and bugles. Four narrow red tapes for tying at the neck are attatched to the corners.

T.841 H Neck ornament - Eight large spherical wooden beads are covered with knotted black silk and threaded at intervals on a black silk cord. These covered beads are heavily decorated with small coloured beads, coloured sequins and bugles.

T.841 I to J Waist ornaments - Similar to H, but consisting of four smaller wooden beads, two at each end of a short cord.

T.841 K Bonnet for a married woman - Hand knotted in natural coloured cotton thread, over-embroidered in red, green and blue wools in a pattern of octagons filled with formalised flowers. The front edge is finished with a strip of black cotton and the back of the neck with pale blue cotton. A tying string of shocking pink tape is threaded through the bottom edge of the bonnet.

T.841 L Wooden ring - Wooden ring, not painted or varnished, grooved on the outside. Used by a married woman for putting her hair under the cap.

T.841 M to N Pair of boots - Red leather, the legs linen with linen and the feet unlined.Pointed toe, leather sole, stacked leather heel under vut and finished with fawn leather. The leg is straight with no fastening and rises to a slight point at the front. Red leather tabs with no fastening and rises to a slight point at the front. Red leather tabs are fastened to the inside leg as the sides. The whole embroidered in machines stiching in green and yellow silk in a formal floral pattern.

Gift from Mrs. C. Waters.

The collar on this blouse is not as deep as it looks: only the upper part is actually an attached collar, the rest of it is a broad band of close, decorative stitching on top of tight gathering. Controlling the balloon-like fullness of the blouse was the main concern of the maker and so it is tightly gathered into embroidered cuffs and gathered all around the neck with its combination of formal, solid blackness and frivolous fastenings.

Three holes have been punched down the sides of the neck opening. A woollen cord has been threaded through each opposing pair and then a small pompom has been added to either end of the cord. The top cord is the longest and the middle one is the shortest. When the collar is fastened tightly the upper and lower cords hang in graceful loops and the shortest cord adds bulk to the middle.

T.841 to N-1974