Shirt

ΜΓ 428 A man’s woven shirt of taiston idaré (silk and ttira yarn) fabric. Its pattern is comparable to that of the previous shirt (ΜΓ 430). The front of the garment consists of two similar panels, 36 cm wide each at the bottom, joined lengthwise. A yoke, 7 cm high and 36 cm long, drapes the shoulders behind the collar. Further down, the back of the shirt comprises two elongated panels of taiston fabric, 44 cm wide each at the bottom, joined vertically across the middle of the shirt. The fabric used for the back differs from that of the front in terms of its woven pattern. At the centre of the back, right below the yoke, there are dense pleats. The round neckline features a wide collar of a reinforced stand (kortin) and a fall ending in pointed tips at the front (stand height: 2.5 cm, fall height: 4 cm, pointed tips height: 9.5 cm). The collar, including its stand, is made of three fabric layers: silk on both the inner and outer sides, and a cotton cabot lining in-between. The latter is visible though the worn inner-side silk fabric. A vertical opening, 33 cm high, runs from the base of the neck to nearly halfway down the shirt. Two similar, elongated pieces of added fabric that taper upward and downward (width: 10 cm at the middle, 6 cm at the joint with the yoke and at the bottom) frame the opening, forming a bib. Across the opening edges, which are decorated with three vertical, densely gathered woven stripes, the additional piece of fabric on the left features seven ready-made buttons, matched to buttonholes on the right. An added horizontal band (length: 12 cm, height: 1-1.5 cm) sewn at 41 cm above the hem, defines the lower end of the opening. The all-silk broad (sarkota) sleeves have their taiston textile stripes arranged lengthwise and are sewn vertically onto the body. The edges of the sleeves are frayed. The right sleeve consists of three oblong sections, with joints on the inner side and the outer front and back sides of the arm. The left sleeve consists of two pieces joined on the inner and the outer back side. Both sleeves end in a low handmade hem, measuring 0.5 cm in height. In their lower part, a slit of approximately 9 cm has been sewn closed. The garment is predominantly handmade, even though machine sewing may have been employed in certain parts. Height: 85 cm. Width: 36 cm on the shoulders, 77 cm in the bottom part. Sleeve length: 50 cm. Sleeve width: 27 cm in the upper part, 30 cm at the middle. Date of entry to the Collection: 25.10.1985 Provenance: Lefkonoiko – Donation by the family of Yiannakos Hadjisavvas.