dress

ΜΓ 813 Youthfull (adolescent) short-sleeved, European type dress, remade from an older, refashioned lilac woven skirt with colourful stripes. These skirts made of sattakrouta, thick silk fabric, used to be made mostly in Nicosia as part of the traditional festive attire around the early 20th century (see examples in:…)   The dress consists of a skirt and a bodice, joined at the waist by way of machine stitching. The skirt, which widens downwards, comprises four panels with hand-sewn joints lengthwise, at the centre and on the sides of the skirt. White and green stripes form two broad horizontal bands (height: 9.4 cm) one higher and the other lower respectively. Each band comprises three fine stripes and three broader ones. In the middle of the skirt, front and back, two pleats made with simple machine stitching extend from the waist to the first white stripe of the upper band. Further down, the pleats open up free. In the lower part of the skirt, the hem is simple, hand-crafted, and broad (height: 6.5 cm), allowing for the dress to lengthen if required.   The bodice consists of the same fabric as that of the skirt, in combination with white cotton. At the front, fabric from the original skirt is employed, with the green and white stripes in vertical arrangement. The lilac fabric forms curved projections on either side, created with crude scissor cuts. A plastic button, shaped like a rosette, with a small green flower at the centre, is sewn to the top of the curved projections. The projections emerge on a white cotton fabric that covers the upper part of the breast up to the shoulders. The different parts of the front side are sewn together with machine stitching. Vertical tucks extend in pairs on either side of the central axis on the bust, along the entire length of the lilac fabric. Their inner sides are machine-stitched and their outer sides free. A collar with pointed tips is formed on the V-shaped neckline. Internally, the collar is reinforced with a fine band of purple fabric (two 1.5 cm-wide pieces, each flanking the centre) as well as with another two pieces of purple silk fabric at the triangular ends. The elements mentioned above are hand-sewn.   Two pieces of lilac fabric have been used for the lower part of the back, joined together by way of a handmade seam lengthwise at the centre, and to the front panels with machine stitching under the armpits. The upper part of the back up to the neckline consists of two symmetrical segments of beige cotton fabric, joined to the rest of the fabric pieces with machine stitching (along the shoulders, on the sleeves and in the lower part). A vertical opening, hemmed by hand, is formed at the centre, between the two pieces of cotton fabric, on the extension of the central seam. The opening fastens at its top with a plastic button, of the same type as those used on the front side of the dress.   The sleeves, slightly puffed with pleats, are sewn to the body in a curved line with the use of a sewing machine, and end in a handmade hem. The left sleeve consists of a single fabric piece with an inseam in the lower part. The right sleeve consists of two pieces, one of them smaller and rectangular, on the inside of the lower part. The two sleeves differ in terms of the yellow stripes at their ends, whereas on the right sleeve the stripes are not entirely aligned with the joints of the two fabric pieces.   On the left side, the dress features a 10 cm-tall vertical opening which reaches slightly above and slightly below the waistline. No fastening elements survive.   Height: 94 cm. Length of skirt: 56.5 cm. Width: 38.5 cm maximum on the bodice, 37.5 cm at the waist, 78 cm in the lower part of the skirt. Length of sleeves: 20-20.5 cm. Width of sleeves: 14.5 cm (in the lower end). Date of entry to the Collection: 28.7.1994 Provenance: Nicosia – Purchased from Militsa Panayiotou.