Woman's folk costume

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.