Miao Women’s Embroidered Shirt with Half Sleeves and Vertical Placket Front

With a straight silhouette, broad sleeves and a vertical placket, this blouse is in patterned indigo cloth coupled with blue cotton cloth for lining. It has a back that is longer than the front, on which the two front panels would be crossed and fixed with a belt around the waist when being worn. Apart from the 6.5cm long folded cuffs, there are two side slits opening from the bottom to 23cm below the armholes. The collar is hemmed with strip-shaped decorations featuring padded appliques and cross-stitch embroidered patterns in alternating warm and cold colors.
Green embroidered patterns on red-foundation strips were used to hem the front panel. And the Miao-style dragon patterns on the sleeves and shoulder are the signature for the sub-group of the Miao people the wearer is in. In a cute and vivid form, the dragon was shaped by overlaying strands of threads in various colors, with its head outlined by gold couching stitches and eyes expressed by beads.