Skirt, skirt (ensemble)

Sage green coloured silk skirt with stylised floral design executed in white pearls. Long slightly flared skirt with a centre back opening and drawstring at waist. Made of two straight selvedge widths at back, two wide front panels with selvedges down the centre front and slanting side seams and two narrow gores inset in the side seams. The gored panels widen from 2 cm to 16 cm; front panels widen from 26.5 cm to 40 cm; back (selvedge) panels are 44 cm wide (all excluding turnings. Centre back seam left open, turned and hemmed for the lower 20.5 cms; upper edge turned and hemmed to take green silk drawstring. Attached to its underside is 22 cm deep strip of cream satin (identical?) to that used for the sleeves, which shows below the green satin to depth of 10.5 cms. Cream satin is covered with gathered border of pale cream silk blonde lace made entirely by hand. It has a twist net ground and scalloped lower edge formed by outline of large round flower heads attached to short stem and small leaf. Flower sprigs worked in solid cloth stitch with honeycomb and open chain decoration. Decorated down centre front and round hem with applied motifs of glass (?) pearls. Above a line of round flower heads are large, floral motifs composed of horizontal and one upwards curving leaf, a spray of round-headed flowers that curves backwards under the curved leaf, and a projecting "tendril" which coils forward from the top of the leaf and ends in a large pearl from which hang loose tassels of pearl. The centres of the two layers are filled with off-white aerophane (or crêpe). Condition: Fairly good, the satin ground has changed colour turning from a leaf to a yellow green. Several of the pearls are missing or loose - some pearls have changed colour.