Blouse

In the pictureA cream cotton blouse dressed on a mannequin. The neckline is gathered in tight pleats and tied with a cord ending in red tassels. On the shoulders are square panels densely filled with red and gold-colored thread, and just below them runs a single band embroidered in white thread. On the full sleeves, bands of red geometric pattern run down on a slant with a little blue thread mixed in, and the wrists are gathered and finished with red embroidered frills. On the front, red patterned blocks line up in vertical rows, and the lower part toward the hem is left plain. The front of the neck has a short vertical slit.

BackgroundAccording to the record, the materials are cotton and silk, the back length is 52.1 cm, and the date is the fourth quarter of the 19th century. The arrangement of a shoulder panel, a band beneath it and rows of pattern dividing the sleeve, together with a gathered neck, is the form widely known as the Romanian women's blouse, the ie, and similar garments exist in neighboring regions. Blouses like this also appear in Henri Matisse's 1940 painting The Romanian Blouse. Where another blouse from the same expedition has round floral embroidery in yellow and pink, this one works square geometric patterns in red thread alone. It comes from the Brooklyn Museum's 1920–21 collecting expedition.

Puzzle tipThe red embroidery and the cream cotton separate clearly. Fit the square red panels on both shoulders and the white-thread bands beneath them first, which fixes the height where the sleeves begin. Find the center with the vertical rows of red pattern on the front and the red tassels at the neck, then follow the slanted pattern bands of the sleeves down to the wrist frills. Fill in the plain cream pieces by the direction of the gathers. 100 pieces is about right. The white-thread band below the shoulder is close in color to the ground, so find it by the texture of its pattern.