Page:Costume, fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906).djvu/174

132 short full petticoat that sticks out, as though stiffened, at the bottom. It, too, is of brightly coloured silk, and descends from the armpits to below the hips, being supported by gold shoulder-straps, an edging of gold galon running round the bottom and up the fronts. The head-dress consists of a species of gilt diadem set with artificial gems in coloured glass. This encircles the base of an erection of stiffened calico, reminiscent in shape of the glass shades designed to protect those floral atrocities in Berlin-wool and wax that were so dear to the heart of the early Victorian housewife. Concealing the structure is a voluminous veil of white silk or gauze, striped or strewn with flowers, and invariably bordered with gold. The duty of gloves is performed by casings of velvet and sable, which cover the back of the hand and enclose the finger-tips, while leaving the palm and thumb free.

Still more beautiful and sumptuous is the fête dress of the women of Torjok. They wear a singular head-dress known as kokoschink which, literally translated, signifies the crest of a hen, the why and wherefore of the name being a riddle beyond the power of the average intelligence to solve. Modelled on the lines of a reversed funnel, the tall slender crown of the kokoschink is white, encircled by narrow bands of gold, and surmounted in the case of married women by a metal ornament which may be triangular, oval, round, or crescent-shaped. The only rule from which no departure may be made is that the crown be absolutely vertical, whereas the crown common to the spinster of the community slants abruptly towards the front. All without exception display a brim composed of an outstanding frill of white lace encrusted with seed