Page:Costume, fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906).djvu/201

XI Masculine costume consisted of tight trousers to the calf and the loose, round shirts, which were fashioned from white material for the people and from greyish-blue silk for the nobility; and labourers displayed on theirs the insignia of their special craft or of the corporation to which they belonged. Common to all classes were high wooden clogs and sandals of plaited straw. Peculiar to the aristocracy and certain regiments, notably the archers, were short trousers of brilliantly-coloured silk, cut so immensely wide as to suggest the petticoats of a ballet girl. On ceremonious occasions the feet and legs were left bare. Stockings were cut out of cotton, or stuff, neatly seamed up the back, and were made with a division at the great toe for the thong of the sandal. On the whole, subdued shades and dark colours predominated, the Japanese being distinguished by the quiet elegance of their taste.

Typical of the headgear affected by the lower classes in warm weather was a huge straw hat in the form of a dish-cover. Another characteristic example, likewise of straw, resembled a round, deep-edged tray, the brim turned downwards, and the whole was held in place by means of a chin-strap.

Women, as a rule, left the head uncovered, preferring to rely for protection upon flat umbrellas made of paper, cotton, or silk. They drew their hair off the forehead, dressing it in neat puffs or coils and decorating it with large, ornamental pins, flowers, and ribbons, but neither ear-rings nor any other articles of jewellery were worn.

Married women were distinguished by their blackened teeth and the fact that their eyebrows were shaved and their faces unpainted. They wore