Page:Costume, fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906).djvu/216

172 heard was trimmed to a point and stained with henna. Ahout his waist a white shawl was wrapped six times, and into it was tucked a big striped cotton handkerchief. In his hand he carried a rosary composed of a hundred clay beads, and, when he walked, the dignity of his demeanour was further enhanced by a long white mantle which he wore flung over his right shoulder.

Persians eschew gaudy colours and striking contrasts in dress, preferring quiet shades and harmonious combinations; dull reds, dim blues, and sombre greens being favourite tints. The diplomatic uniform is black, the front of the tight coat one blaze of gold embroidery; and the official sword is suspended from a narrow belt. In Turkey, as elsewhere, international inter-course has gradually led to the disappearance of those salient features which make for the characteristic in dress. In Constantinople the official classes wear the conventional garb of Western Europe, with the one noteworthy exception of the fez, a red cloth cap surmounted by a black silk tassel. French fashions are permitted in the privacy of the harem, but etiquette decrees that the women, before they go out, shall exchange these for a simple toilet of nunlike severity; and the ladies of the Sultan's household, who are never seen in public unless in a carriage or boat, don an all-enveloping mantle of black silk in winter and of some light shade in summer; and over this two white veils are worn. The first covers the face as far as the bridge of the nose, and the second is drawn across the brows, shrouding the head and leaving only the eyes visible. But in truth these yashmaks are so transparent that they serve to