assuit

claireshaeffer

claireshaeffer

VFG Member
I was browsing yesterday and happened upon this lovely shawl:
http://www.rubylane.com/item/597169-RL-poppy1761/Vintage-20s-Art-Deco-White

When I was writing Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide, I talked with the late Kathe Kliot who was an avid lace collector and started the Lacis Lace Museum in Berkeley CA. She told me these shawls were made by blind women in Egypt.

Mary Jane's is slightly more elaborate than the one I have, but the patterns can be very elaborate on black or white net with copper, brass, pot metal, even gold. I saw one with multi-colored metal being worn at the opera.
 
Oh I am in love with Assuit! I was seriously into practicing Egyptian style belly dance for many, many years, still dance on my own but don't take classes, and collected some lovely old assuit shawls as well as some modern. The modern pieces are sparse of metal and the fabric is quite stiff, where as the older fabric is soft and drapes so beautifully and depending on the designs is really heavy with metal and some as you probably know, are completely covered in silver and are just incredible! Dancers of Baladi or Beledi and Saidi folkloric forms of the dance sometimes wear them as long dresses. They move and shine with the dancers body.

Here is a dance clip of what Beledi style dance looks like though this dancer isn't wearing assuit, I am so in love with this dance form!

Code: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7K4FzdpmtE

It's the first link at top Tahil Shibbak with Shereen dancing.

Julia
 
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