Splendid Red and Turquoise Half-Sleeved Wool Coat

[Phil van Kleur]

There are two items in my collection which warrant the word "Splendid", and this is the other one. It's a long red wool coat with bold turquoise embroidery. One wouldn't think these colours go together, but they do. The sleeves are about half length, and somewhat remind me of a kimono, though they're not flared. We think it might be North African. Once again, I bought it in Oxford: it turned up at a local outside-market clothes stall. The turquoise well matches the rather cold blue sky: it was February when I took the photos.

 

[Midge]

This also reminds me of Central Asian motifs, though in this case they were used to create what looks more like fashion item. Suzani were usually hand-embroidered wall-hangings. If you google them, you'll see what I mean. In the last 10 years or so I have seen a lot of things cropping up here with similar suzani-inspired embroidery. Cushions, bags, boots...