Greek Bridal Dress Hem

A traditional bridal outfit in the Attica region included a petticoat, a chemise, a vest, a dickey, a silk belt, stockings, bridal shoes, an elaborate headdress, and jewelry. To differentiate the brides and other women, the dress was embroidered on the hem with special colorful designs. The more wealthy families would have theirs embroidered with metallic gold threads, while others had polychromatic silk embroidery such as this fragment. A typical dress would be embroidered by the woman herself, but more elaborate pieces for festivals or weddings were done by the best seamstresses in the village.

This piece likely belonged to a middle class bride, due to the use of colorful threads instead of gold. It is on a thick cotton ground with dense polychrome silk embroidery featuring abstracted botanical motifs .