French antique shift, chemise, nightie, red JP monogram, hotsell hand embroidered, heavy floppy linen, laundered linen
Antique French pure floppy linen shift .
26" across front chest when laid flat, 40" long.
Front placket 8" long, 2 mother of pearl buttons and hand sewn button holes.
A small hand embroidered red JP monogram at lower placket.
Finely gathered at hotsell neck line front and back.
Sleeves about 8½" long.
Long inserts added at sides and small triangular inserts at under arm for wearing ease. This shift was made from a very narrow length of linen woven on the old looms.
An unbleached natural linen coloured shift as unused.
The antique French used to be bleached naturally by being spread in the fields and hedges where the effects of sunshine and dew whitened it. Continuous washing and sunshine then finished the bleaching process.
An untreated small coin sized rust mark on lower back hem, see photograph.
660g