She Collects Hearts

CELEBRATING THE ROARING TWENTIES IN A SPECIAL SERIES

She collects hearts
from the weeping-heart tree
plucks them fresh
from drooping branches
laughing merrily.
She doesn’t want the fallen ones
crushed and withered underfoot
their scent has long-since faded …
But if you ask her prettily,
she’ll give yours back to thee.

I fell in love at first sight with this skirt when I first came upon it on Etsy. It is an antique 1920s costume piece, made from pinstriped pink silk, with raggedy silk velvet hearts sewn all over it. They are fraying all around the edges, which only adds to the charm of the skirt. There are also tiny bells sewn at intervals around the hems of the tiers, although most of them are missing, so I don’t jingle while walking as much as you might think.

I can just imagine a character such as Columbina – wife to Pierrot and mistress to Harlequin (what a heart-breaker!) – wearing it. Irresistible.