This dress
appears to be rather Andalusian than Gitano; and yet it certainly
beseems the Gitano better than the chalan or muleteer. He wears it
with more easy negligence or jauntiness, by which he may be
recognised at some distance, even from behind.
It is still more difficult to say what is the peculiar dress of the
Gitanas; they wear not the large red cloaks and immense bonnets of
coarse beaver which distinguish their sisters of England; they have
no other headgear than a handkerchief, which is occasionally
resorted to as a defence against the severity of the weather; their
hair is sometimes confined by a comb, but more frequently is
permitted to stray dishevelled down their shoulders; they are fond
of large ear-rings, whether of gold, silver, or metal, resembling
in this respect the poissardes of France. There is little to
distinguish them from the Spanish women save the absence of the
mantilla, which they never carry. Females of fashion not
unfrequently take pleasure in dressing a la Gitana, as it is
called; but this female Gypsy fashion, like that of the men, is
more properly the fashion of Andalusia, the principal
characteristic of which is the saya, which is exceedingly short,
with many rows of flounces.
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