O, the stories this old mantua could tell. Who embroidered it? Did they suffer hardships to make this? The fineness of the embroidery, and the length of time it would have taken (presumably a team of people) to stitch this is astounding. But it does raise that hoary old question about what lengths people will go to for beauty.

The social and personal histories of such garments are often thought-provoking in the lack of detail available, and can weigh heavy on the conscience.

The same quandaries can be asked of the ‘fast fashion’ blighting the high street of cities around the world. It has been revealed that Uzbekistan closes many of its primary schools

during the cotton picking season, and children are forced to work in the fields. The cotton is whisked off to another country to be made up into the £2.99 t-shirt many people buy on the British high street.

Sometimes, the ‘white gold’ is not worth the weight.

BDW