Shoes are of red morocco, pointed and turned up at the toes. Stockings or socks are not generally worn, but in place of them the Egyptian ladies make use of slippers that fit quite closely. The outer shoes are large enough to go on over the slippers, and whenever a lady has occasion to step off the carpet or matting of the inner rooms of the house, she thrusts her feet into the
large shoes, or into pattens or clogs that elevate her four or five inches, and thus lift her skirts from the ground. These pattens are very difficult to manage, and give the wearer an awkward mincing gait. Adult novices find them especially inconvenient. In the few times I attempted to wear them, I think I was never able to walk more than a dozen steps, without falling down and bringing my head so near them as to illustrate the French proverb, Les extremes se touchait.
The hair is cut short over the forehead, and hangs on each side of the face to a level with the chin. The rest of the hair is combed so as to hang down the back, and it is divided into braids. These are from eleven to twenty-five, according to the wearer’s taste, but the number is always uneven, since the Egyptian ladies share the belief of Rory O’More, as recorded in the familiar song. Each braid sustains three cords of black silk, and to the cords are attached beads or scales of coral, gold, or silver, and sometimes pearls or even diamonds. Coins are attached to the ends of the cords, and the general effect is not unpleasant.
The cords are sometimes attached to a band of silk, concealed by the hair, and when thus arranged they can be removed without any disturbance of the braids. The metal or other ornaments begin just at the base of the neck, and the cords terminate about a foot farther down.
Among the lower classes other ornaments are attached to the head, and hang down over the forehead and at the side of the face, and sometimes there is such a profusion of them as to make you think a whole jewelry store has started on its travels. There was a pretty Egyptienne who used to peddle oranges around the hotel where I stopped. Her entire head was spangled around with little plaques of gilded silver, that rattled as she moved, and made a brilliant effect when she stood or walked in the sunshine.
The head-covering of an Egyptian lady consists of a fez or tarboosh—the little red cap with a silk tassel which is worn from one end of Mohammeddom to the other. A kerchief of colored muslin or crape is wound round the fez and forms a turban something like that worn by the men, but higher and more conical. On the top of the turban they frequently place a sort of inverted saucer of gold or silver gilt, embossed or in filigree-work, and ornamented with precious stones, or imitations of them. Every Egyptian lady that can afford the expense has a supply of diamonds, often of a very poor quality, and those who have not the genuine stones make a display of artificial ones. Vanity and envy are not unknown in the land of the Pharoahs.