According to my own knowledge, the mourning costume was intense. It was made of wool, silk wool, tweed, cotton gauze, or merino over a black lining. And then there was also crape (that is the spelling of the day). Today it is called crepe, and it is silk. And then there’s a silk bonnet, a silk veil, a cape, and a number of directives on bows and folds to each of these items. I won’t get into those.
Anyway, these items were all stiff as they were dyed black. A deep black that would transfer to the skin as these costumes were expensive, and as a result, many people would wear for at least one-and-a-half years before they switched to lavender or purple garb. For the sake of this recipe, we’re dealing only with what happens to the skin when clothed in these particular fabrics, dyed with black coloring.
