Barbara COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE: a sheer floaty sided thong in brown mesh, then a camouflaged pattern of flowers in brown, tan, pink, beige and gold are cut out and applique'd onto the mesh, over-embroidered with fine brown threads outlining the flower details, and embroidered with heavier lines around the outside.  These flowers are mysterious, they could almost be butterflies.  The colours used reflect back to the vegetable dyes used back in the sixteenth Century, antique colours, standing the test of time with their beauty and harmony.  

Style 56631.  The Commedia dell'Arte was an early form of Italian theatre with stock characters, improvised jokes, like pantomine, with harlequin costumes.  In this collection I feel one is asked to wear this as if feeling like a flower, a butterfly today, with exaggerated warm colours, a camouflage in stripes to say : this is who I am today!  

I also embrace the fact that as early as the 1560's the female roles were played by women, making them the first known female actresses in Europe since antiquity - this makes this collection resonate even more with me, as an homage to those groundbreaking sisters of that epoque.  These women were brave, rebels.  With this collection you can feel the weighty layers of meaning and yet this textile is very soft to touch, delicate but visually strong.   

THE FRONT PANEL

This high leg, high rise thong is in brown mesh with a main panel at the centre front with applique'd flowers cut out and covering parts of the front, down to the front gusset seam.  There is an upward rise in this panel with the cut and embroidered edges of the flowers forming soft shapes over the top of the front.  Inside there is a narrow band of clear plastic, secured with brown zig-zag stitching, this is not the main waist band but it holds the front panel against the skin and stops the top embroidery from curling.   The front leg sides have the mesh and flowers folded in and sewn to a narrow band of brown flat elastic, with large brown zig-zag stitching so that it will expand and move with the body.   

GUSSET, HIP SIDES AND THONG STEM:

From under the top corners of the flowers on the front panel, a double layer of plain brown mesh is tucked and this is secured to medium brown flat elastic forming the waistband, with large brown zig-zag stitching.  The top edges are tucked in the top and the bottom of this double layer is just folded so that as it waves its way around the hips with its soft floaty effect.  This continues all the way around to the centre back where it widens out a little and stops as it meets the elasticated inner lining of the thong stem which cuts upwards to meet the waistband at the top.  A single cut out flower is secured over this top of the thong stem, sewn by a few parts of each petal, some of the top petals also rise over the top of the waistband.   

The thong stem is in the plain, sheer brown mesh and runs from the top of the waistband down over the outside of the gusset to the front gusset seam, edged inside with narrow brown flat elastic.  The gusset itself is lined with brown Jersey Cotton. 

The exact material of the high leg thong is made of 47%Polyamide, 37%Polyester, 10%Polyurethane, 6%Cotton.   It is a thought provoking thong, sheer yet camouflaged, soft and pretty.   The retail price was £33.70.   New and unused.  This may be machine or hand washed at 40 degrees, no ironing, no bleach, line dry.   NB:  Each thong is unique, the flowers are a patchwork of different colours and they change depending on where they are cut out of the printed material. I could not put every design on the mannequin - they are all beautiful!

COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE COLLECTION: I have a matching preformed balconette bra, a sheer balconette bra, a four strap suspender belt, and a high rise thong:  these are all listed separately but knowing what they are makes them easier to find on eBay.

The S equates to a UK size 10, France size 2, EUR size 2

The M equates to a UK size 12, France size 3, EUR size 3

The L equates to a UK size 14,  France size 4, EUR size 4