Oranges and Lemons Silk Scarf Blouse in Citrine/Zest

The Scarf Blouse is designed, printed and made in England. Comprised of four printed silk scarf panels, this garment has been delicately constructed to showcase the full detail of Sabina’s hand illustrations, adding simple cuffs and a collar band with concealed Mother of Pearl buttons. The blouse features a loose and airy fit, with an exquisite pin-hem and French seams throughout. 

Oranges and Lemons: a tuneful folksong often accompanied in the school playground by a dancing game, growing faster and faster until one unlucky player is caught out on the final, fateful line. The lyrics of the rhyme are said to be based around the sequence of churches passed by prisoners as they were marched to the Tower of London (and we all know what happened there). For this design, I chose to invoke the idea of Mother Goose, flying gracefully above the churches of Victorian London (or is she falling?). She is adorned with a pretty grosgrain ribbon, swirling and twisting in an elegant and pleasing spiral, although the ribbon seems to have snapped, just as it crosses her neck. Above her, the sky is filled with a scene of exotic and explosively vibrant citrus fruits, each so foreign and shocking against the grey London landscape. Amongst the fruits, a striking green parrot looms, heralding the arrival of tropical new species to England, an unknown threat to our domestic breeds of the era.

Details: 

• 100% silk
• Made in England
• Dry clean only