Last night I bullied the photographer into going back to this shop window to take pictures of these magnificant hand embroidered shawls. (They look much better when illuminated in the shop window at night.) These are the traditional shawls that are worn on high days and holidays by the Spanish ladies. I hate to think how many hours of work went into each of these shawls.
This blue shawl is my favourite. The colour contrast and the subtle use of cream through brown in the embroidery are outstanding. Notice the long fringe too, always a part of the shawl.
You can also see a selection of the fans that are de rigeur when out at the fiestas. You see Spanish ladies using fans in their normal everyday lives here. But the very special ones only come out at fiesta time.
In this next picture of a beige shawl you can see a corner of a lace mantilla in the bottom right hand corner. Mantillas are the traditional head covering in church. You always see Queen Sofia wearing a mantilla in church on state occasions, regardless of what else she may have on, traditional or modern.
