gwae-bool (Ornament)

Such decorations were used on bags or pouches worn at the waist and used to carry eyeglasses, the wearer’s wooden identification tag, cigarettes, or other things. Those with floral decorations were used by women.

Most of the clothing in the J. McRee Elrod Collection was made for him and his family by friends while they were living in Korea, much of it by Kim, Sung Sook. She and her family lived cooperatively in the same house as the Elrod family. While they were there, the Elrods preferred to wear Korean clothing on very cold days and for social occasions. They found it to be more comfortable than western clothing in cold weather, as public buildings were unheated in the period immediately following the Korean War. It also was more comfortable for floor seating in Korean homes, and easier to store with limited furniture than western clothing. The children’s clothing was worn by their children Mark and Lona.

The floral decorations indicate that these were decorations for a woman’s bag.

Completely hand-sewn. Elements were sewn inside out and then turned, so that all seams are invisible.

Fragmentary ornament. A triangular fragment detached from the third place on ribbon Ed1.338 a. It is tan with a dark pink edge and dark pink embroidered flowers, with only one tuft of thread.