This vest was worn along with the other pieces of the engagement outfit of Christina Ioanna Kalfa. It is a shorter, very elaborate vest. There are parallel lines of stitching along the bottom 5 inches of fabric. These are only located on the front. There is also a horizontal line of stitching at the bottom of these vertical, parallel lines, to "hem" the bottom, but there are frayed pieces of thread along all of the bottom edges. Moving up, the area where the vest opens contain two buttons, along with two button holes on the opposite side. Those button holes are covered by a strip of eyelet fabric that hangs below the vest about 5.5 inches.

For the top half of the vest, there is a very elaborate design of stars and swirls that continue onto the very top area of the back of the vest. All along the neckline, there is a loosely stitched ivory ribbon.

The back of the vest shows lines of construction of the best, such as a large back panel, attached to two side panels and a lower piece of roughtly cut fabric.

**For full family history, see donor file**

This was the engagement outfit of the donor's great-grandmother, Christina Ioanna Kalfa. Christina was the mother of Katherine (Hadzi Vasiliou) Emmanuel, who immigrated to the United States in August of 1920, through Ellis Island, NY, accompanied by her soon-to-be husband's cousin. Upon arrival in America, Katherine had her mother's 1881 engagement outfit in her posession. Katherine intended to alter it for herself. The alterations were not done. Consequently, the two-piece outfit is dismantled, although its fabric is in pristine condition. Katherine's daughter, Nancy Anna Emmanuel Zabit, passed the engagement outfit on to her daughter, Cleo Zabit Venetos, who in turn donated it to the National Hellenic Museum in 2013.

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