This is an off-white wool vest trimmed with red, black, and gold. The upper part of the vest has large arm-holes, with fairly narrow front pieces and a narrow back piece. The front pieces have black centers, surrounded by a strip of gold and a larger red area. There are strips of gold below the black that go completely across the red areas. In the red areas below these strips, the following letters are embroidered in gold: Phi, Sigma, and a Nu and Tau together. The lower portion of the vest is made of sections of white wool fabric sewn together. The lower portion is pleated in the center. At the top of the lower portion, just below the decorated upper portion, there are two horizontal black stripes edged with red, which go across the width of the vest, with gaps where the arm-holes are. The vest has red fabric sewn around the edges, including the edges of the arm-holes. After this red fabric, there are several lines of black yarn sewn around the edges of the vest, with the black part being widest around the collar. Inside of the black yarn is sewn one line of red yarn. The lines of black and red yarn are sewn down just below the arm-holes and then hang loose, forming two fringes at the back of the vest. Just above this, each of the arm-holes has several sets of black yarn loops hooked together across the lower part of the hole. The vest has no fasteners of any kind.l Some of the dye from the red fabric and yarn has bled into the white wool, especially on the inner part of the arm straps.

This vest was donated by Helen Adinolfi as part of a traditional Greek costume. The costume was worn by Adinolfi's mother, Fotini, at her wedding to Stylianos Dedes in January 1929 in Epirus, Greece. Traditional costumes like this are based on clothing historically worn in Greece. The costumes vary depending on the region of origin. They are generally worn for special occasions and celebrations. This vest would have been worn over the lighter, purple vest. The vest was not fastened, but was simply worn hanging off the arms and shoulders. The letters embroidered on the vest stand for the bride's name (Fotini), the groom's name (Stylianos), and the groom's surname (Dedes).
Photos of Helen Adinolfi wearing the costume are included in the donor file.

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