This round black velvet cap has a long beaded rope with a blue tassel at the end.The piece of black velvet has been machine made but the large irregular stiches on the inside of the cap indicate that it was handmade. The cap itself is a simple circle with the braided rope of beads attached to the very center and then sewn down to the side of the cap to ensure that it wouldn't flop arround. The beaded rope has a cylendrical base closer to the cap and then feeds into a long braid. The braid then unravels into a loose design that covers another cylendrical pattern that expands into a connical shape. On the bulb at the end of the cone several hundreds of thin, bright blue threads are wrapped around the tip secrely and then allowed to fall in a long tassel.

Most traditional greek outfits for women included some type of head covering. The velvet and tassel identify this hat not just as a symbol of modest or everyday headcovering but as a status symbol.

Despina and her husband George Kremidas lived in the Greek village of Dessila, Greece. Dessila is a tiny village in the area of Messenia on the Peloponnese. Their daughter Angeliki, the third of five children, was the only member of the immediate family to emmigrate to America. While living in New England, she married Nicholas Apostolos and subsequently gave birth to two sons: George and James. The family moved to Michigan and both sons served in the military during World War II. Afterwards both sons earned degrees from Worsham College of Mortuary Scieince in Chicago and opened a mortuary in Muskegon, Michigan together. James married Geraldine Pavlis. In 1960 the two left to visit his family in Greece, however, on the day of their departure George Kremidas (James' grandfather) passed away at the age of 98. The personal artifacts included in this accession were given to the Apostles during this trip.

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