This pair of embroidered slippers or “Kasut Manek” is an example of Peranakan wedding slippers worn by the bride. A combination of coloured silk threads, gold and silver threads as well as sequins are used to create the motifs on the slipper face. These include a bird with green and purple feathers on a background filled with gold thread embroidery raised in high relief. To create the relief effects, thin strips of cardboard were pasted on the parts of the outlines which were intended to be highlighted. The designs were then embroidered using a variety of techniques such as the long and short stitch, the alternating stitch and the overlapping stitch. Other motifs include pairs of sea creatures which represent abundance. Every potential bride had to learn how to embroider her own slippers as well as for her husband to be.
