Did you know... Once upon a time in 16th century Venice, the highest fashion was not the little black dress, but rather the little black mask - called the Moretta ("moretta" means small & dark).Venetian women at this time were not at all prudish and made no attempt to conceal their chests, in fact their dresses were cut so low as to strongly emphasise their cleavage. It was customary to apply makeup to colour their nipples carmine (bright red!).
As not much was left up to the imagination, the Venetian ladies wanted to create a sense of mystery by concealing everything that gives away feelings and emotions the most - the eyes and mouth. This was the aim of the Moretta. But there was one odd detail; the Moretta was held in the mouth by a button on the inside which was gripped between the teeth. The lady was absolutely mute (until she decided to respond to the advances of her audience). The reason for the button was so she could whip the mask off quickly when the game of captivation was up.
