Chapter 6 of Maseches Shabbos deals with the question of what a person may wear when going out into a public domain on Shabbos, and at times even when going out into a courtyard. The basic principle is that anything that serves a person as an ornament or fills a function for him is subordinate to him and is considered secondary to his body, and there is no prohibition in carrying it out. In many cases, however, and these are the subject of our first Mishnah, the Sages were concerned that a person might remove such an item in order to show it to a friend who takes an interest in it, and would come to carry it four amos in a public domain. This is the reason behind most of the prohibitions taught here: not because of the wearing itself, but because of the concern that it will lead to carrying.
The words of the Mishnah:
The Mishnah opens with a question: "Bameh ishah yotzah uvameh einah yotzah?" - with which items may a woman go out into a public domain, and with which may she not. And it answers: "Lo teitzei ishah lo b'chutei tzemer v'lo b'chutei pishtan v'lo b'retzuos shebroshah" - she does not go out with threads made of wool, nor with those made of linen, nor with straps. The word "shebroshah" (that are on her head) refers to all of these items: the wool threads, the linen threads and the straps on her head.
The Mishnah continues: "V'lo tivtol bahen ad shetarpem" - she does not immerse in a mikvah while they are tight, since they form a barrier between the water and her body or her hair. The Gemara explains that this statement is itself the reason for the prohibition to go out with them: the concern is that an opportunity for immersion may arise, she will loosen them, forget, and come to take them off and carry them four amos in a public domain. Were they always tight and never loosened at all, there would be no problem.
The Mishnah lists further items:
"V'lo b'totefes" - a metal plate that would rest on her forehead from ear to ear, a sort of ornament (though not an actual crown).
"V'lo b'sanvutin" - these too are a type of ornament, like ribbons descending from the head or from the head covering onto the cheeks. Poor women would make them in various colors, and wealthy women made them of gold and silver. Since they are significant and valuable, or especially beautiful, there is a concern that the woman will remove them in order to show them to her friends and will come to carry them.
All of this, however, is when they are not sewn onto the head covering. If they are sewn onto it, there is no concern that the woman will remove her head covering in a public domain in order to show the items sewn onto it, for by doing so she would uncover her hair - and that was simply not done.
"V'lo b'kavul" - the kavul was a kind of woolen garment worn beneath the totefes, so that the plate on the forehead would not press against it excessively; a sort of barrier between the plate and the flesh. At times women would wear the kavul on its own, that same cloth item, in place of the plate itself.
Where were these prohibitions stated?
The Mishnah states that all of this is in a public domain, and there is a disagreement in understanding this:
Some understand that the term "public domain" refers to all the items listed until now.
And some say that it refers only to the kavul: the other items are forbidden even in a courtyard, where carrying is only rabbinically prohibited; and only regarding the kavul did they limit the prohibition to a public domain alone, so that she would be able to wear it at least in a courtyard.
The Mishnah continues listing the items:
"V'lo b'ir shel zahav" - a diadem or crown on which the image of Yerushalayim was engraved, and it is called an 'ir shel zahav' (a city of gold). She does not go out with it, lest she show it to her friend.
"V'lo b'katla" - a chain that fits snugly around the neck.
"V'lo b'nezamim" - sometimes nezamim means earrings, but here the reference is to a nose ring; earrings are permitted.
"V'lo b'tabaas she'ein aleha chosam" - a ring that has no seal upon it. A ring that does have a seal is a more serious problem, as we will see in the third Mishnah of this chapter.
"V'lo b'machat she'einah nekuvah" - the absence of an eye makes it an ornament, except that it too is among the things regarding which there is a concern that she will remove them and show them and come to carry them. A needle with an eye, however, which is a sewing implement in every respect, is a more serious problem, as we will see in the third Mishnah.
It is worth noting that in all of these cases, if she did go out, she is not liable to bring a chatas offering. There is no Torah prohibition here, but a rabbinic enactment of the Sages, designed to prevent a person from coming to carry these items in a public domain after removing them.