Hello all, In 1840, Queen Victoria decided to be married in a white gown, and thus started a fad which is still with us. She chose white because she had some lace that she was very fond of, and wanted to use it in her wedding. There was nothing traditional about it. There was at that time no tradition of being married in white. Portraits of the wedding, like the one above, were widely seen and her choice in fashion was copied. All the symbolism attributed to the white gown are later accretions. People have, of course, always gotten dressed up for their weddings. Often the bride had spent years embroidering parts of her outfit, but generally it was a more colorful and elaborate version of the clothing she would wear on special occasions for all of her life. Very commonly traditional bridal dress incorporated flowers and a crown or wreath of some kind. There was no color considered to be specific for weddings; wedding dresses were often black, or red, but usually very colorful. They were rarely plain white. Also, while some elements, such as the crown, were reserved for weddings, most of the wedding outfit continued to be worn on special occasions. Queen Victoria could certainly afford to have a gown made for just the one occasion, but most people did not. Many of the so called 'traditions' connected with modern western weddings are in fact recent innovations. Being of Ukrainian background, I find some of them bizarre, and very un-European, such as the veil, the sequestering of the bride from the groom on the day of the wedding, the giving away of the bride, all of which suggest more a middle-eastern mindset in which the woman is treated as chattel, rather than an egalitarian European one. And of course, many of the 'traditions' are designed to sell things; after all, weddings are big business. Here are some examples of Bridal outfits from around Europe which are truly traditional. If you have a strong connection to a particular ethnicity or place, I strongly urge you to research your background, and make your wedding more truly meaningful, rather than just another carbon copy of generic western culture. There ARE ways of doing things that do not involve dressing up like Queen Victoria. Please enjoy the following selection, which, by the way, is far from exhaustive. There are many more. I found so much material that I decided to only do a quick scan of western Europe. Saami A Saami bride borrows many silver brooches to wear on her silk shoulder scarf. A crown, as in other parts of Scandinavia, is also worn. Norway In Norway, crowns come in two forms. The more common is shaped like a stereotypical crown, like this very large example from Hardanger in Hordaland. Here are other examples from Valdres; and East Telemark, which also includes a special white apron and an embroidered cloth over that. In Setesdal, the crown is shaped more like a tiara. Here they also have a special white apron with a colored silk one over it. The bridal outfit also includes a red frock worn over the normal white and black ones. The second type of crown is flat, with silver dangles and is highly embroidered or beaded. This type is found in Voss and in West Telemark There are, of course, many other local variations. Sweden Skåne A very common bridal accessory is a wreath or crown of imitation or real flowers, here made of colored feathers. Rättvik, Dalarna She is wearing both a small crown and a flower cap. He is wearing a lace collar which is not part of the typical man's dress outfit. Leksand, Dalarna notice that here the flower wreath is around the shoulders rather than on the head. Södermanland Sometimes, as here, the crown is quite small, although it retains the full symbolic meaning. Värmland The base of the crown is here hidden by the flowers. Finland Wedding in Jomala Denmark Wedding in Fanø Germany Das Altes Land The bride is on the right, with the flowers and wings on her cap. Miesbach, Bavaria This is the same outfit she would wear on any festive or ceremonial occasion. Calwer Waldt Colored blown glass balls are a common feature of German wedding crowns. These are made in the same way as Christmas tree ornaments. Marburg A wreath of flowers on the head, and also around the arm. Scheessel The bridesmaids as well as the bride wear high crowns decorated with colored blown glass balls and other features. The bride also has a white lace fichu and a white apron. Bad Nenndorf Gutach, Schwarzwald The bride is on the left. The basket shaped crown is typical for southwest Germany and parts of Austria France Savoie The bride and groom are marked here by the boutonnieres with ribbons attached. This is found in many other places in Europe as well. St. Pierre and Miquelon Upper Savoy Alsace Also in Alsace, a bridal couple from Seebach or Oberseebach. The groom wears a posy in his hat and a boutenniere with ribbons. The bride wears a crown and armbands with flowers and silk ribbons. Here are details of the bridal accouterments. Normandy French Flanders Provence Portugal Minho Douro Beira Algarve Estremadura Spain Laguartera Burgos Salamanca Toledo Valencia Italy Scanno, Abruzzo Arbereshe Sardinia In the south of Sardinia, a traditional part of the wedding is the 'chaining' of the bride and groom. Austria Here is an example of a modern style formal Austrian dirndle considered to be appropriate for a wedding. Thank you for reading, I will finish eastern Europe in another article, as I have simply found too much material to cover. I hope that you have found this interesting. [email protected] Source Material: Debionne/Meissner, 'Die Schoensten Deutschen Trachten', Munich, 1987 Gisela Wulff, 'Luettje Burdeern von'n Doerpen', Germany, 1979 Tomaz Ribas, 'O Trajo Regional em Portugal', Braga, Portugal, 2004 Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1994 Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2013 Caroline Brancq, 'Les Costume Regionaux d'Autrefois', Paris, 2003 Rode de Basso Prouvenco, 'Le Costume Populaire Provencal', Radost Ivanova, 'Traditional Bulgarian Wedding', Sofia, 1987 M. Veleva, 'Bulgarski Narodni Nosii vol 1 - 4', Sofia,
Geographically, Sweden is one of the Scandinavian countries, so its national costumes have a lot of features in common with neighboring Norway, Denmark, etc. But there is a number of differences that make Swedish folk outfits unique. We’ll tell you about some of them in this material. Discover the beauty of folk dress in Sweden with us. Let’s look at these top-5 curious facts about Swedish traditional clothing.
Hello all, this is my 200th article, and I thought i should do something rather different. I will do an overview of the folk costumes of Europe. I will follow nation-states, as inappropriate as that may be, but i will also cover nations without states. Some very small and obscure ethnic groups will be omitted for lack of available material. I will also not be covering the north Caucuses, as there is simply too much material there. Where there is a recognized or unofficial 'National Costume' I will show that. This will necessarily not include much in the way of explanation. Iceland Upphultur Peysufot Faldbuningar Faroe Islands Ireland Scotland England Wales Brittany Bigoudin Kemper [Quimper] Plougastel France Berry Normandie [Normandy] Provence Euskadi [the Basque Country] Andorra [also Rousillon and Catalonia] Spain Andalucia La Mancha Galicia Portugal Minho Madeira Algarve Monaco [also Nice] Italy Lombardy Lazio Calabria Arbëreshë [Italo Albanians] Vatican City There is no women's costume for the Vatican Sardinia Florinas Orgosolo Quartu Sant'Elena Malta Switzerland Appenzell Valais/Wallis Graubunden/Grisons Liechtenstein Germany Miesbach, Bavaria Gutach, Schwartzwald Scheesel, Lower Saxony Luxembourg Belgium The Netherlands Volendam Beveland Staphorst Friesland [Frisia] West East North Denmark Fanø Hedebo Amager Norway There have been several attempts to design a national costume, but most of them have not received much acceptance. The most successful was a simplified form of the Hardanger costume, but this is currently little used, as most people wear their local bunad. Hardanger Setesdal Gudbrandsdal Sweden National Costume Värend Rättvik Sabme [Lappland] Jokkmokk Kautokeino Skolt Finland Häme, western Finland Kaukola, Finnish Karelia Tuuteri, on the Finnish Isthmus Estonia Järva-Jaani, North Estonia Muhu Island Setu, South Estonia Livonia Latvia Latgale Vidzeme Nica Lithuania Aukštaitija Žemaitija Vilnius Kaszëbskô [Kashubia] Poland Łowicz, Mazowsze Krakow, Małopolska Podhale One of many Górale or Highlander costumes Sorbia [Lusatia] Chosebus [Cottbus], Lower Lusatia Slepo [Schleife], Upper Lusatia Catholic costume, Upper Lusatia Bohemia Plzeň [Pilsen] Blata Nové Paky, Northeast Bohemia Moravia Hanak Valašsko Vlčnov, Slovacko Slovakia Myjava Detva Šariš Hungary Palóc Kalocsa Matyó Austria Montafon, Vorarlberg Tyrol Upper Austria Slovenia Gorenjsko Dolenjska Bela Krajina Croatia Posavina Zagrebačko Prigorje Dubrovnik/Konavle Bosnia Moslem town costume East Hercegovina Orthodox Serbian Costume Travnik, Catholic Croatian Costume Serbia Šumadija Vojvodina Gniljane Crna Gora [Montenegro] Macedonia Skopska Blatija Galichnik Radovish Gorani Albania North Albania and Kosovo [Gheg] Sulovë, Central Albania Fieri, South Albania [Tosk] Greece Amalia Costume, Athens Kriti [Crete] Karagouna, Thessaly Cyprus Bulgaria Sofia [Shope] Rhodope Severnjashko [North] Vlach in Serbia in Greece in Albania Romania Wallachia Transylvania Moldavia Moldova Gagauz Crimean Tatar Ukraine Central Ukraine Hutsul Volyn' Carpatho-Rusyn, Lemko Komancha Venhryny [Čirč region] Jakubany Belarus Svetlahorski region, Western Polissia Malarytski region, Eastern Polissia Russia Peasants from northern Russia Kaluga Province Voronezh Province Karelia [Russian held part] Tver' Province Karelians Veps Nenets The Nentsi [formerly known as the Samoyed], live along the arctic coast from the White Sea to well past the Urals, and thus into Asia. Komi Permliak Udmurtia Northern Udmurt Southern Udmurt Mari-El Ural Mari Mordovia Erzya Moksha, Contemporary Costume Men Chuvashia Anatri Chuvash bride and her father Anat Enchi bride, groom and married woman Virial Chuvash Matchmaker Tatarstan [Kazan'] Bashkortostan [Bashkir] Kalmuk [Kalmyk] Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman Kozak
This lovely embroidered Swedish traditional dress is modern take on the county of Gotland’s folk dress. The style is the same but the fabrics chosen are light, making them ideal for the summer heat. We can also make other country dresses or with more traditional fabrics. ----------------Sizing------------------- Please reference the last slide for measurements. This corset is meant to cinch the waist and chest by 2 inches. For more cinching, go down a size. For a custom fit please provide the following measurements: bust underbust waist (2 inches above the belly button) underarm to waist waist to desired length wrists -------------SHIPPING------------ Please allow 4-6 weeks for the corset to be made and shipped. This time frame doubles in September and October.
The Swedish National Dress (Sverigedräkten) and regional traditional folk costumes (Folkdräkter) has both seen a serious revival over the past few d
Hello all, this is my 200th article, and I thought i should do something rather different. I will do an overview of the folk costumes of Europe. I will follow nation-states, as inappropriate as that may be, but i will also cover nations without states. Some very small and obscure ethnic groups will be omitted for lack of available material. I will also not be covering the north Caucuses, as there is simply too much material there. Where there is a recognized or unofficial 'National Costume' I will show that. This will necessarily not include much in the way of explanation. Iceland Upphultur Peysufot Faldbuningar Faroe Islands Ireland Scotland England Wales Brittany Bigoudin Kemper [Quimper] Plougastel France Berry Normandie [Normandy] Provence Euskadi [the Basque Country] Andorra [also Rousillon and Catalonia] Spain Andalucia La Mancha Galicia Portugal Minho Madeira Algarve Monaco [also Nice] Italy Lombardy Lazio Calabria Arbëreshë [Italo Albanians] Vatican City There is no women's costume for the Vatican Sardinia Florinas Orgosolo Quartu Sant'Elena Malta Switzerland Appenzell Valais/Wallis Graubunden/Grisons Liechtenstein Germany Miesbach, Bavaria Gutach, Schwartzwald Scheesel, Lower Saxony Luxembourg Belgium The Netherlands Volendam Beveland Staphorst Friesland [Frisia] West East North Denmark Fanø Hedebo Amager Norway There have been several attempts to design a national costume, but most of them have not received much acceptance. The most successful was a simplified form of the Hardanger costume, but this is currently little used, as most people wear their local bunad. Hardanger Setesdal Gudbrandsdal Sweden National Costume Värend Rättvik Sabme [Lappland] Jokkmokk Kautokeino Skolt Finland Häme, western Finland Kaukola, Finnish Karelia Tuuteri, on the Finnish Isthmus Estonia Järva-Jaani, North Estonia Muhu Island Setu, South Estonia Livonia Latvia Latgale Vidzeme Nica Lithuania Aukštaitija Žemaitija Vilnius Kaszëbskô [Kashubia] Poland Łowicz, Mazowsze Krakow, Małopolska Podhale One of many Górale or Highlander costumes Sorbia [Lusatia] Chosebus [Cottbus], Lower Lusatia Slepo [Schleife], Upper Lusatia Catholic costume, Upper Lusatia Bohemia Plzeň [Pilsen] Blata Nové Paky, Northeast Bohemia Moravia Hanak Valašsko Vlčnov, Slovacko Slovakia Myjava Detva Šariš Hungary Palóc Kalocsa Matyó Austria Montafon, Vorarlberg Tyrol Upper Austria Slovenia Gorenjsko Dolenjska Bela Krajina Croatia Posavina Zagrebačko Prigorje Dubrovnik/Konavle Bosnia Moslem town costume East Hercegovina Orthodox Serbian Costume Travnik, Catholic Croatian Costume Serbia Šumadija Vojvodina Gniljane Crna Gora [Montenegro] Macedonia Skopska Blatija Galichnik Radovish Gorani Albania North Albania and Kosovo [Gheg] Sulovë, Central Albania Fieri, South Albania [Tosk] Greece Amalia Costume, Athens Kriti [Crete] Karagouna, Thessaly Cyprus Bulgaria Sofia [Shope] Rhodope Severnjashko [North] Vlach in Serbia in Greece in Albania Romania Wallachia Transylvania Moldavia Moldova Gagauz Crimean Tatar Ukraine Central Ukraine Hutsul Volyn' Carpatho-Rusyn, Lemko Komancha Venhryny [Čirč region] Jakubany Belarus Svetlahorski region, Western Polissia Malarytski region, Eastern Polissia Russia Peasants from northern Russia Kaluga Province Voronezh Province Karelia [Russian held part] Tver' Province Karelians Veps Nenets The Nentsi [formerly known as the Samoyed], live along the arctic coast from the White Sea to well past the Urals, and thus into Asia. Komi Permliak Udmurtia Northern Udmurt Southern Udmurt Mari-El Ural Mari Mordovia Erzya Moksha, Contemporary Costume Men Chuvashia Anatri Chuvash bride and her father Anat Enchi bride, groom and married woman Virial Chuvash Matchmaker Tatarstan [Kazan'] Bashkortostan [Bashkir] Kalmuk [Kalmyk] Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman Kozak
Blog prezentujący street fashion, modę uliczną.
Я ж даўно ўжо забываюся сказаць, што наведваю гурток па беларускім народным строі. Гэта было незапланавана, яшчэ ўлетку я нават пра гэта не падазравала:) Але ж убачыла абяву ў by_ethno і адразу ж усё і вырашыла. Няма слоў, каб апісаць мае захапленне - і арнаментам, і строямі, і…
Bridesmaids: folk costume from Sieradz, Poland on a vintage postcard. Painting by Florian Piekarski.
Finkläder. Just nu och fram till den 29 september finns det ögongodis att beskåda på museet i Borås. Fotografen, författaren och textilskaparen Laila Durán visar upp bilder på svenska, norska och samiska folkdräkter. Ett mecka för såväl den redan frälsta som den som bara vill njuta.
Hello all, this is my 200th article, and I thought i should do something rather different. I will do an overview of the folk costumes of Europe. I will follow nation-states, as inappropriate as that may be, but i will also cover nations without states. Some very small and obscure ethnic groups will be omitted for lack of available material. I will also not be covering the north Caucuses, as there is simply too much material there. Where there is a recognized or unofficial 'National Costume' I will show that. This will necessarily not include much in the way of explanation. Iceland Upphultur Peysufot Faldbuningar Faroe Islands Ireland Scotland England Wales Brittany Bigoudin Kemper [Quimper] Plougastel France Berry Normandie [Normandy] Provence Euskadi [the Basque Country] Andorra [also Rousillon and Catalonia] Spain Andalucia La Mancha Galicia Portugal Minho Madeira Algarve Monaco [also Nice] Italy Lombardy Lazio Calabria Arbëreshë [Italo Albanians] Vatican City There is no women's costume for the Vatican Sardinia Florinas Orgosolo Quartu Sant'Elena Malta Switzerland Appenzell Valais/Wallis Graubunden/Grisons Liechtenstein Germany Miesbach, Bavaria Gutach, Schwartzwald Scheesel, Lower Saxony Luxembourg Belgium The Netherlands Volendam Beveland Staphorst Friesland [Frisia] West East North Denmark Fanø Hedebo Amager Norway There have been several attempts to design a national costume, but most of them have not received much acceptance. The most successful was a simplified form of the Hardanger costume, but this is currently little used, as most people wear their local bunad. Hardanger Setesdal Gudbrandsdal Sweden National Costume Värend Rättvik Sabme [Lappland] Jokkmokk Kautokeino Skolt Finland Häme, western Finland Kaukola, Finnish Karelia Tuuteri, on the Finnish Isthmus Estonia Järva-Jaani, North Estonia Muhu Island Setu, South Estonia Livonia Latvia Latgale Vidzeme Nica Lithuania Aukštaitija Žemaitija Vilnius Kaszëbskô [Kashubia] Poland Łowicz, Mazowsze Krakow, Małopolska Podhale One of many Górale or Highlander costumes Sorbia [Lusatia] Chosebus [Cottbus], Lower Lusatia Slepo [Schleife], Upper Lusatia Catholic costume, Upper Lusatia Bohemia Plzeň [Pilsen] Blata Nové Paky, Northeast Bohemia Moravia Hanak Valašsko Vlčnov, Slovacko Slovakia Myjava Detva Šariš Hungary Palóc Kalocsa Matyó Austria Montafon, Vorarlberg Tyrol Upper Austria Slovenia Gorenjsko Dolenjska Bela Krajina Croatia Posavina Zagrebačko Prigorje Dubrovnik/Konavle Bosnia Moslem town costume East Hercegovina Orthodox Serbian Costume Travnik, Catholic Croatian Costume Serbia Šumadija Vojvodina Gniljane Crna Gora [Montenegro] Macedonia Skopska Blatija Galichnik Radovish Gorani Albania North Albania and Kosovo [Gheg] Sulovë, Central Albania Fieri, South Albania [Tosk] Greece Amalia Costume, Athens Kriti [Crete] Karagouna, Thessaly Cyprus Bulgaria Sofia [Shope] Rhodope Severnjashko [North] Vlach in Serbia in Greece in Albania Romania Wallachia Transylvania Moldavia Moldova Gagauz Crimean Tatar Ukraine Central Ukraine Hutsul Volyn' Carpatho-Rusyn, Lemko Komancha Venhryny [Čirč region] Jakubany Belarus Svetlahorski region, Western Polissia Malarytski region, Eastern Polissia Russia Peasants from northern Russia Kaluga Province Voronezh Province Karelia [Russian held part] Tver' Province Karelians Veps Nenets The Nentsi [formerly known as the Samoyed], live along the arctic coast from the White Sea to well past the Urals, and thus into Asia. Komi Permliak Udmurtia Northern Udmurt Southern Udmurt Mari-El Ural Mari Mordovia Erzya Moksha, Contemporary Costume Men Chuvashia Anatri Chuvash bride and her father Anat Enchi bride, groom and married woman Virial Chuvash Matchmaker Tatarstan [Kazan'] Bashkortostan [Bashkir] Kalmuk [Kalmyk] Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman Kozak
Hello all, Today I will continue to talk about the Icelandic costumes, specifically the type known as Upphlutur, or bodice costume. This was derived from the faldbúningur by the substitution of the high headdress by the stocking cap, the loss of the jacket, and general simplification of the costume. This became the everyday dress of Iceland. In each of the two images above, you see one example of each of the two variants, one of which was typical of the 19th cent, and the other of the 20th. Both are characterized by plain skirts, striped or plaid linen aprons, and white linen chemises or blouses. Here are two women in the 19th cent. Upphlutur. Here is a schematic showing the salient points of this variation. The stocking cap is large and stays on easily. The bodice is simple, with ribbons or small panels of embroidery to either side of the front opening. A silk kerchief was tied around the neck. Skirts were usually black, but aprons are made in many colors. One of the main points of this costume is that it made for ease of movement, it was easy to work in. The back of the bodice was also ornamented with ribbons. This costume has one again become popular, and is often seen. In the 20th cent. the upphlutur underwent some changes. It became more dressy, and was no longer worn for everyday. The cap became smaller, while the tassel became larger. This made it necessary to hold the cap on with pins. The bodice acquired filligree metal jewelry in place of the ribbon or embroidery on either side of the opening, and a belt with jewelry was once again worn. The blouse is sometimes dark, and the plaid apron may be made of silk. A neck kerchief is no longer worn with this variant. Here we see a 20th cent upphlutur on the right, a rather transitional version on the left, and the faldbúningur in the center. Some closeups of the metalwork on the bodice and belt. The back of the bodice became somewhat simpler. The new form of the cap is rather unwieldy, but is attractive enough if you can keep it on. The upphlutur of either version is the costume most commonly worn by girls. Younger girls often wear a different cap. This costume in either variant remains perhaps the most popular of the Icelandic costumes, and is widely worn still today. Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this interesting and perhaps inspiring. Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance. Roman K. [email protected] email A good article on the various types of buningur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_national_costume Here is the Heimilisiðnaðarsafnið textile museum website http://textile.is/ The Iceland national costume website. I have relied heavily on this site for information. http://www.buningurinn.is/?i=2 Other sources: Hildur Hermóðsdóttir, 'Icelandic National Costumes' Reykjavik, 2012 Elsa Gudjónsson, 'Traditional Icelandic Embroidery', Reykjavik, 1982 Charles Holme, 'Peasant art in Sweden, Lappland and Iceland', London, 1910 Roman K.
Hello all, Today I will venture into a new country, Macedonia. Specifically, I will cover the costume from the region of Skopska Blatija, which includes the villages in the lowlands around the Vardar river just upstream from the capitol of Skopje. This is sometimes called 'the Skopje costume', and is often portrayed as if it was the national costume of Macedonia. It is certainly typical of Macedonian costume, but it is actually native to this relatively small region. There is a second costume connected with Skopje from the highlands just north of this region, called Skopska Crna Gora, which is also very fascinating. Here is a closeup of this region. You may have heard of the controversy concerning the use of the name Macedonia. I will attempt to give a very short and I hope non-partisan history of the region. In Ancient times, Macedonia was one of the important nations of the Balkans. They had a language of their own, which is evidenced by the fact that young Macedonian men who attempted to participate in the Olympics were turned away and told that they could not compete because the games were not open to 'barbarians'. Now 'barbarian', in Greek Varvaroi, simply meant someone who did not speak Greek, who just went ' va va va' instead of speaking with words. This attitude is universal among humans, who each consider that their own language is real, while that of others is just a bunch of strange sounds. This changed in the time of Phillip and Alexander. Phillip was King of Macedonia, and conquered Greece, bringing back the best tutor he could find for his son, Alexander [the Great]. A man by the name of Aristotle. When Alexander established his empire, he spread the Greek Language and Greek culture with it. Thus, the ancient Macedonian language had disappeared by the beginning of the common era. [Unless Burushaski in northern Pakistan really is descended from it, as those who speak it claim. There has been recent work linking Burushaski with Phrygian, so it is possible. In any case, we have very little information as to what Ancient Macedonian was like.] After the time of Alexander, Macedonia was considered to be an integral part of the Greek World. Slavic people entered the Balkans in the 5th cent. The current Macedonian language stems from that time. The region of Macedonia has informed the self-identity of the people living there, especially since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Many of the people who live there call themselves Macedonians regardless of which nation they live in or which language they speak.The traditional borders of Macedonia are currently split between three nation-states, The Republic of Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Greece. Often these divisions are referred to as Vardar Macedonia, Pirin Macedonia, and Aegean Macedonia, respectively, in an attempt to use neutral terminology. I sincerely do not wish to become embroiled in this issue. It is certainly the case that all of Macedonia has a certain similarity of culture, including music, traditional dance and costume. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_%28region%29 In any case, I will devote the rest of this article to the costume and embroidery of this one specific region. The basic garment here is the chemise, koshula. This is traditionally made of heavy linen or hemp. Here is a drawing of the garment. This cut is typical for Macedonia, and has obvious similarities to that of Dalmatia. As you can see, there is embroidery on the hem, sleeves and front. The basic colors used are black, red and gold with some admixture of green and blue. The motif known as '9 flowers' is often embroidered on the lower sleeve, and as you can see, sometimes repeated on the hem and front opening. Here are a couple of variations of this motif. As you can see, the design is executed mostly in outline stitch and slant, or slav stitch. Sometimes the hem is executed in different designs, like the following examples. The design above the hem is often larger and longer in back, which is why this first example is twisted. Here are some closeups of the embroidery on this koshula. The embroidery is not always this extensive. Take a look at these examples, paying close attention to the embroidery of the hem. Here are just a few more examples of this style of embroidery. On some bridal outfits there is an attempt to add more embroidery, which results in the composition being lost. You will see some people today keeping these embroideries, even though the chemise is sometimes shortened beyond what I would consider an attractive length. After World War II, sadly, the embroidery was replaced by lace, but is now making a comeback. These performing groups often use thin flimsy material, and sometimes sew trim on the hem to approximate embroidery. Again, both the chemises and aprons here have been shortened. Prior to the 20th cent. the women in this region wore a garment called saya over the chemise. This is a type of long vest which opens in front. It was made of very heavy white home woven wool. Over the saya was worn the apron and a sash, which held this garment closed. Those for more festive occasions were decorated with many pompoms. A second similar garment was worn over the apron and sash. This was called Kurdiya. Short detatchable sleeves were often attached to either the saya or the kurdiya for special occasions. Practically speaking, the kurdiya is only distinguished from the saya by the lack of a gap of ornamentation around the waist. [The above two pieces are from the collection of The British Museum] Here is a photo of a married woman wearing the full old costume. This has to some extent been retained as a wedding garment, but in general, was abandoned at the beginning of the 20th cent. in this region. The garment which is currently worn is called elek. It has no sleeves, and has a cut out opening on the chest framed with notches which shows off the embroidery on the front of the koshula. It overlaps at the waist, and is held in place by the apron and sash as the saya was. It is made of red wool, usually with a striped or plaid design in various colors called 'sharena', has several rows of braid galloon and lace sewn onto the edges, and wings at the hips.This cloth is much lighter than that used for the saya, but is still heavy and stiff by modern standards. The elek originally came to the knee, but is sometimes worn shorter today. Here is the cut. Sometimes for special occasions, two of these would be worn, one over the other. The apron is made of two rectangular tapestry woven pieces sewn together, gathered at the top and trimmed around the edges. The basic pallette traditionally being red black and white with yellow and green used as minor accents. A variety of designs are used. More recently, new colors such as pink have unfortunately entered the palette. The hair is parted in two and then braided at the nape of the neck. A kerchief, either white or yellow, sometimes square and sometimes long and rectangular, is tied around the head. Traditionally, long stockings with designs knitted into them were worn by both men and women Over these are worn moccasins, called opanci, they are of two types, one closes with straps, the other is tied on with cord. The men's summer costume, besides the stockings and opanci, consist of a shirt which is very full at the bottom, linen pants which are narrow in the calf and wide in the seat, and a wide sash, which holds the shirt in at the waist. A leather belt is often worn over the sash. This very full shirt looks rather like a foustanella. This can have cuffs, or the ends of the sleeves may be left open. Many Macedonian men's dances have twisting movements which are meant to show off the shirttails. Sometimes there is simple embroidery on the cuffs, collar and front opening, as in this example from the collection of The British Museum. For formal occasions, or for dancing, a foustanella-type garment may be worn over the shirt. This is called v'stan. It adds a second layer and fullness. This may be seen in the videos at the end of the article. This never achieves the dimensions of the Greek or Albanian Foustanella, however. A vest is often worn with this costume, originally of the thick white wool used for the saya, and later of the red sharena used for the elek, or sometimes of another color wool. Here are views of both the old and the new style vest. Here are the cuts for both types of vest. A round lambswool hat completes the costume. This basic men's costume, with minor variations is found over most of Macedonia. A beaded ornament called kostek can be worn by both men and women. It is often draped around the neck and the other end tucked into the sash or a pocket. To me it looks like a home-made imitation of a watch chain and fob. There is a lot of variation in detail of this ornament. You can see it being worn in some of the images in this article. Just a few more images of this costume. Thank you for reading, I hope you have found this interesting. Here is a website which gives an overview of the costumes of the various ethnic subgroups of Macedonia. http://www.soros.org.mk/konkurs/018/etnovez-e.htm A couple of videos of the national Macedonian Ensemble Tanec. This one shows off the women's costume, and has some great singing, followed by some very good dancing. This also shows some of the asymmetrical rhythms so typical of the Balkan Peoples. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux6UM68yxpA&feature=related The same ensemble doing a different piece, if you want to see more. This one also has some good closeup views of the costume. The women and the men even more so, are wearing their hems shorter than is traditional. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKYMsYSwals&feature=related Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance. Roman K. [email protected] Source Material: Angelina Krsteva, 'Narodna Nosija od Skopska Blatija', Skopje, 1998 Kamelia Gruncharova, 'Tradicionno Narodno Obleklo po Porechieto na Reka Struma', Sofia, 2006 Angelina Krsteva, 'Macedonian Folk Embroidery', Skopje, 1975 Anica Petrusheva, 'Narodna Nosnja u Skopskoj Crnoj Gori', Zagreb, 1988 Georgi Zdravev, 'Macedonian Folk Costumes I', Skopje, 1996 Georgi Zdravev, 'Macedonian Folk Costumes - Weavings, Embroideries, Knitting, Adornments and Jewelry', Skopje, 2005 Bobbie Sumberg editor, 'Young Brides, Old Treasures', Seattle, 2012 Nikola Pantelic, 'Traditional Arts and Crafts in Yugoslavia', Belgrade, 1984 Vera Klichkova, 'The National Dresses [sic] of Macedonia', Skopje, 1963
Hello all, The Frisians are one of the minority peoples of Europe, Inhabiting the coast of the North Sea from the northern Netherlands t...
Hello all, this is my 200th article, and I thought i should do something rather different. I will do an overview of the folk costumes of Europe. I will follow nation-states, as inappropriate as that may be, but i will also cover nations without states. Some very small and obscure ethnic groups will be omitted for lack of available material. I will also not be covering the north Caucuses, as there is simply too much material there. Where there is a recognized or unofficial 'National Costume' I will show that. This will necessarily not include much in the way of explanation. Iceland Upphultur Peysufot Faldbuningar Faroe Islands Ireland Scotland England Wales Brittany Bigoudin Kemper [Quimper] Plougastel France Berry Normandie [Normandy] Provence Euskadi [the Basque Country] Andorra [also Rousillon and Catalonia] Spain Andalucia La Mancha Galicia Portugal Minho Madeira Algarve Monaco [also Nice] Italy Lombardy Lazio Calabria Arbëreshë [Italo Albanians] Vatican City There is no women's costume for the Vatican Sardinia Florinas Orgosolo Quartu Sant'Elena Malta Switzerland Appenzell Valais/Wallis Graubunden/Grisons Liechtenstein Germany Miesbach, Bavaria Gutach, Schwartzwald Scheesel, Lower Saxony Luxembourg Belgium The Netherlands Volendam Beveland Staphorst Friesland [Frisia] West East North Denmark Fanø Hedebo Amager Norway There have been several attempts to design a national costume, but most of them have not received much acceptance. The most successful was a simplified form of the Hardanger costume, but this is currently little used, as most people wear their local bunad. Hardanger Setesdal Gudbrandsdal Sweden National Costume Värend Rättvik Sabme [Lappland] Jokkmokk Kautokeino Skolt Finland Häme, western Finland Kaukola, Finnish Karelia Tuuteri, on the Finnish Isthmus Estonia Järva-Jaani, North Estonia Muhu Island Setu, South Estonia Livonia Latvia Latgale Vidzeme Nica Lithuania Aukštaitija Žemaitija Vilnius Kaszëbskô [Kashubia] Poland Łowicz, Mazowsze Krakow, Małopolska Podhale One of many Górale or Highlander costumes Sorbia [Lusatia] Chosebus [Cottbus], Lower Lusatia Slepo [Schleife], Upper Lusatia Catholic costume, Upper Lusatia Bohemia Plzeň [Pilsen] Blata Nové Paky, Northeast Bohemia Moravia Hanak Valašsko Vlčnov, Slovacko Slovakia Myjava Detva Šariš Hungary Palóc Kalocsa Matyó Austria Montafon, Vorarlberg Tyrol Upper Austria Slovenia Gorenjsko Dolenjska Bela Krajina Croatia Posavina Zagrebačko Prigorje Dubrovnik/Konavle Bosnia Moslem town costume East Hercegovina Orthodox Serbian Costume Travnik, Catholic Croatian Costume Serbia Šumadija Vojvodina Gniljane Crna Gora [Montenegro] Macedonia Skopska Blatija Galichnik Radovish Gorani Albania North Albania and Kosovo [Gheg] Sulovë, Central Albania Fieri, South Albania [Tosk] Greece Amalia Costume, Athens Kriti [Crete] Karagouna, Thessaly Cyprus Bulgaria Sofia [Shope] Rhodope Severnjashko [North] Vlach in Serbia in Greece in Albania Romania Wallachia Transylvania Moldavia Moldova Gagauz Crimean Tatar Ukraine Central Ukraine Hutsul Volyn' Carpatho-Rusyn, Lemko Komancha Venhryny [Čirč region] Jakubany Belarus Svetlahorski region, Western Polissia Malarytski region, Eastern Polissia Russia Peasants from northern Russia Kaluga Province Voronezh Province Karelia [Russian held part] Tver' Province Karelians Veps Nenets The Nentsi [formerly known as the Samoyed], live along the arctic coast from the White Sea to well past the Urals, and thus into Asia. Komi Permliak Udmurtia Northern Udmurt Southern Udmurt Mari-El Ural Mari Mordovia Erzya Moksha, Contemporary Costume Men Chuvashia Anatri Chuvash bride and her father Anat Enchi bride, groom and married woman Virial Chuvash Matchmaker Tatarstan [Kazan'] Bashkortostan [Bashkir] Kalmuk [Kalmyk] Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman Kozak
Made to Order! A handwoven Scandinavian belt for a woman's folk costume of Norway, Sweden, or Finland. Woven in a traditional Norwegian practice with a heddle and shuttle from scratch. In the pattern is a traditional X and O shape, found in Saami, Swedish and Norwegian cultures. These decorative belts are widespread across the Baltic States, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean Countries, Scandinavia and Fennoscandia. A woven belt is often a woman's garment, but in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, men also wear these sashes over a long shirt. Each belt is created by hand, so no sash or pattern is machine-perfect. PLEASE NOTE! Belts are made to order! The creation of your belt will take up to 4 weeks. Please have patience when placing your order. Full Length: 98 inches Width: 1 inch Feel free to message if you have any questions, or would like more pictures of the item. -- SHIPPING DETAILS Please allow 4 weeks of processing time before shipment. I do not accept returns or exchanges. Thank you for visiting my shop!
Geographically, Sweden is one of the Scandinavian countries, so its national costumes have a lot of features in common with neighboring Norway, Denmark, etc. But there is a number of differences that make Swedish folk outfits unique. We’ll tell you about some of them in this material. Discover the beauty of folk dress in Sweden with us. Let’s look at these top-5 curious facts about Swedish traditional clothing.
Hello all, In 1840, Queen Victoria decided to be married in a white gown, and thus started a fad which is still with us. She chose white because she had some lace that she was very fond of, and wanted to use it in her wedding. There was nothing traditional about it. There was at that time no tradition of being married in white. Portraits of the wedding, like the one above, were widely seen and her choice in fashion was copied. All the symbolism attributed to the white gown are later accretions. People have, of course, always gotten dressed up for their weddings. Often the bride had spent years embroidering parts of her outfit, but generally it was a more colorful and elaborate version of the clothing she would wear on special occasions for all of her life. Very commonly traditional bridal dress incorporated flowers and a crown or wreath of some kind. There was no color considered to be specific for weddings; wedding dresses were often black, or red, but usually very colorful. They were rarely plain white. Also, while some elements, such as the crown, were reserved for weddings, most of the wedding outfit continued to be worn on special occasions. Queen Victoria could certainly afford to have a gown made for just the one occasion, but most people did not. Many of the so called 'traditions' connected with modern western weddings are in fact recent innovations. Being of Ukrainian background, I find some of them bizarre, and very un-European, such as the veil, the sequestering of the bride from the groom on the day of the wedding, the giving away of the bride, all of which suggest more a middle-eastern mindset in which the woman is treated as chattel, rather than an egalitarian European one. And of course, many of the 'traditions' are designed to sell things; after all, weddings are big business. Here are some examples of Bridal outfits from around Europe which are truly traditional. If you have a strong connection to a particular ethnicity or place, I strongly urge you to research your background, and make your wedding more truly meaningful, rather than just another carbon copy of generic western culture. There ARE ways of doing things that do not involve dressing up like Queen Victoria. Please enjoy the following selection, which, by the way, is far from exhaustive. There are many more. I found so much material that I decided to only do a quick scan of western Europe. Saami A Saami bride borrows many silver brooches to wear on her silk shoulder scarf. A crown, as in other parts of Scandinavia, is also worn. Norway In Norway, crowns come in two forms. The more common is shaped like a stereotypical crown, like this very large example from Hardanger in Hordaland. Here are other examples from Valdres; and East Telemark, which also includes a special white apron and an embroidered cloth over that. In Setesdal, the crown is shaped more like a tiara. Here they also have a special white apron with a colored silk one over it. The bridal outfit also includes a red frock worn over the normal white and black ones. The second type of crown is flat, with silver dangles and is highly embroidered or beaded. This type is found in Voss and in West Telemark There are, of course, many other local variations. Sweden Skåne A very common bridal accessory is a wreath or crown of imitation or real flowers, here made of colored feathers. Rättvik, Dalarna She is wearing both a small crown and a flower cap. He is wearing a lace collar which is not part of the typical man's dress outfit. Leksand, Dalarna notice that here the flower wreath is around the shoulders rather than on the head. Södermanland Sometimes, as here, the crown is quite small, although it retains the full symbolic meaning. Värmland The base of the crown is here hidden by the flowers. Finland Wedding in Jomala Denmark Wedding in Fanø Germany Das Altes Land The bride is on the right, with the flowers and wings on her cap. Miesbach, Bavaria This is the same outfit she would wear on any festive or ceremonial occasion. Calwer Waldt Colored blown glass balls are a common feature of German wedding crowns. These are made in the same way as Christmas tree ornaments. Marburg A wreath of flowers on the head, and also around the arm. Scheessel The bridesmaids as well as the bride wear high crowns decorated with colored blown glass balls and other features. The bride also has a white lace fichu and a white apron. Bad Nenndorf Gutach, Schwarzwald The bride is on the left. The basket shaped crown is typical for southwest Germany and parts of Austria France Savoie The bride and groom are marked here by the boutonnieres with ribbons attached. This is found in many other places in Europe as well. St. Pierre and Miquelon Upper Savoy Alsace Also in Alsace, a bridal couple from Seebach or Oberseebach. The groom wears a posy in his hat and a boutenniere with ribbons. The bride wears a crown and armbands with flowers and silk ribbons. Here are details of the bridal accouterments. Normandy French Flanders Provence Portugal Minho Douro Beira Algarve Estremadura Spain Laguartera Burgos Salamanca Toledo Valencia Italy Scanno, Abruzzo Arbereshe Sardinia In the south of Sardinia, a traditional part of the wedding is the 'chaining' of the bride and groom. Austria Here is an example of a modern style formal Austrian dirndle considered to be appropriate for a wedding. Thank you for reading, I will finish eastern Europe in another article, as I have simply found too much material to cover. I hope that you have found this interesting. [email protected] Source Material: Debionne/Meissner, 'Die Schoensten Deutschen Trachten', Munich, 1987 Gisela Wulff, 'Luettje Burdeern von'n Doerpen', Germany, 1979 Tomaz Ribas, 'O Trajo Regional em Portugal', Braga, Portugal, 2004 Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1994 Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2013 Caroline Brancq, 'Les Costume Regionaux d'Autrefois', Paris, 2003 Rode de Basso Prouvenco, 'Le Costume Populaire Provencal', Radost Ivanova, 'Traditional Bulgarian Wedding', Sofia, 1987 M. Veleva, 'Bulgarski Narodni Nosii vol 1 - 4', Sofia,
