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Corfu
is the northern-most of the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. This
particular version of the Corfu female costume comes from the region of Lefkimmi.
This urban western style of dress was worn in approximately 20 villages in southern
Corfu. It consists of the following pieces: a white cotton camisole, a
silk or taffeta skirt, a close-fitting belt made of gold-embroidered velvet, an apron made
of fine silk organza or tulle and embroidered with colorful silk threads of ribbons, and
finally, a gold-embroidered velvet waistcoat. Across the chest are worn gold
brooches and heavy gold chains. The headpiece is adorned with flowers and a white
tulle or organza scarf. A characteristic item is the large dangling earring
worn only in the right ear. Since the turn of the century, flat patent leather shoes
decorated with silver buckles and large black or red bows are worn. |
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The
basic components of the Cypriot male costume are the densely
pleated baggy trousers, vraka, which is common in all the Greek islands, and the
waistcoat, gileko, or jacket, zibouni. This apparent uniformity is
punctuated by some local features, manifest in the size of the vraka and the color
of the cloth used for the chest garment. These characteristics used to be indicative
of the wearer’s origins. The vraka is made of coarse hand-woven dimity, which
was dyed, after sewing, by local dyers, poyatzides; black for elderly men, blue for
younger ones. The vraka varied in size and shape from region to region.
The vraka for “best” wear was very wide, requiring forty piches (yards)
of dimity (sheer double-threaded cotton fabric). The bustle, sella, which
hung behind, was densely pleated, prosiasma. This was normally tucked up into
the belt and only left to hang freely when the wearer went to church. The vraka
is worn with a chemise or shirt of dark striped cotton material every day and of silk on
Sundays. The silk shirt was a basic garment of the groom’s costume -- being a
present from his bride-to-be -- like his kerchief which was symbolic of their union and
tied around his neck during the wedding ceremony. The cut of the shirt and the
manner in which it was sewn and embellished varied according to region. |
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The male Epirotan
costume is characteristic for its pair of pants, called “bourazana” or “ panovraki”, which resembles the Macedonian
“salvaria” or “vrakia”.
The pants are either white or black. The
white “bourazana” is worn with a
white wide sleeve shirt that is similar to the one worn with the foustanella (Evzone) costume, while the black
version has narrow sleeves. The white version
was worn during festive occasions while the black one was for everyday use. The “gileki” (vest),
a small black bolero, was also worn daily. During festive occasions, the “pis’li” was worn. It is a vest with long sleeves that hang over the
back from the shoulders, like the sleeves from the “foustanella” costume. The hand woven sash is more than fifteen feet long
and served as a case for various objects. The
shoes for this costume consist of the “tsarouchia”
and the “skoufi”, a black felt cap, covers the head. The “kalpaki”, a different kind of cap,
was made of astrakhan fur. This costume is
characteristic in Epiros, Greece’s northwestern region, and particularly around the
city of Yiannena but was also worn by the Sarakatsanoi nomads and Vlachs that settled in
the area. |
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This male costume was worn
mainly in the central and southern regions of Greece. The costume derives its name from
the pleated white skirt (foustanela) made of many triangular
shaped pieces of cloth sewn together diagonally. The foustanela was worn by the
Greek fighters of the 1821 revolution and today it serves as the official uniform of the Evzones,
Greece’s Presidential Guard, who can be seen guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
in Athens. The foustanela skirt consists of 400 pleats symbolizing the years during
which Greece was under Ottoman rule. The remainder of the costume is composed of a white
shirt with very wide flowing sleeves, an embroidered woolen vest, a sash worn around the
waist, and shoes (tsarouhia) with large pompons. |
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This female Gida
costume comes from the Roumlouki area of central Macedonia and is considered a village
style of dress. The main piece of the costume is an outer coat (sayias) of
either white or dark blue, with decorative flaps which fold to the back revealing rich
embroidery. Under this is worn a long white chemise. Both the black woven belt and apron
are decorated with distinctive colored patterns. The headdress, which is made of white
scarves and black tassels, is decorated with multicolored flowers and is said to resemble
the helmets of the ancient Greeks during the era of Alexander the Great. Multiple
silver chains adorn both the headdress and the apron. |
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Scattered over
the plain of Thessaly in central Greece are the villages of the Karagouni from which this
costume derives its name. This is the simplified version of the Karagouna
wedding dress with bright colors symbolizing the wealth of the valley of Thessaly. The
undergarment is a long tunic which is hemmed in black fringe and covered by a pleated
white overcoat decorated with embroidery. A matching red velvet vest is worn over the
overcoat. Arm bands with black or multicolored fringe are a distinctive feature of
this costume. Worn around the waist is a red felt apron with a broad velveteen band
embroidered with gold thread. The headpiece consists of a black embroidered scarf wrapped
and then twisted around the head and decorated with gold coins across the forehead. Across
the bosom are worn many rows of chains with coins which symbolized the wealth of the
bride. The apron is also decorated with a brooch and silver or gold chain piece. |
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In general, the male costume
of Macedonia includes a pair of white cotton undergarments, a
pair of black woolen pants, a billowing white cotton shirt, a waistcoat, and a long wide
sash. On the legs are worn broidered woolen socks and pigskin laced shoes. In
the old days, men wore a red fez which has now been replaced by a black cloth cap. |
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The village of Metaxades
lies in the mountains near the border with Bulgaria and this style of dress has many
similarities with those of its Slavic neighbors. OHFS’ particular version of the
costume consists of a white cotton under-dress with long sleeves. Over this is worn a
black Thracian tsoukna, a sleeveless cotton over-dress. The tsoukna is heavily
embroidered around the bodice with multi-colored threads. The openings to the right and
left (through which the village women breast-fed their babies) are also trimmed with
embroidery. On top of the tsoukna there is a woven apron held in place by the famous
Thracian enameled belt. The barboula, or headdress, consists of several
multi-colored floral scarves which are decorated with flowers. To complete the ensemble,
there are beaded perilemia (necklaces), patterned knit stockings and terlikia
(embroidered cloth slippers). |
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"Makedonomahos"
(Macedonian fighter) costume. This costume was worn by
the freedom fighters during the Macedonian Struggle (1904-1908) to free Macedonia (the
northern part of Greece) from the Ottoman and Bulgarian rule. It is also known as
the "Pavlos Melas" costume in honor of Pavlos Melas, an officer of the Greek
army whose heroic actions and sacrifice during the beginning of the Macedonian Struggle
provided the spark and the foundation that lead to the freedom of Macedonia. |
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This is the costume of
the Sarakatsanoi who were a nomadic Greek people: animal farmers who traveled between Asia
Minor and southern Greece. Every item of the Sarakatsana
costume was handmade. Only the jewelry, shoes and cotton used to weave the blouse
were bought. The costume consists of an inside cotton blouse covered by a pleated black
woolen dress. This is followed by a sleeveless jacket which is covered by a pleated collar
and an apron. Woolen leg and arm coverings complete the outfit. The long braided
hair was covered by a black woolen scarf. Distinctive clogs (tsarouhia) with
decorative pompons on the toes were usually worn. Heavy silver bracelets, earrings
and belts were also worn to complement the costume. |
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The people of Kavakli
arrived as refugees in Thrace, a northern province of Greece. The women wove and
embroidered all their own clothes. The undermost piece is a shirt with the top part in
blue and the bottom skirt portion in white. The neck, cuffs, and hem were richly
embroidered. A dark, pleated sleeveless tunic was worn over the undershirt. The tunic was
kept shorter than the shirt underneath so as not to obstruct the intricate embroidery. A
4-meter-long woolen sash, usually red with multicolored strips, was wrapped around the
waist. Over this was tied a multicolored and embroidered woolen apron. The headpiece
consisted of a large, fringed woolen scarf, usually in a floral pattern. The ends hung
down loose over the shoulders. A decoration consisting of coins arranged in the shape of a
cross hung down over the forehead. |
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The Thassos
bridal blouse was made of fine silk or a mixture of cotton and silk. The best ones
were trimmed with little crocheted cockerels around the opening of the bodice and the
cuffs. Over this was worn the "alatzas", a narrow-sleeved waistcoat sewn
by an island tailor, using striped silk or cotton-and-silk cloth; at the bottom of the
sleeves were "tongues" which were trimmed with gold braid, as was the
bodice. On top went a sleeveless pinafore, likewise stitched by a tailor using
expensive cloth or taffeta, and embroidered with gold around the opening of the
bodice. Round the waist was tied a silk apron trimmed with little pleats, gold lace
and bands of different-colored material. The belt, which was made of velvet or
gold-embroidered silk, fastened at the front with a heavy silver clasp. The black
felt waistcoat was the most richly embroidered garment worn, and for this work the tailor
and embroiderer were paid handsomely in sovereigns. At the beginning of this
century, women stopped wearing the "Tzamandani" and added the
"tongues" from its sleeves to the waistcoat in such a way as to make it appear
to have two sets of sleeves. The opening of the bodice of the blouse was fastened
with a gold and often diamante clasp. Wealthier bridegrooms used to hang one
or two chains of gold coins around the bride's neck. The bride's hair was plaited
into braids and wrapped around the little flat fez, the top of which was embroidered with
gold thread or covered with 4 or 5 coins. A printed yellow cotton scarf was
wound around the plaits to make the fez "sit" properly on the head. For
everyday use or attending church, a large printed woolen scarf "thiplarika" was
thrown over the top. For weddings and other special occasions, this was replaced by
an expensive silk scarf, and great care was taken to ensure that each one had its own
unique design. If another woman bought one which was of the same design, it was not
worn again; this custom was eventually deemed to be rather pretentious and fell into
disuse some years ago. The white stockings, either bought or home-knitted, were made
of wool in the winter and cotton in the summer. The women of Thassos also wore
embroidered velvet slippers, but later replaced them with black leather lace-up shoes. |
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