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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 wearers 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 grooms 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
Embona costume is a festal costume,
worn down to the present day, from a mountain village on the island of
Rhodes, which has kept tradition alive in this way. It consists of a
white woven poukamissa with silk embroidery at the jabot, sleeves and
hem, a pleated sleeveless dress of a black (or white) cotton silk material,
decorated with fine multicolor braid, and the red knitted belt with fringes,
wound twice round the waist. High leather boots are worn with this
costume. The headgear is made up of a white cotton cap with coins add
a yellow (or other colors) triangular kerchief with print flower decoration
and long fringes. |
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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,
Greeces 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
Mani costume is a festal costume of
the 18th century, which in the austerity of its design and its simple
symbolic decoration reflects the characteristics of the closed community
which created it. It consists of a long white cotton tunic from the
loom, embroidered at the borders with multicolored silks, and the velesi,
a sleeveless dress in darl-colored woven wool. The sole decoration on the
velesi is the band of red material on the inside of the hem and a broad
red cotton band on the middle of the skirt - bougazi, decorated all
round with white and yellow intertwined threads. A striped silk girdle
is wound round the waist. The headgear consists of a dark green silk
kerchief taking the sahpe of a 'crown' - the kefaloyouri - and the
pure sil shawl - bolia, which is wound all round it and covers the
neck and shoulders. |
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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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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 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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