Hello all, Today I will attempt to give an overview of the costumes of France. France was divided into traditional provinces before the revolution. These are shown in color in the map above. Afterwards the nation was divided into administrative districts, called Departements, of roughly the same size, which were grouped into 27 Regions. These are shown by the fine and bold lines on the map above. A quick glance will show that they do not always correspond. The map below names the contemporary Regions and Departements. I will attempt to present the folk costumes according to the old Provinces, as they more closely present regions of traditional culture. France is, like most nations, multiethnic and multilingual. The five corners of the nation have territories in which unrelated languages are spoken. German in Alsace, Dutch in French Flanders, Breton in Brittany, Basque in the Basque country, and Catalonian in Rousillon. The Corsican language is also distinct. In the main part of the country various Romance dialects were traditionally spoken, which linguists and tradition group into three languages. In the north, the Langues d'oïl, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_d%27o%C3%AFl these dialects are various forms of the language which we today call French. In the east, Arpitan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Proven%C3%A7al_language and in the south, the Langues d'oc, or Occitan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_language On the following map, French dialects are shown in shades of green, Arpitan dialects in shades of blue, and Occitan dialects in shades of red. Other languages are shown in violet or lavender. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_France This article will cover roughly the territory of the Langues d'oil, with the exception of Aunis and Saintonge. I will proceed roughly from north to south. Some Provinces have much more material as regards costume than others. Many of the costumes are quite similar, the largest differences being in the coifs and other headdresses, which show an amazing variety. Flanders Flanders refers to the Dutch speaking northern part of Belgium. Some of this territory was ceded to France centuries ago, and There are still about 20,000 people in French Flanders who speak Flemish. This area lies on the Belgian border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Flanders The ladies of the town of Dunkirk are called Bazennes, and have a distinct costume A dance from French Flanders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83hqRBo-zv8 Artois Artois lies in the north, inland from the coast and just south of French Flanders. It is also a small province. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_of_Artois Picardie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picardy One of the most distinctive costumes of Picardie is that of the Pas de Calais, in particular the town of Boulogne sur mer. This is the area along the coast. Currently it has been separated from Picardie and combined with the provinces of Artois and Flandre to form the departement of Nord-Pas de Calais. Boulogne sur Mer A parade with street dancing in Boulogne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTUybiCsnWA A few images from other parts of Picardie. Amiens Neuville North Picardie Normandy The costumes of Normandy are very famous for their elaborate and large lace and linen headdresses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy A dance from Normandy, showing one of the many famous coifs found in this region. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTcFTT731nA Brittany This region is extremely rich in costumes, more than any other. The people are Celtic, and still speak a language related to Welsh and Cornish in the western part, Lower Brittany. In the eastern part, Upper Brittany, this has long been replaced by the Romance dialect of Gallo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany I have already done an overview of the Costumes of Brittany. Here are just a handful of examples. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/03/overview-of-costumes-and-embroidery-of.html Bigouden Kemper Pont Aven Rennes Guerande A line dance, Fisel, from Brittany. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGF8IwhojRA Île-de-France This is the heart of France, and the modern French Language. This province includes Paris and has long been a world leader of fashion. Because of that, there is little that is remembered of the folk costume. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-de-France Champagne This is, of course, the province which is responsible for the classic sparkling wine. In fact, if it does not come from this province, it is not really champagne. As in several other provinces, a high lacy headdress is worn in one of the costumes here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_(historical_province) \ A traditional dance group from Reims in Champagne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdMmH0HIDfY Lorraine This province, like its neighbor Alsace, was contested for a very long time between France and Germany. The north of this province is traditionally German [Allemanic] speaking, while the south spoke dialects related to French. It has been an integral part of France for over a century now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_(duchy) A dance from Lorraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIpKXSx6pCk Alsace The population of Alsace is overwhelmingly of German origin, but it has been an integral part of France since before the revolution. The traditional language is Allemanic German, but this has been losing ground in the face of the draconian measures instituted by the French government to extinguish minority languages in their country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace I have already done an overview of the costumes of Alsace, but here are a few representative images. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2013/09/overview-of-costumes-of-alsace-or-elsass.html Oberseebach Strasburg [Protestant] Kochersberg [Catholic] Meistratzheim, lower Alsace Upper Alsace A dance from the Strasburg area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxajjW29sOA Franche-Comté This means the free county of Burgundy. This province was separated from Burgundy proper in the 15th cent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franche-Comt%C3%A9 The costumes of Franche Compte are not well known. One notable costume is that of Montbeliard. Notice the coif embroidered with beads. Besancon Brussey A tour of the costume museum of Franche Comte. This includes city and historic costume. Folk costumes start about 2/3 of the way through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2wXFzAVKrQ Burgundy The Dukes of Burgundy were major players in the history of Medieval Europe. They controlled much territory in many far flung places. These are the borders of Burgundy at the time of the French Revolution. Burgundy is, of course, also the home of one of the wold's most famous wines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy Here are some notable costumes of Burgundy. Morvan A bouree from Morvan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C865X0H7pA Bresse I have already done an article on this costume. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2015/02/costume-of-bresse-and-macon-france.html Video of a historical fair in Bresse. Many costumes are shown. The formal costume shown above shows up at the 12 minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTb_Ox8TIvk Macon A dance from Macon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ooc6-ncInM Nivernais This was a small province, and today forms just one departement. The costume of this area is not well known. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nivernais A festival in Nivernais. A medieval group and a Polish group from Rzeszow are also taking part. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOOxABF_UA Bourbonnais This was a small province. It is part of the French heartland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbonnais This province has a distinct costume, about which I have already done an article. It is symbolized by the famous chapeaux a deux bonjours. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2013/08/costume-of-bourbonnais-france.html A dance from Bourbonnais. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbn1Lz3k-wo Berry Berry lies at the heart of France both geographically and culturally. It is one center of the famous French dance, the bourree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_(province) The costumes of Berry are those of plain country people, perhaps the most typical of all France. A couple of dances from Berry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi3eUTIhGl0 //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jalol72cMMY Orléanais This was the province around the city of Orleans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9anais Maine This province was long caught between the powers of Normandy and Anjou. The costume heritage of this province seems to be poor. If anyone has more information please let me know. Here is some of the little which I have found, most of it from Sarthe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_(province) Anjou This province has a long history, with many turns and twists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjou The coif of Anjou has a very distinct form. Two very short clips of dances from Anjou. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxqt4KepuLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZKKXXb7okE Touraine This province took its name from a local Gallic tribe called the Turones. It has been split between 3 different departements since the revolution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touraine The costumes are rather simple, but there is a distinctive coif in this region called the tourangelle which have beautiful embroidery. A visit to a museum of embroidered coifs in Touraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgxbCa225U Poitou This province is known for fierce independence and resistance to the central government. They have long maintained a strong sense of local identity. This is also the original homeland of the people who became the Cajuns. Echoes of the Poitou dialect still live in the Cajun language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitou Poitou was naturally divided into two parts, Upper Poitou and Lower Poitou. Lower Poitou was staunchly Catholic, while upper Poitou was dominated by Huguenots. In modern times the two have been divided, Upper Poitou being joined with Charents to the south, and Lower Poitou was joined with Anjou, Maine and part of Brittany to form a new region known as Pays de la Loire. This gives you some hint of how confusing it can be to research the history of French costume. This is one the richer provinces in terms of costumes and coifs. Lower Poitou or Le Vendée As in upper Poitou, there are a variety of costumes, and especially of coifs. I will concentrate on the two most famous costumes of this area. Le Marais is a marshy area in the south of this area . The inhabitants are known as Maraichains. They have a particularly elegant costume. The men's costume includes a sharp short jacket. The women's apron does not pin to the front, but actually passes over the head. Here we see that the modern fad of the white wedding dress has penetrated into this costume. Sables d'Olonne is the main port in this province. There is a unique costume associated with this town, and particularly with those who live near the ocean. The coif is unique, with lacy points.and is worn with a very short skirt. This would be practical for those who often wade in the ocean to do their work. Like the costume of Bigouden in Brittany, however, this costume continued to develop in the 20th cent. The skirt became even shorter, the petticoat and apron were lost, the skirt became pleated, satins and silks came to be used, and the coif developed a high three sided lace point. This is one of the most famous costumes in France today. A dance from Sables d'Ollone. The costumes are of the old form, with modern materials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtqATJylQg Upper Poitou This is the inland part of Poitou, being physically at a greater elevation. It consists, more or less, of the modern departements of Deux Sevres and Vienne. In Vienne: Loudun Neuville de Poitou In Deux Sevres Mothe Saint Herayes Thouars Niort The coif of this area, called grisette, resembles those of further south, in Aunis and Saintonge. I will continue with those costumes in my next article. Dances from Upper Poitou. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtjaoWLNU7A This ends part one. Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman K email: [email protected]

Hello all, Today I will talk about one of the costumes of Castile, the heart of Spain and center of the Castillian language, which is the language which has spread to Latin America and elsewhere around the world.This language is often called 'Spanish', but Spain has other languages which are equally native and equally Spanish. The history of Spain is quite complicated. The old Kingdom of Castile has become one of the major components of Spain, east of Leon and west of Aragon. It is shown on this map in red. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castile_%28historical_region%29 Today I will focus on the province of Segovia, which is in the center of Castile, just north of Madrid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segovia The costume of Segovia is quite colorful and complex. Here is a blog, in Castillian, dedicated to it. There is much good information available here if you browse. http://indumentariatradicionaldesegovia.blogspot.com/p/eventos-bodas-celebraciones-y-un-sin.html The foundation of the costume is a chemise, camisa, traditionally of linen, now sometimes out of cotton. Historically it was close to ankle length, more recently it has become shorter, coming to somewhat below the knees. The sleeves are set into the neck opening. The neck opening typically has embroidery, as do the cuffs. The shape and size of the opening vary even in the few images which I have found of it. The embroidery is usually all black and may consist of darning stitch, cross stitch, holbein stitch, and some other techniques. Typically there is a field on the upper front which is smock-gathered, and embroidery is done over the folds. The size of the gathered area varies. This one is unusual in its color, but is typical in its embroidery Today, bloomers, pantalon, and linen or cotton petticoats, refajo or enagua, are worn with this costume. Pantalon. Refajo Enagua Fine knit stockings, calcetas or medias, usually white, are worn with this costume. The knit is done in various patterns. Garters of silk or other material are used to secure the stockings. These are called ligas. The traditional shoes, zapatos, are black leather or cloth, low and with a buckle on the toe. A distinctive bodice is worn with this costume, if sleeveless, it is called justillo, if it has sleeves, it is called jubon. It has wide, trapezoidal lappets, and often has embroidery on the front. Often the neck is cut low enough that the embroidery on the top of the chemise is visible. Here are a couple examples of the justillo. The jubon is more common than the justillo. The sleeves are cut out in one piece, the front of the arms and the back of the lower arms are often tied together with ribbons instead of being actually sewn together. There is often embroidery on the sleeves. Most commonly the jubon is red or black. Sometimes there are more, narrower lappets that are cut out instead of sewn on. This type of bodice may be of brocade and edged with trim or ribbon. You can see that sometimes the peplum in front is underneath other clothing, and sometimes it is worn over the top. Here are a few more images of the jubon. The top skirt is called manteo. It is always ornamented; sometimes with a print design or applique, but most commonly with wide strips of lace, ribbon, gallon, velvet panels and/or passamenterie, often with beadwork, and these are often combined. The manteo is often red or black for the dressiest outfits, but may be yellow, blue, green or other colors as well. The manteo is rather full, and when covered with many ribbons often heavy. The apron, delantal, is a panel of cloth, usually black, or black with a design which is ornamented with strips of velvet, galloon, and ribbon in the same manner as the manteo. Dress aprons are often of damask, brocade or patterned velvet. Take another look at the images above. As in many Spanish costumes a loose pocket is worn, usually on the right side [unless left handed]. These are called faltriquera and are ornamented in various ways, with embroidery or fancy cloth with ribbons etc. These often lie partially under the apron. As with most Spanish costumes, a Manila shawl may be worn. Fortunately, this is less common in Segovia, as the women prefer to show off the embroidery on the jubon. In any case, these were originally imported from China, and even today the embroidery on them tends to be completely in the Chinese style. An abundance of jewelry is worn, including rings, earrings, and complex necklaces with large beads and a cross. The hat, montera, is the most distinctive and diagnostic part of this costume. This looks almost like a rectangular military cap worn sideways on the head. The front and back have large triangular flaps that are attached at the tips. The top has a large pompom, the front and back triangles are embroidered, or at least have random beads or spangles sewn onto them, and the rectangular sides have knobs or buttons on them, often metallic. These are called 'apostles', because there are six on each side. Often a white lace veil is worn under the hat. For church and some other formal occasions, a mantle, mantilla, is worn over the head, as in many other parts of Spain. Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this glimpse of Old Castile to be informative and interesting. Here is a youth group doing a traditional dance from Segovia. They are wearing simple costumes appropriate for dancing, including albarcas instead of zapatas. These are moccasin type footwear made of leather, or as here, of cloth, being held on with laces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZcibtg0V4c Short clip of the Jota from Segovia. Nice costumes. One of the girls, in the yellow skirt and straw hat, is wearing a costume from Avila. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LH7-9mDkRo A better clip of a Jota from Segovia. The skirts are rather too short, but notice that they are all different. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3anA6fyNlw email [email protected] Source Material: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Indumentaria-Tradicional-Segoviana-Conchi-Bay%C3%B3n/137796472936093 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Indumentaria-Tradicional-de-Segovia/156832354370341 http://indumentariatradicionaldesegovia.blogspot.com/p/eventos-bodas-celebraciones-y-un-sin.html Angelo Lopez Garcia-Bermejo et al, 'La Indumentaria Tradicional Segoviana', Segovia, 2000 Isabel de Palencia, 'The Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972 Jose Manuel Gomez-Tabanera, 'Trajes Populares y Costumbres Tradicionales', Madrid, 1950

Hello all, Today I will attempt to give an overview of the costumes of France. France was divided into traditional provinces before the revolution. These are shown in color in the map above. Afterwards the nation was divided into administrative districts, called Departements, of roughly the same size, which were grouped into 27 Regions. These are shown by the fine and bold lines on the map above. A quick glance will show that they do not always correspond. The map below names the contemporary Regions and Departements. I will attempt to present the folk costumes according to the old Provinces, as they more closely present regions of traditional culture. France is, like most nations, multiethnic and multilingual. The five corners of the nation have territories in which unrelated languages are spoken. German in Alsace, Dutch in French Flanders, Breton in Brittany, Basque in the Basque country, and Catalonian in Rousillon. The Corsican language is also distinct. In the main part of the country various Romance dialects were traditionally spoken, which linguists and tradition group into three languages. In the north, the Langues d'oïl, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_d%27o%C3%AFl these dialects are various forms of the language which we today call French. In the east, Arpitan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Proven%C3%A7al_language and in the south, the Langues d'oc, or Occitan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_language On the following map, French dialects are shown in shades of green, Arpitan dialects in shades of blue, and Occitan dialects in shades of red. Other languages are shown in violet or lavender. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_France This article will cover roughly the territory of the Langues d'oil, with the exception of Aunis and Saintonge. I will proceed roughly from north to south. Some Provinces have much more material as regards costume than others. Many of the costumes are quite similar, the largest differences being in the coifs and other headdresses, which show an amazing variety. Flanders Flanders refers to the Dutch speaking northern part of Belgium. Some of this territory was ceded to France centuries ago, and There are still about 20,000 people in French Flanders who speak Flemish. This area lies on the Belgian border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Flanders The ladies of the town of Dunkirk are called Bazennes, and have a distinct costume A dance from French Flanders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83hqRBo-zv8 Artois Artois lies in the north, inland from the coast and just south of French Flanders. It is also a small province. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_of_Artois Picardie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picardy One of the most distinctive costumes of Picardie is that of the Pas de Calais, in particular the town of Boulogne sur mer. This is the area along the coast. Currently it has been separated from Picardie and combined with the provinces of Artois and Flandre to form the departement of Nord-Pas de Calais. Boulogne sur Mer A parade with street dancing in Boulogne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTUybiCsnWA A few images from other parts of Picardie. Amiens Neuville North Picardie Normandy The costumes of Normandy are very famous for their elaborate and large lace and linen headdresses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy A dance from Normandy, showing one of the many famous coifs found in this region. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTcFTT731nA Brittany This region is extremely rich in costumes, more than any other. The people are Celtic, and still speak a language related to Welsh and Cornish in the western part, Lower Brittany. In the eastern part, Upper Brittany, this has long been replaced by the Romance dialect of Gallo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany I have already done an overview of the Costumes of Brittany. Here are just a handful of examples. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/03/overview-of-costumes-and-embroidery-of.html Bigouden Kemper Pont Aven Rennes Guerande A line dance, Fisel, from Brittany. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGF8IwhojRA Île-de-France This is the heart of France, and the modern French Language. This province includes Paris and has long been a world leader of fashion. Because of that, there is little that is remembered of the folk costume. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-de-France Champagne This is, of course, the province which is responsible for the classic sparkling wine. In fact, if it does not come from this province, it is not really champagne. As in several other provinces, a high lacy headdress is worn in one of the costumes here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_(historical_province) \ A traditional dance group from Reims in Champagne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdMmH0HIDfY Lorraine This province, like its neighbor Alsace, was contested for a very long time between France and Germany. The north of this province is traditionally German [Allemanic] speaking, while the south spoke dialects related to French. It has been an integral part of France for over a century now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_(duchy) A dance from Lorraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIpKXSx6pCk Alsace The population of Alsace is overwhelmingly of German origin, but it has been an integral part of France since before the revolution. The traditional language is Allemanic German, but this has been losing ground in the face of the draconian measures instituted by the French government to extinguish minority languages in their country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace I have already done an overview of the costumes of Alsace, but here are a few representative images. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2013/09/overview-of-costumes-of-alsace-or-elsass.html Oberseebach Strasburg [Protestant] Kochersberg [Catholic] Meistratzheim, lower Alsace Upper Alsace A dance from the Strasburg area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxajjW29sOA Franche-Comté This means the free county of Burgundy. This province was separated from Burgundy proper in the 15th cent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franche-Comt%C3%A9 The costumes of Franche Compte are not well known. One notable costume is that of Montbeliard. Notice the coif embroidered with beads. Besancon Brussey A tour of the costume museum of Franche Comte. This includes city and historic costume. Folk costumes start about 2/3 of the way through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2wXFzAVKrQ Burgundy The Dukes of Burgundy were major players in the history of Medieval Europe. They controlled much territory in many far flung places. These are the borders of Burgundy at the time of the French Revolution. Burgundy is, of course, also the home of one of the wold's most famous wines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy Here are some notable costumes of Burgundy. Morvan A bouree from Morvan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C865X0H7pA Bresse I have already done an article on this costume. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2015/02/costume-of-bresse-and-macon-france.html Video of a historical fair in Bresse. Many costumes are shown. The formal costume shown above shows up at the 12 minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTb_Ox8TIvk Macon A dance from Macon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ooc6-ncInM Nivernais This was a small province, and today forms just one departement. The costume of this area is not well known. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nivernais A festival in Nivernais. A medieval group and a Polish group from Rzeszow are also taking part. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOOxABF_UA Bourbonnais This was a small province. It is part of the French heartland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbonnais This province has a distinct costume, about which I have already done an article. It is symbolized by the famous chapeaux a deux bonjours. http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2013/08/costume-of-bourbonnais-france.html A dance from Bourbonnais. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbn1Lz3k-wo Berry Berry lies at the heart of France both geographically and culturally. It is one center of the famous French dance, the bourree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_(province) The costumes of Berry are those of plain country people, perhaps the most typical of all France. A couple of dances from Berry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi3eUTIhGl0 //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jalol72cMMY Orléanais This was the province around the city of Orleans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9anais Maine This province was long caught between the powers of Normandy and Anjou. The costume heritage of this province seems to be poor. If anyone has more information please let me know. Here is some of the little which I have found, most of it from Sarthe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_(province) Anjou This province has a long history, with many turns and twists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjou The coif of Anjou has a very distinct form. Two very short clips of dances from Anjou. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxqt4KepuLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZKKXXb7okE Touraine This province took its name from a local Gallic tribe called the Turones. It has been split between 3 different departements since the revolution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touraine The costumes are rather simple, but there is a distinctive coif in this region called the tourangelle which have beautiful embroidery. A visit to a museum of embroidered coifs in Touraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgxbCa225U Poitou This province is known for fierce independence and resistance to the central government. They have long maintained a strong sense of local identity. This is also the original homeland of the people who became the Cajuns. Echoes of the Poitou dialect still live in the Cajun language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitou Poitou was naturally divided into two parts, Upper Poitou and Lower Poitou. Lower Poitou was staunchly Catholic, while upper Poitou was dominated by Huguenots. In modern times the two have been divided, Upper Poitou being joined with Charents to the south, and Lower Poitou was joined with Anjou, Maine and part of Brittany to form a new region known as Pays de la Loire. This gives you some hint of how confusing it can be to research the history of French costume. This is one the richer provinces in terms of costumes and coifs. Lower Poitou or Le Vendée As in upper Poitou, there are a variety of costumes, and especially of coifs. I will concentrate on the two most famous costumes of this area. Le Marais is a marshy area in the south of this area . The inhabitants are known as Maraichains. They have a particularly elegant costume. The men's costume includes a sharp short jacket. The women's apron does not pin to the front, but actually passes over the head. Here we see that the modern fad of the white wedding dress has penetrated into this costume. Sables d'Olonne is the main port in this province. There is a unique costume associated with this town, and particularly with those who live near the ocean. The coif is unique, with lacy points.and is worn with a very short skirt. This would be practical for those who often wade in the ocean to do their work. Like the costume of Bigouden in Brittany, however, this costume continued to develop in the 20th cent. The skirt became even shorter, the petticoat and apron were lost, the skirt became pleated, satins and silks came to be used, and the coif developed a high three sided lace point. This is one of the most famous costumes in France today. A dance from Sables d'Ollone. The costumes are of the old form, with modern materials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtqATJylQg Upper Poitou This is the inland part of Poitou, being physically at a greater elevation. It consists, more or less, of the modern departements of Deux Sevres and Vienne. In Vienne: Loudun Neuville de Poitou In Deux Sevres Mothe Saint Herayes Thouars Niort The coif of this area, called grisette, resembles those of further south, in Aunis and Saintonge. I will continue with those costumes in my next article. Dances from Upper Poitou. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtjaoWLNU7A This ends part one. Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman K email: [email protected]

Hello all, Today I will return to Spain, to Aragon, province of Huesca, the valley of Ansó. Aragon is in the northeast of the country, between Catalonia and Navarre. Huesca is the northernmost of the three provinces of Aragon, and the Valle de Ansó is in the northwest corner. This valley has a well preserved folk costume tradition. You can see several of them in the image at the top of this article. This is likely because it is right up in the Pyrenees Mountains. The base of the women's costume is a full length chemise, camisa, in linen. The collar is gathered and smock pleated for its entire height. This is starched and molded into somewhat of a cup shape. The sleeves are smock gathered into the shoulder insets, and there is a narrow row of embroidery at the seam, mostly in black but with some other colors added. The sleeves are long, with a narrow writstband. The insets seem to be sewn to the sides of the body of the chemise, and together, they form the collar. Here is a video showing how to starch and shape the collar of the chemise, and otherwise get it ready to be stored and worn. You can see the shape and construction of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbQiIHBTYs The hair is divided into two parts and wrapped with a red or black ribbon. padded rolls called churros are joined to the hair, so that the resulting wrapped tubes can circle the head twice from each direction and are pinned into place. This recalls similar hairstyles in Scandinavia and Savoie. An underskirt, or petticoat is worn over the camisa. It is made of striped or plaid cotton in dark colors, or sometimes a single color. This is called Saya. It has a drawstring closure and is worn around the waist. There is a long jumper, consisting of a very short bodice with a long attached wool skirt worn over this. It is called Basquiña, and is made in red, black, and green. The normal version has a black bodice and a green wool skirt. The skirt is smock-gathered into the bodice, and shortly below that the cloth is worked into pleats. The bodice is bound around the neck opening in red, and around the armholes in yellow. For the everyday work costume, it is pinned back, allowing the saya to be visible. A scapular, Escapulario, is always worn with this. The scapular consists of two rectangles of cloth, one of which is highly ornamented with an image of Our Lady, or other religious image. The two are connected with ribbons maybe 20cm long. The ribbons are folded in half, and the middle of the ribbons is tied to the back of the right shoulder strap, the two rectangles hanging forward on the right shoulder. For the festive version of the costume, a brooch or pendant is attached to a red ribbon tied around the neck, and elaborate earrings are worn. Oversleeves are almost always worn. For everyday these manguitos are made of striped or plaid cotton or percale, they are gathered at the cuffs, and have a drawstring which ties closed above the elbow. They often match the saya, the underskirt. For the festive costume, the Mangas Cuerda are made of wool or finer material, of various colors. They are decorated with ribbon or trim, and are connected at the top by a double ribbon which crosses the back and helps hold them on. For the festive costume they are made in black. While unmarried girls wear the ribbon wrapped churros plain, married women tie a cap of lace or cloth over the headdress, and then pin a kerchief over that in various ways, sometimes more than one. For particular religious celebrations, a rosette of ribbons may be pinned to the front of the bodice. This typically has crosses, reliquaries and other religious symbols pinned to it. For little girls, especially for their first communion, the Basquiña is made in red. Note that their hair is not made up. For church going and religious ceremonies, the Basquiña is made in black, with a white hem, in which case it is called Saiguelo de lana. The Mangas are then made in white or another color, and have ribbons tying the cuffs closed. When actually in church, mantles are worn over the head, as we have seen in other places. For ceremonial occasions, a brocade apron is added. For weddings, the bride has a red apron and matching wide ribbons down the back. These are put on over a second Basquiña which has sleeves and is pinned up at the back. The daily mangitas are put on over the chemise, and then the attached sleeves, which are slit and are secured at the wrist with ribbons. This is the women's costume. Thank you for readingl I hope that you have found this interesting. Here is a website devoted to this valley. It has much good information on the costume, and I found it to be a valuable resource. It also has extensive galleries of photos. http://www.valledeanso.com/anso/eltrajetipico/ http://www.valledeanso.com/galeriafotografica/index.html Every year in this valley they have a festival showcasing the costume. Here is a video. Día d'o Traje d'Ansó - Festival of Folk costume in Anso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX64ivvSA0M Online sources: A collection of individual costume pieces. http://www.aragon.es/edycul/patrimo/etno/balcells/textilindumen.htm A blog entry about Anso costume in Castillian. http://josefinamendiara.blogspot.com/ A website that shows and i believe sells costumes from Aragon http://www.indumentariasanjorge.com/admin/controllerAdmin.php?action=presentacion Roman K email [email protected] Source Material: Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jesus Espallargas, 'El Traje Tradicional en Aragon', Antonio Jesus Gorria Ipas, 'El Valle de Anso y su Traje Tradicional', Zaragoza, Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972

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Hello all. Today I am going to go further afield than I have before. Spain has some incredibly beautiful and complex costumes, but there seems to be limited literature on the subject. [If anyone can acquaint me with more sources, i would be very glad of the information]. Salamanca is a city and surrounding province in the northwest of Spain, historically part of Leon. Here is a schematic map showing the location of the province. There are a handful of different costumes worn in this province. Here is a map localizing them. Today i will be talking about the costume in the center of the province, which is shown in light blue on the map above. This costume, and the people who wear it, are called Charro. This is not to be confused with the Mexican costume called Charro, which is worn by Mariachi bands. The only thing they have in common is being highly decorated.I have leaned heavily on the internet for my research on this costume, i have to thank all those who are proud of this costume and have posted images of it online. There are a few variants of this costume, i will limit myself to just one of them in this posting. As you can see, the costume is rather complex. A foundation layer is established by a one chemise, camisa, the only part of which shows is a bit of linen and lace at the neckline. Textured knit stockings are worn, then there are bloomers, the bloomers were not part of the original peasant costume, but are now worn under the influence of city costume. Over the bloomers a full petticoat is worn. Over the petticoat an underskirt is worn, called the saya. This is generally made of red wool. If you look at the image above, it appears to be lined. The saya is scalloped around the hem, and may be embroidered. On less formal occasions the saya is worn as the top skirt. The saya, from this image, seems to wrap around and overlap in back. The main skirt has this cut as well. It is called Manteo, which literally means mantle. It is cut in a half circle, with a cut out for the waist, and is wrapped around from the front, overlaps in back, and has ties which fasten around the waist. This type of skirt is typical of northwest Spain. Here is one from the neighboring district of Calendario. The ornamentation is different, but the cut is the same. There is a broad band of brocade or velvet around the hem and the left edge which overlaps on top, as you can see from the images at the top of this posting. Here is a manteo which was made for a doll. The two inner corners are embroidered with floral designs, generally from a stem which originates in each corner. This may be in black on black, for ceremonial costumes, gold and silver metal embroidery, beadwork, or colorful chain stitch. The middle, that is the front center, is left unornamented because it is covered by the apron. See the various images. The outer edge, or hem of the manteo often has a gingerbread type cutout design with embroidery. Over the back of the manteo is tied the cintas de manteo, a large bow with matching embroidery. The tails reach almost to the hem of the manteo, and the two short 'bow loops' generally have the initials of the maker/owner on them. These have their own ties which go around the waist. They usually have gold fringe around at least some of their edges. On the right side the faltriquera, a separate pocket is worn. The left and bottom edges are embroidered, and may have scallops or other more complicated cutout on those two edges. The right edge is not embroidered because it is covered by the apron. There is a vertical slit opening, and ties to hold it around the waist. A handkerchief and other necessities are carried in this. Here is a relatively simple one. In front one wears the mandil, the apron. This is one narrow panel which hangs to about the knees. It is embroidered as elaborately as the manteo. It may also have elaborate cut out on the edges. Attached to the lower edge is a gathered flounce of brocade, damask, or some other decorative cloth. On the torso, over the camisa is worn a bodice with sleeves, the jubona. It laces up the front, and is generally made of black damask. You can see in the various images that it usually has a texture. It has five tails which are worn under the saya, or perhaps under the petticoat. There are separate cuffs, called panetas, which fasten about the lower arms. They are embroidered in the same manner as the rest of the costume. Often there is a frill of lace around the lower and side edges. the side edges often have decorative buttons as well. A large shawl, called Panuelo de hombros, is wrapped around the shoulders. This is of white or near white linen, quite fine, and has very fine embroidery all around the edges in a wide band. Over this is worn another shawl, which is called dengue, crucero or rebocillo. This one is cut in an elongated crescent shape, and wraps over the shoulders, crosses in front, and then ties around the waist. This is very typical of northwest Spain. In the charro costume it is made of the same material as the other major parts, generally has gold fringe on the lower edges, and is embroidered to match. The hair is divided into three parts, each of which is braided. The two side braids are coiled above the ears and are held with gold pins. The back braid is fastened in a loop at the back of the crown and is held with longer pins. Today these three braids are often artificial, although made of real hair, and pinned on, as many women do not wear their hair that long any more. A smaller bow, called cintas de pelo is pinned to the back braid loop. Over this is pinned a kerchief called the velo, of very fine linen or tulle. This is also embroidered. This first image shows two variants of the costume, the woman on the left wearing only the dengue, and the woman on the right wearing only an elaborate shawl. the velo The costume is completed with gold rings, pendant earrings, a multistranded gold choker, and a complicated longer necklace with crossing strands of gold beads, crosses, and religious medallions. One less complex version of the costume has the saya worn as the top skirt, the bodice made without sleeves, and a linen blouse worn underneath with elaborate black embroidery on the sleeves. Only in this region would such a costume be considered 'less elaborate'. This is a more 'everyday' version of the costume, and is accompanied by a fancy straw hat. I hope that you have found this interesting and perhaps will be inspired to use some of these embroidery designs on a project of your own. Again i would like to thank all of the people who love this costume enough to put so much material on the web. Here is a video showing all the pieces of the costume. I have to thank the women who made this available. http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/358741/Trajes-charros2 Here is a blog dedicated to all things Salamanca. You may browse this and other postings, and see much more. http://salamanca-jhuno.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html 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: Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Bilbao, 1953 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972 R. Turner Wilcox, 'Folk and Festival Costumes of the World', New York, 1965 Robert Lee Humphrey, Jr., 'Spain and Portugal', Broomal, PA, 2003 H. L. Hansen, 'European Folk Art', New York, 1967

Hello all, Today I will return to Spain, to Aragon, province of Huesca, the valley of Ansó. Aragon is in the northeast of the country, between Catalonia and Navarre. Huesca is the northernmost of the three provinces of Aragon, and the Valle de Ansó is in the northwest corner. This valley has a well preserved folk costume tradition. You can see several of them in the image at the top of this article. This is likely because it is right up in the Pyrenees Mountains. The base of the women's costume is a full length chemise, camisa, in linen. The collar is gathered and smock pleated for its entire height. This is starched and molded into somewhat of a cup shape. The sleeves are smock gathered into the shoulder insets, and there is a narrow row of embroidery at the seam, mostly in black but with some other colors added. The sleeves are long, with a narrow writstband. The insets seem to be sewn to the sides of the body of the chemise, and together, they form the collar. Here is a video showing how to starch and shape the collar of the chemise, and otherwise get it ready to be stored and worn. You can see the shape and construction of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbQiIHBTYs The hair is divided into two parts and wrapped with a red or black ribbon. padded rolls called churros are joined to the hair, so that the resulting wrapped tubes can circle the head twice from each direction and are pinned into place. This recalls similar hairstyles in Scandinavia and Savoie. An underskirt, or petticoat is worn over the camisa. It is made of striped or plaid cotton in dark colors, or sometimes a single color. This is called Saya. It has a drawstring closure and is worn around the waist. There is a long jumper, consisting of a very short bodice with a long attached wool skirt worn over this. It is called Basquiña, and is made in red, black, and green. The normal version has a black bodice and a green wool skirt. The skirt is smock-gathered into the bodice, and shortly below that the cloth is worked into pleats. The bodice is bound around the neck opening in red, and around the armholes in yellow. For the everyday work costume, it is pinned back, allowing the saya to be visible. A scapular, Escapulario, is always worn with this. The scapular consists of two rectangles of cloth, one of which is highly ornamented with an image of Our Lady, or other religious image. The two are connected with ribbons maybe 20cm long. The ribbons are folded in half, and the middle of the ribbons is tied to the back of the right shoulder strap, the two rectangles hanging forward on the right shoulder. For the festive version of the costume, a brooch or pendant is attached to a red ribbon tied around the neck, and elaborate earrings are worn. Oversleeves are almost always worn. For everyday these manguitos are made of striped or plaid cotton or percale, they are gathered at the cuffs, and have a drawstring which ties closed above the elbow. They often match the saya, the underskirt. For the festive costume, the Mangas Cuerda are made of wool or finer material, of various colors. They are decorated with ribbon or trim, and are connected at the top by a double ribbon which crosses the back and helps hold them on. For the festive costume they are made in black. While unmarried girls wear the ribbon wrapped churros plain, married women tie a cap of lace or cloth over the headdress, and then pin a kerchief over that in various ways, sometimes more than one. For particular religious celebrations, a rosette of ribbons may be pinned to the front of the bodice. This typically has crosses, reliquaries and other religious symbols pinned to it. For little girls, especially for their first communion, the Basquiña is made in red. Note that their hair is not made up. For church going and religious ceremonies, the Basquiña is made in black, with a white hem, in which case it is called Saiguelo de lana. The Mangas are then made in white or another color, and have ribbons tying the cuffs closed. When actually in church, mantles are worn over the head, as we have seen in other places. For ceremonial occasions, a brocade apron is added. For weddings, the bride has a red apron and matching wide ribbons down the back. These are put on over a second Basquiña which has sleeves and is pinned up at the back. The daily mangitas are put on over the chemise, and then the attached sleeves, which are slit and are secured at the wrist with ribbons. This is the women's costume. Thank you for readingl I hope that you have found this interesting. Here is a website devoted to this valley. It has much good information on the costume, and I found it to be a valuable resource. It also has extensive galleries of photos. http://www.valledeanso.com/anso/eltrajetipico/ http://www.valledeanso.com/galeriafotografica/index.html Every year in this valley they have a festival showcasing the costume. Here is a video. Día d'o Traje d'Ansó - Festival of Folk costume in Anso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX64ivvSA0M Online sources: A collection of individual costume pieces. http://www.aragon.es/edycul/patrimo/etno/balcells/textilindumen.htm A blog entry about Anso costume in Castillian. http://josefinamendiara.blogspot.com/ A website that shows and i believe sells costumes from Aragon http://www.indumentariasanjorge.com/admin/controllerAdmin.php?action=presentacion Roman K email [email protected] Source Material: Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jesus Espallargas, 'El Traje Tradicional en Aragon', Antonio Jesus Gorria Ipas, 'El Valle de Anso y su Traje Tradicional', Zaragoza, Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972

Para prosseguir com costumes humildes, eis um grupo de miúdas descalças, típicas aldeãs, de saia, xaile, lenço e transportando cargas sobre a cabeça...

Uno de los actos realizados en las fiestas del Corpus de Lagartera 2010, ha sido la I Muestra de Trajes Regionales a nivel nacional. Mujer con traje charro Salamanca

Hello all, Today I will return to Spain, to Aragon, province of Huesca, the valley of Ansó. Aragon is in the northeast of the country, between Catalonia and Navarre. Huesca is the northernmost of the three provinces of Aragon, and the Valle de Ansó is in the northwest corner. This valley has a well preserved folk costume tradition. You can see several of them in the image at the top of this article. This is likely because it is right up in the Pyrenees Mountains. The base of the women's costume is a full length chemise, camisa, in linen. The collar is gathered and smock pleated for its entire height. This is starched and molded into somewhat of a cup shape. The sleeves are smock gathered into the shoulder insets, and there is a narrow row of embroidery at the seam, mostly in black but with some other colors added. The sleeves are long, with a narrow writstband. The insets seem to be sewn to the sides of the body of the chemise, and together, they form the collar. Here is a video showing how to starch and shape the collar of the chemise, and otherwise get it ready to be stored and worn. You can see the shape and construction of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbQiIHBTYs The hair is divided into two parts and wrapped with a red or black ribbon. padded rolls called churros are joined to the hair, so that the resulting wrapped tubes can circle the head twice from each direction and are pinned into place. This recalls similar hairstyles in Scandinavia and Savoie. An underskirt, or petticoat is worn over the camisa. It is made of striped or plaid cotton in dark colors, or sometimes a single color. This is called Saya. It has a drawstring closure and is worn around the waist. There is a long jumper, consisting of a very short bodice with a long attached wool skirt worn over this. It is called Basquiña, and is made in red, black, and green. The normal version has a black bodice and a green wool skirt. The skirt is smock-gathered into the bodice, and shortly below that the cloth is worked into pleats. The bodice is bound around the neck opening in red, and around the armholes in yellow. For the everyday work costume, it is pinned back, allowing the saya to be visible. A scapular, Escapulario, is always worn with this. The scapular consists of two rectangles of cloth, one of which is highly ornamented with an image of Our Lady, or other religious image. The two are connected with ribbons maybe 20cm long. The ribbons are folded in half, and the middle of the ribbons is tied to the back of the right shoulder strap, the two rectangles hanging forward on the right shoulder. For the festive version of the costume, a brooch or pendant is attached to a red ribbon tied around the neck, and elaborate earrings are worn. Oversleeves are almost always worn. For everyday these manguitos are made of striped or plaid cotton or percale, they are gathered at the cuffs, and have a drawstring which ties closed above the elbow. They often match the saya, the underskirt. For the festive costume, the Mangas Cuerda are made of wool or finer material, of various colors. They are decorated with ribbon or trim, and are connected at the top by a double ribbon which crosses the back and helps hold them on. For the festive costume they are made in black. While unmarried girls wear the ribbon wrapped churros plain, married women tie a cap of lace or cloth over the headdress, and then pin a kerchief over that in various ways, sometimes more than one. For particular religious celebrations, a rosette of ribbons may be pinned to the front of the bodice. This typically has crosses, reliquaries and other religious symbols pinned to it. For little girls, especially for their first communion, the Basquiña is made in red. Note that their hair is not made up. For church going and religious ceremonies, the Basquiña is made in black, with a white hem, in which case it is called Saiguelo de lana. The Mangas are then made in white or another color, and have ribbons tying the cuffs closed. When actually in church, mantles are worn over the head, as we have seen in other places. For ceremonial occasions, a brocade apron is added. For weddings, the bride has a red apron and matching wide ribbons down the back. These are put on over a second Basquiña which has sleeves and is pinned up at the back. The daily mangitas are put on over the chemise, and then the attached sleeves, which are slit and are secured at the wrist with ribbons. This is the women's costume. Thank you for readingl I hope that you have found this interesting. Here is a website devoted to this valley. It has much good information on the costume, and I found it to be a valuable resource. It also has extensive galleries of photos. http://www.valledeanso.com/anso/eltrajetipico/ http://www.valledeanso.com/galeriafotografica/index.html Every year in this valley they have a festival showcasing the costume. Here is a video. Día d'o Traje d'Ansó - Festival of Folk costume in Anso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX64ivvSA0M Online sources: A collection of individual costume pieces. http://www.aragon.es/edycul/patrimo/etno/balcells/textilindumen.htm A blog entry about Anso costume in Castillian. http://josefinamendiara.blogspot.com/ A website that shows and i believe sells costumes from Aragon http://www.indumentariasanjorge.com/admin/controllerAdmin.php?action=presentacion Roman K email [email protected] Source Material: Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jesus Espallargas, 'El Traje Tradicional en Aragon', Antonio Jesus Gorria Ipas, 'El Valle de Anso y su Traje Tradicional', Zaragoza, Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972

Hello all, I was inspired by 'The Man of la Mancha', so I decided to do this costume. It turns out that this is not part of la Mancha, but somewhat to the north and west of it, but I will do it anyway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mancha Lagartera is a village in the far west of the Province of Toledo. The name comes from Latin, and means 'place of many lizards'. Here is the Province of Toledo in Spain, within the region of New Castile. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Spain Here is the location of Lagartera municipality within Toledo Province. Lagartera is famous in Spain for the richness of its folk costume and its embroidery, both that used on the costume and the derived designs used on household linens. The distinct pieces which comprise the Lagartera costume for women are rather numerous: La camisa, la «faisa», la cinta de ceñir, la enagua, la «mandileta», los guardapiés, la faltriquera, el capotillo, la gorguera, el sayuelo, el jubón, el mandil, las medias y las calcetas, los zapatos y las zapatas, los pañuelos y la mantellina. Chemise, La camisa. The chemise is made of fine homewoven linen, and comes to the knees with a triangular gusset sewn into the seam on each side at the hem. There are two types, one with relatively narrow sleeves which is worn for everyday or under the jacket, seen at the right above, and one with extremely full sleeves, called camisa de ras, which is for festive occasions and may be seen on the woman above at the left. There is a front opening, closed with a button, which usually comes to the waist. This is typical of traditional garments, and facilitates breast feeding. The chemise is little embroidered, especially the everyday, and even the camisa de ras is only embroidered on the cuffs, los puños, and the collar or neckband, el cabezón. Here is a little girl in a more everyday form of the costume, showing the narrow sleeved camisa. Here are two examples of the camisa de ras, you can see how the embroidery on the cuffs and neckband match. Each such sleeve requires a yard and a half of material. They are gathered lengthwise and the folds are secured with 'Galician smocking'. A gusset is inset under the arms. The 'wedding chemise' is similar to the every day but made of finer materials, it is always worn with the jacket. La Gorguera This is a sort of dickey which covers the front and back of the shoulders, similar to the Dutch kraplap. It has an opening for the head, and is secured around the waist with ribbons attached to the corners, as you can see in the photo of the little girl above. The neck opening, front panels and shoulders are heavily embroidered, usually in black, sometimes in white for older women. Sometimes a second similar garment called el Capotillo is worn underneath this one. The Capotillo is smaller and has the opening in back. Its purpose is simply to cover the front opening of the chemise. El Sayuelo This is a type of bodice which is worn over the chemise and the gorguera. It is quite stiff and is laced up the front. A simple version is worn for everyday and under the jacket to provide shape. The more ornamented version is worn with the camisa de ras. This has contrasting pieces sewn onto the front and rear which give the appearance of a second garment. These 'gayas' make the neckline higher in front, and in back form a diamond shape under the joining of the shoulder straps. The entire garment is edged with colorful ribbons and other trim. The front has two tails which tuck under the skirt and apron. La Faisa y la Cinta de Ceñir The faisa is a lined rectangle of red woolen cloth which is wrapped around the waist and secured by a ribbon, la cinta de ceñir. This ribbon is usually about three yards long, and may be woven with a design. The purpose of these garments is to accentuate the waist and keep the chemise and other garments from slipping. La Enagua or Senagua This is a petticoat. made of linen worn over the chemise and faisa. The everyday one is simply trimmed with a narrow length of lace, the festive is edged with openwork, ribbon, or wider crochet or bobbin lace. It is gathered with tiny folds into a waistband with a drawstring which. It has and opening about 30 cm long. La Mandileta This is a small apron measuring half a yard by three quarters. It is of red cloth trimmed with ribbon and tied around the waist. The festive one may have yellow cut out applique designs on the front. The everyday one is plain. The purpose of the mandileta is to block the openings of the petticoats and skirts. It is not visible when fully clothed. Los Guardapies This term may be literally translated as 'toe guards', but is the local name for the skirts. They are smock-gathered around the waist as far down as the hips. This causes the top of the skirts to fit closely around the body, and they flare out below that. This forms the unique outline of this costume. Traditionally three skirts are worn on top of each other. The underskirts are of plain cloth, usually wool, and may be red, dark green or navy blue, the topmost skirt may be of percale, flannel, satin or silk, but may only be red, blue, or black. The everyday top skirt is edged with one row of ribbon on the hem, green for the blue or black ones, or black if in mourning, and blue for the red ones. The underskirt may also have one row of ribbon if it is longer than the top skirt and the edge will be seen. The festive top skirt has five rows of ribbon. The lower edge of the smock-gathered area is covered with an embroidered band which is black for the black skirts, light blue for the red or blue skirts and light green for the green skirts. La Faltriquera This is a loose pocket which has a waistband that is tied around the waist. It is worn over the skirt and under the apron. It may be trimmed with ribbon but is not usually visible and is not greatly ornamented as in some other regions. El Mandil This is the apron. It is smock-gathered in the same way as the skirts and may have a similar band of embroidery over the bottom part of the gathering. It may be as long as the top skirt or somewhat shorter and has a band which ties around the waist. It is edged like the skirts, but with only one or two bands of ribbon, lace, embroidery, trim, etc. Some newer ones have a second pair of ribbons sewn onto the middle, separated from the ones on the edge. There is often a panel sewn over the top of the smock gathered part. The everyday and Sunday versions are often of printed cotton material. El Jubon or el Jugon This is a short, fitted jacket. It is always black, although it may be made of various materials. The front is ornamented with ribbon, galloon, and metallic lace. The sleeves are narrow, with cuffs that feature ornamental buttonholes and buttons. It is used in cooler weather and for many more formal occasions. The back of the jacket and also the back of the skirt have decorative ribbons pinned on that trail and move. A shoulder shawl is often worn with the jacket today. This may be colored silk, but more often is tulle with ivory embroidery and sequins and trimmed in lace. The ribbons on the back may be pinned over the shawl. The hair is pulled back into an elongated bun on the upper rear part of the head. If there is insufficient hair a wool pad is incorporated. This gives the distinctive elongated shape to the various kerchiefs and headdresses which are worn. Sometimes, especially for girls, the bun is simply covered with a wide ribbon. Kerchiefs are simply pinned on top of the head, and a simple headdress is also sometimes worn. Las Calcetas y las Medias. For everyday wear in warm weather, white stockings, las calcetas, are worn. These may be of cotton or linen, and generally have a knitted in design. For colder weather and more formal occasions, another pair of stockings, las medias are worn over them. These are of red wool and are plain knitted. They do not have a toe. They have symmetrical designs embroidered on them, consisting of rectangles forming a line up the side with multicolored chain stitch designs branching off of it. There are many designs, but there is a remarkable uniformity to the overall composition. Various types of shoes are worn, simpler ones for every day and Sunday, of leather with a heel, los Zapatos, [male shoes]. For festive occasions shoes of cloth with no heels and decorated with ribbons, ruffles, lace, etc are worn, las Zapatas, [female shoes]. See the above images. Los Pañuelos de Hombros Various shoulder shawls may be worn with this costume. I have already mentioned the Pañuelo de Oro, made of tulle or fine silk with white and gold embroidery which may accompany the formal jacket. A white shawl with lace edging may be worn in colder weather. Commercially produced Manila shawls with typical Chinese-style machine embroidery and long fringe may be worn, as everywhere in Spain. They also wear home embroidered shawls sometimes known as 'Avila Style'. These have shorter fringe, are closed with silver clasps and have a distinctive style of embroidery. This last type of shawl is often worn with a different type of jacket with rather wider sleeves in various colors, sometimes with a ruffled cuff. This garment is called los Mangos. La Mantellina This is a short cape which is worn over the head for going to church and important ceremonies. It is an integral part of the Bridal costume. It may be dark or white, depending on the occasion. This garment is found over much of Spain, and also in parts of Sardinia. It is trimmed with ribbon, cloth applique, galloon, and/or lace, There is a small tassel which helps center the garment on the forehead. As with other living costumes, there are many rules as to which version of the costume is appropriate for which occasion, down to the color of skirts, how many rows of trim on the skirt, which kerchief is appropriate, etc. There is even a version of the costume which is worn by members of a family in which there is an upcoming wedding to announce the Banns. This is called El Traje del Trapillo. Since this article is already so long, I will stop here and continue with the men's costume and linen embroidery in another article. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. Roman K. Some ladies from Lagartera doing a dance. One is in the dickey and bodice, the second is wearing a regular 'Manila' Shawl, the third is in widow's clothing, mostly in black, and the fourth is wearing a locally embroidered shawl over a colored sleeved jacket. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRqQvgbXHA Here are some links showing the costume and also the local style of embroidery on house linens. I will talk more about these in the next article. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz0ayTq124M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5HpNdEdoA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17lchXOEsQA email:[email protected] Material M.a Guadalupe Fernández González, 'El Traje Tipico de Lagartera', Toledo, Spain, 1993 Florencia Herraez Lozano, H.C. 'Orden i Modo de Vestir el Traje de Lagartera', Toledo, Spain, 2000 Isabel de Palencia, 'The Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972 Jose Manuel Gomez-Tabanera, 'Trajes Populares y Costumbres Tradicionales', Madrid, 1950

Hello all, Today I will talk about another type of embroidery from Eastern Podillia, specifically the southern parts of Khmel'nytska and Vinnytsia oblasts. This is called Nyz, which in Ukrainian means below, and is traditionally worked on the wrong side of the cloth. In English this is generally known as Darning Stitch. This is related to the Hutsul style of embroidery which is called Nyzynka, but is not as developed. This general technique is very old, which is attested to by its wide distribution, being found in Norway, Spain, Romania, Dalmatia, Voronezh, southeast Asia, and many spots in between, as well as in Podillia. In Eastern Podillia this type of embroidery is usually done in black, as in the above example. These three photos are of the same chemise, the three part canon of the general region being visible on the sleeves: a wide band on the shoulder piece, a second narrower band on top of the sleeve, this often is of a contrasting color or texture, and then vertical or diagonal stripes down the lower sleeve. This arrangement is found in Podillia, Pokuttia, and Bukovyna, as well as in Bessarabia, Moldova, and parts of Romania. This stitch is worked by running a thread crosswise across the entire width of the design, running under and over 1 to 5 threads at at time. This results in the clean diagonal lines which are the hallmark of this technique. An even number of threads is only taken when running into a horizontal edge. 7or more threads are rarely taken, as then the surface thread is too long. This can result in a very elegant overall design. Here you can see the narrow design on the collar, a narrow design around the front opening just visible at left, a wide stripe down the front and a horizontal design on the shoulder inset. There is also a design below the shoulder seam, which is narrower, and is broken in the center of the sleeve to allow some gathers to be put in. Sometimes the black design is broken up with red, often in stripes which go all the way across the design. Here is an example, shown first from the front, and then from the back. Variations on this are possible.This is a piece which I embroidered on a sampler to try the technique. You will notice on this piece that there actually is no collar. The top edges of the body pieces and the sleeves are either hemmed or selvages, then are smock-gathered with strong linen threads to the desired dimension. Then a narrow design is embroidered with running stitches over and under the 'tubes'. This variation of neckline is widespread in southwestern Ukraine, but is not common. Sometimes the color composition is a bit more complex. When a thick strong line is desired for the composition, there are two choices, both of which are visible here above and below. You can go over three threads, under one, and then over another three, which results in a very fine white line in the middle of a wide colored one. The other option is to go over 4 threads, then take a backstitch under one thread, and continue forward over for another 4. This also results in a wide line over 7 threads, but instead of a thin white line there is a bit of a groove down the center of the line. You can see the result of the backstitched nyz in the red line framing the center motif above, and the other technique in the rest of the design. Here is a design done both ways so that you can see the difference. On the back side, the backstich is visible, so it looks the same either way. The horizontal gap in the embroidery may be left open, or it may be filled in with braid or herringbone stitch. The embroidery can also be all in red. You will notice that while the chemise at the top of the article has sleeves gathered into narrow wristbands, this piece has the sleeve ends gathered a short distance from the ends, forming frills on the wrists. Another noteworthy detail is that while the chemise at the top of the article has a separate shoulder inset, this chemise is cut with the sleeves and inset as one piece. Here the stripes on the lower sleeve have been omitted, and a row of isolated motifs takes the place of the second band. The red used may be of various shades. Here is another example of the three part canon all in black. The top and bottom parts are embroidered with nyz, but the second part is worked in a different texture using the same design. This stitch is called by several names, one of which is kafasor. This is very commonly used for this second, contrasting band, but is very rare otherwise. Most often it is worked in a contrasting color, but in this region is sometimes done in black, the only contrast being in texture. This technique consists of laying horizontal satin stitches across two or more threads, then continuing in columns, leaving gaps which form the design. These stitches may all be laid in the same direction, as here, or they may alternate direction. This necessitates skipping one or more threads in between, and so results in a more open design. this also tends to pull alternate stitches in opposite directions, which I believe is the case here. A closeup of the same chemise. Here is another chemise which uses this technique, in this case the bottom stripes are worked in a combination of cross stitch and holbein stitch. Here are a couple more examples. As elegant as the all black embroidery is, sometimes there is a desire to use other colors for accent. Or even make them a major part of the design. The chemise in this region is worn with a heavy wool wrap around skirt in the shape of a plain rectangle. This is called obhortka or opynka, and is held in place with a sash. A lower corner may be tucked up for ease of movement. On some of the chemises the lower hem is embroidered, so that means that they were meant to be seen below the overskirt, others do not. Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this interesting and maybe inspiring. This technique could be used for interesting projects, owning a piece of old Podillia. 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 Source Material: Liudmyla Bulakova-Sytnyk, 'Podil's'ka Narodna Vyshywka', Lviw, 2005 Yevhen and Tetiana Prychepiy, 'Embroidery of Eastern Podillia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 2007 E. Hasiuk and M. Stepan, 'Khudozhnje Vyshyvannia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1986 V. H. Bilozub et al, 'Ukrajins'se Narodne Mystetstvo - Tkanyny ta Vyshywky', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1960 Tetiana Kara-Vasylieva, 'Ukrajins'ka Vyshywka', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1993 Oksana Kosmina, 'Ukrajins'ke Narodne Vbrannia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 2006 E. M. Lytvynets', "Vyshyvannia i Nanyzuvannia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 2004 Olena Kylynych-Stakhurska, 'The Art of Ukrainian Embroidery', L'viw, 1996 Eudokia Sorokhaniuk, 'Nyzynka - Embroidery of the Hutsuls, Pennsauken, NJ, 2002

The Switzerland national costumes of 17th - 19th century originals. Original recordings from the Swiss costume festival, Zurich 14 March 1896.

Portuguese food is delicious, no doubt, but what are the 10 must-try Portuguese dishes you must try on your next trip to Portugal?

Hello all, Today I will return to Spain, to Aragon, province of Huesca, the valley of Ansó. Aragon is in the northeast of the country, between Catalonia and Navarre. Huesca is the northernmost of the three provinces of Aragon, and the Valle de Ansó is in the northwest corner. This valley has a well preserved folk costume tradition. You can see several of them in the image at the top of this article. This is likely because it is right up in the Pyrenees Mountains. The base of the women's costume is a full length chemise, camisa, in linen. The collar is gathered and smock pleated for its entire height. This is starched and molded into somewhat of a cup shape. The sleeves are smock gathered into the shoulder insets, and there is a narrow row of embroidery at the seam, mostly in black but with some other colors added. The sleeves are long, with a narrow writstband. The insets seem to be sewn to the sides of the body of the chemise, and together, they form the collar. Here is a video showing how to starch and shape the collar of the chemise, and otherwise get it ready to be stored and worn. You can see the shape and construction of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbQiIHBTYs The hair is divided into two parts and wrapped with a red or black ribbon. padded rolls called churros are joined to the hair, so that the resulting wrapped tubes can circle the head twice from each direction and are pinned into place. This recalls similar hairstyles in Scandinavia and Savoie. An underskirt, or petticoat is worn over the camisa. It is made of striped or plaid cotton in dark colors, or sometimes a single color. This is called Saya. It has a drawstring closure and is worn around the waist. There is a long jumper, consisting of a very short bodice with a long attached wool skirt worn over this. It is called Basquiña, and is made in red, black, and green. The normal version has a black bodice and a green wool skirt. The skirt is smock-gathered into the bodice, and shortly below that the cloth is worked into pleats. The bodice is bound around the neck opening in red, and around the armholes in yellow. For the everyday work costume, it is pinned back, allowing the saya to be visible. A scapular, Escapulario, is always worn with this. The scapular consists of two rectangles of cloth, one of which is highly ornamented with an image of Our Lady, or other religious image. The two are connected with ribbons maybe 20cm long. The ribbons are folded in half, and the middle of the ribbons is tied to the back of the right shoulder strap, the two rectangles hanging forward on the right shoulder. For the festive version of the costume, a brooch or pendant is attached to a red ribbon tied around the neck, and elaborate earrings are worn. Oversleeves are almost always worn. For everyday these manguitos are made of striped or plaid cotton or percale, they are gathered at the cuffs, and have a drawstring which ties closed above the elbow. They often match the saya, the underskirt. For the festive costume, the Mangas Cuerda are made of wool or finer material, of various colors. They are decorated with ribbon or trim, and are connected at the top by a double ribbon which crosses the back and helps hold them on. For the festive costume they are made in black. While unmarried girls wear the ribbon wrapped churros plain, married women tie a cap of lace or cloth over the headdress, and then pin a kerchief over that in various ways, sometimes more than one. For particular religious celebrations, a rosette of ribbons may be pinned to the front of the bodice. This typically has crosses, reliquaries and other religious symbols pinned to it. For little girls, especially for their first communion, the Basquiña is made in red. Note that their hair is not made up. For church going and religious ceremonies, the Basquiña is made in black, with a white hem, in which case it is called Saiguelo de lana. The Mangas are then made in white or another color, and have ribbons tying the cuffs closed. When actually in church, mantles are worn over the head, as we have seen in other places. For ceremonial occasions, a brocade apron is added. For weddings, the bride has a red apron and matching wide ribbons down the back. These are put on over a second Basquiña which has sleeves and is pinned up at the back. The daily mangitas are put on over the chemise, and then the attached sleeves, which are slit and are secured at the wrist with ribbons. This is the women's costume. Thank you for readingl I hope that you have found this interesting. Here is a website devoted to this valley. It has much good information on the costume, and I found it to be a valuable resource. It also has extensive galleries of photos. http://www.valledeanso.com/anso/eltrajetipico/ http://www.valledeanso.com/galeriafotografica/index.html Every year in this valley they have a festival showcasing the costume. Here is a video. Día d'o Traje d'Ansó - Festival of Folk costume in Anso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX64ivvSA0M Online sources: A collection of individual costume pieces. http://www.aragon.es/edycul/patrimo/etno/balcells/textilindumen.htm A blog entry about Anso costume in Castillian. http://josefinamendiara.blogspot.com/ A website that shows and i believe sells costumes from Aragon http://www.indumentariasanjorge.com/admin/controllerAdmin.php?action=presentacion Roman K email [email protected] Source Material: Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jesus Espallargas, 'El Traje Tradicional en Aragon', Antonio Jesus Gorria Ipas, 'El Valle de Anso y su Traje Tradicional', Zaragoza, Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972

JACA, SANTA CRUZ DE LA SERÓS, SAN JUAN DE LA PEÑA, ANSÓ Y FAGO DEL 2 AL 4 DE MAYO DE 1986 Desde San Juan de la Peña a Ansó hay 55 km. Primero por la carretera A-1603 durante 11 km., luego porla N-2…

LA SEÑA BERMEJA, NUESTRA BANDERA. La escuela de folclore Doña Urraca, se fundó en 1955, desde esta fecha, su labor por recuperar el folclore...

Hello all, Today I will return to Spain, to Aragon, province of Huesca, the valley of Ansó. Aragon is in the northeast of the country, between Catalonia and Navarre. Huesca is the northernmost of the three provinces of Aragon, and the Valle de Ansó is in the northwest corner. This valley has a well preserved folk costume tradition. You can see several of them in the image at the top of this article. This is likely because it is right up in the Pyrenees Mountains. The base of the women's costume is a full length chemise, camisa, in linen. The collar is gathered and smock pleated for its entire height. This is starched and molded into somewhat of a cup shape. The sleeves are smock gathered into the shoulder insets, and there is a narrow row of embroidery at the seam, mostly in black but with some other colors added. The sleeves are long, with a narrow writstband. The insets seem to be sewn to the sides of the body of the chemise, and together, they form the collar. Here is a video showing how to starch and shape the collar of the chemise, and otherwise get it ready to be stored and worn. You can see the shape and construction of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbQiIHBTYs The hair is divided into two parts and wrapped with a red or black ribbon. padded rolls called churros are joined to the hair, so that the resulting wrapped tubes can circle the head twice from each direction and are pinned into place. This recalls similar hairstyles in Scandinavia and Savoie. An underskirt, or petticoat is worn over the camisa. It is made of striped or plaid cotton in dark colors, or sometimes a single color. This is called Saya. It has a drawstring closure and is worn around the waist. There is a long jumper, consisting of a very short bodice with a long attached wool skirt worn over this. It is called Basquiña, and is made in red, black, and green. The normal version has a black bodice and a green wool skirt. The skirt is smock-gathered into the bodice, and shortly below that the cloth is worked into pleats. The bodice is bound around the neck opening in red, and around the armholes in yellow. For the everyday work costume, it is pinned back, allowing the saya to be visible. A scapular, Escapulario, is always worn with this. The scapular consists of two rectangles of cloth, one of which is highly ornamented with an image of Our Lady, or other religious image. The two are connected with ribbons maybe 20cm long. The ribbons are folded in half, and the middle of the ribbons is tied to the back of the right shoulder strap, the two rectangles hanging forward on the right shoulder. For the festive version of the costume, a brooch or pendant is attached to a red ribbon tied around the neck, and elaborate earrings are worn. Oversleeves are almost always worn. For everyday these manguitos are made of striped or plaid cotton or percale, they are gathered at the cuffs, and have a drawstring which ties closed above the elbow. They often match the saya, the underskirt. For the festive costume, the Mangas Cuerda are made of wool or finer material, of various colors. They are decorated with ribbon or trim, and are connected at the top by a double ribbon which crosses the back and helps hold them on. For the festive costume they are made in black. While unmarried girls wear the ribbon wrapped churros plain, married women tie a cap of lace or cloth over the headdress, and then pin a kerchief over that in various ways, sometimes more than one. For particular religious celebrations, a rosette of ribbons may be pinned to the front of the bodice. This typically has crosses, reliquaries and other religious symbols pinned to it. For little girls, especially for their first communion, the Basquiña is made in red. Note that their hair is not made up. For church going and religious ceremonies, the Basquiña is made in black, with a white hem, in which case it is called Saiguelo de lana. The Mangas are then made in white or another color, and have ribbons tying the cuffs closed. When actually in church, mantles are worn over the head, as we have seen in other places. For ceremonial occasions, a brocade apron is added. For weddings, the bride has a red apron and matching wide ribbons down the back. These are put on over a second Basquiña which has sleeves and is pinned up at the back. The daily mangitas are put on over the chemise, and then the attached sleeves, which are slit and are secured at the wrist with ribbons. This is the women's costume. Thank you for readingl I hope that you have found this interesting. Here is a website devoted to this valley. It has much good information on the costume, and I found it to be a valuable resource. It also has extensive galleries of photos. http://www.valledeanso.com/anso/eltrajetipico/ http://www.valledeanso.com/galeriafotografica/index.html Every year in this valley they have a festival showcasing the costume. Here is a video. Día d'o Traje d'Ansó - Festival of Folk costume in Anso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX64ivvSA0M Online sources: A collection of individual costume pieces. http://www.aragon.es/edycul/patrimo/etno/balcells/textilindumen.htm A blog entry about Anso costume in Castillian. http://josefinamendiara.blogspot.com/ A website that shows and i believe sells costumes from Aragon http://www.indumentariasanjorge.com/admin/controllerAdmin.php?action=presentacion Roman K email [email protected] Source Material: Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011 Jesus Espallargas, 'El Traje Tradicional en Aragon', Antonio Jesus Gorria Ipas, 'El Valle de Anso y su Traje Tradicional', Zaragoza, Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972

La Fête des Basques se déroulera les 7 et 8 septembre prochain.

Hello all, The Basques, of course, are the only remnant of the pre-Indo-European peoples and languages which remain. The Basque language, Euskera, and its relatives were once much more widespread, and it has been in retreat before Latin and its descendants for over 2,000 years now. However, The Basque community and language is still very alive and vigorous today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_%28greater_region%29 The Basques are a unique people who have kept very strongly many of their traditions: in language, food, music, ceremonies, dance, and even sports. They have not, as a whole, held on to a folk costume tradition any more than the French or Spanish have. There are several distinct costumes native to particular areas, however, and this is one of them. The Basque region is politically divided into three areas, the French Basque regions, the Spanish Basque regions, and Navarre. Navarre is split by language, the south being Castillian Speaking, and the north being Basque Speaking, south to about the level of Pamplona. I should mention that Navarre has a long history as a separate political entity, and there are people who identify primarily as Navarese. Today I am speaking about the costume tradition of northeast Navarre. If you look at the map above, this costume covers the three river valleys in the easternmost part of Navarre, which are, from west to east, Aezcoa - Aezkoa, Salazar - Zaraitzu, and Roncal - Erronkari. This area is currently linguistically mixed, with most people speaking Castillian, and about 5 % still speaking Basque. These three valleys are more clearly seen in the following physical map of Navarre. These three costume traditions are similar, but not identical. Aezcoa - Aezkoa Salazar - Zaraitzu Roncal - Erronkari For the remainder of this article, I will focus on the costume of Roncal - Erronkari, mostly because I have found much more information on this costume compared to the others. For the woman's costume, the foundation garment is the chemise, camisa [i have only found the basque names of a few items of the costume]. As in most places, it was made of linen, later cotton, and was originally ankle length. The opening is in the center front, there are shoulder inset pieces, [I am not sure from these photos whether the inset is sewn to the side or the top of the body, but it looks like they are sewn to the side]. The body of the camisa is gathered into the neck, which is low, stands up, and has gathered lace on the edge. The sleeve is gathered into the end of the shoulder inset, and sewn perpendicular to the body of the chemise with gussets under the arms. The shoulder inset is ornamented with lace or embroidery [these are the best photos which I could find]. As in many places, the chemise was later sometimes separated into two garments, shirt and underskirt. This piece also has embroidery or lace on a front placket covering the opening. The bodice, justillo or korputx, has a distinctive notch in front similar to the costume of Fana in Norway or Spisz in Slovakia. This notch is not found in the costumes of the neighboring valleys. The front edge is ornamented with a colored ribbon. My sources speak of it being laced, but in the photos which I have found it seems to be hooked closed. In older photographs, this ribbon is of a plain color with embroidery and sequins sewn onto it. In more recent photographs it is more common to see the use of brocaded cloth. Unmarried girls wear the bodice by itself. Married women wear a jacket over the bodice, which is identical except that it has sleeves and does not close all the way, but is laced shut so that the bodice is still visible in the opening. This garment is called jubon or korputx mangua. [I wonder what unmarried girls do when it's cold?] Over the long camisa, or underskirt with a short camisa, a petticoat of linen is worn. Over this are worn two wool skirts which are blue or violet. The top skirt is normally worn pinned up around the waist, showing a wide red facing sewn inside the hem which is called aldar. It is held in place by a pin or brooch called amabitxi. The hair is normally worn in a long braid, with a ribbon tied at the top, called zintamuxko. Bead necklaces are worn, and spectacular earrings, with a matching pendant which is attached to a velvet ribbon around the neck, called bitxi. For formal occasions, a small cape called mantilla is worn over the head. This is mandatory for church attendance. It is shaped to cover the head and leave a view just to the front. It is edged with a wide band of fancy material, edged with trim. There is a small tassel in the center of the head opening; this was to facilitate the centering of the mantilla in a time when household mirrors were rare. There are two small pieces attached to the corners which are used to hold the mantilla on the head. Today the mantilla is normally red. According to my sources, the topskirt is let down when attending church. This custom, while logical, is apparently no longer followed. Similar head coverings are used in other parts of Spain, and parts of southwestern Sardinia. While the mantillas used in the 20th cent are red, there is evidence that they used to be made in all four of the Liturgical colors of the Roman Catholic Church, which were worn for the appropriate feast days. Widows and women 'of a certain age' wear essentially the same outfit, except that the skirt is not pinned back, and the outer garments are all black. This of course is a description of the dress clothing. Everyday and work clothes were of course simpler. Single men wore black shoes, white stockings, linen underpants, black knickers, a white linen shirt with full sleeves, a colorful brocade vest and wide purple sash. Over this may be worn a white double-breasted wool jacket with black trim and possibly topstitching. Also a round black hat with chinstrap is worn either on the head or hanging on the back. When the jacket is worn, the vest might be plain black or gray. Upon his betrothal, a man changes the white jacket for a red or burgundy one. This may be worn for the first few years of marriage. After that, the man wears black stockings, a black vest and a black jacket with red trim. Formerly, a silk kerchief was often worn tied around the head under the hat, as in Aragon. This habit is now making a comeback. There is also a more somber, all black outfit used by older men for churchgoing. One last costume has been preserved here, as in some other parts of Spain, and that is the uniform used by municipal officials. Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this interesting and informative. I will end with a few more pictures of this costume. 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. Roman K. email: [email protected] Source Material: Here is a website dedicated to the costume and other aspects of Roncal - Erronkari, all in Castillian. This is a very good resource. http://indumentariaroncalesa.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/5-de-agosto-de-2012.html Francisco Arraras Soto, 'Navarra - Temas de Cultura Popular; Indumentaria Valles de Roncal, Salazar y Aezcoa', Pamplona, 1991 Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953 Isabel de Palencia, 'Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926 Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977 Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997 Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972