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Romanian folk costumes or folk clothing has remained unchanged for centuries. We are not yet sure about the origins and the time line here. There seem to be some similarities with peasant styles throufgout the Balkans. Some of the outfits seem to show a Turkish influence, but we are not yet sure how the Ottoman era affected folk costumes. The basic garment for both men and women is a shirt or chemise cut similarly. It is traditionally made from hemp, linen, or a woollen fabric. It is only in the 19th century that inexpensive coitton fabrics become available. The basic shirt or chemise was secured around the waist with a destinctive fabric belt. The basic shirt/chemise did vary in length. Women wore the garment long at ankle-lengths. Men tended to wear short lengths ahd with pants or leggings fashioned from fabric strips. Women wear an apron over their chemise to protect the garment below the waistline. These aprons vary somewhat. Im nuch of Romania this apron was a simple cloth worn at the front of the skirt with a waist band. In Transylvania and the southwest it is common to wear two of these aprons with one protecting the back of the chemise. As is common with folk costumes, there were no destinctive garments for children. A HBC reader has noted that one item of folk costume in Romania and the Balkans were strap shoes or sandals. We are not sure when this footwear first appeared. We can not yet establish any connection with the strap shoes and sandals that became popular for children in Western Europe and America during the early-20th century.
Romanian folk costumes or folk clothing has remained unchanged for centuries. We are not yet sure about the origins and the time line here. There seem to be some similarities with peasant styles throufgout the Balkans. Some of the outfits seem to show a Turkish influence, but we are not yet sure how the Ottoman era affected folk costumes.
The basic garment for both men and women is a shirt or chemise cut similarly. It is traditionally made from hemp, linen, or a woollen fabric. It is only in the 19th century that inexpensive coitton fabrics become available. The basic shirt or chemise was secured around the waist with a destinctive fabric belt. The basic shirt/chemise did vary in length. Women wore the garment long at ankle-lengths. Men tended to wear short lengths ahd with pants or leggings fashioned from fabric strips. Women wear an apron over their chemise to protect the garment below the waistline. These aprons vary somewhat. In nuch of Romania this apron was a simple cloth worn at the front of the skirt with a waist band. In Transylvania and the southwest it is common to wear two of these aprons with one protecting the back of the chemise. As is common with folk costumes, there were no destinctive garments for children. A HBC reader has noted that one item of folk costume in Romania and the Balkans were strap shoes or sandals. We are not sure when this footwear first appeared. We can not yet establish any connection with the strap shoes and sandals that became popular for children in Western Europe and America during the early-20th century.
The basic white garments worn by men and boys could be very plain. This was especially the case for the everyday wear of people in villages and rural areas. These white outfits were still very common in the 19th cebtury. There were also garments for specil days and celebrations. This included folk outfits for city people who normally dressed in standard Eueopean garments. This increasingly became the general pattern after World war I. Some city people would by a folk outfit for their children for both notagic and patriotic reasons. Adults also had these fancy, decocrated outfits, but they were especially popular for children.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1890s]
[The 1900s]
[The 1910s]
[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Return to the Main Folk Costume page]
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[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
[School smocks]
[Sailor suits]
[Pinafores]
[Long stockings]
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