Figure 1.--These middle-class urban children, presumably brother and sister, have dressed up in traditional folk costumes, showing of some of the vasic garments. The portrait is undated, but look like the 1930s. |
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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.
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 Romanian Folk Costume page]
[Return to the Main Folk Costume page]
[Smocks]
[Long pants suits]
[Knicker suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
[School smocks]
[Sailor suits]
[Pinafores]
[Long stockings]
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