DESCRIPTION OF COSTUMES
Slovene cultular heritage is presented, among others,
through national costumes, which evoleved in varios periods of time and under
the influence of various factors. The development of national or folk costumes
differs from that of fashion, which was affected by global trends. Thus,
nationality, which can hardly be discerned from the general clothing styles of the
past, is clearly expressed through national dress and folklore group costumes. Along with the remaining closing heritage, Slovene national costumes preserve
and promote Slovene national identety and, as such should be preserved. In the
past centuries, Slovene peasantry did not adopt one single, uniform style of
clothing; rather, the latter varied by rigion. It was further affected by
economic, social and political circumstances, all of which resultet in
different cuts, patterns, embroidery, accessories, colours, etc. The way one
dressed also reflected their social position within a certain area, village or
town.
KRAKOVO AND TRNOVO COSTUMES
By the Ljubljanica River in Ljubljana
lies Krakovo, the former district of shrewd and wealthy merchants,who transported various
goods from the Trnovo port into the city centre. Though the Krakovo people were
not accepted as burghers, they wanted to be their equals. And the profitable
trade business allowed them to dress much
like the townspeople.
With regard to Goldstein's 1838 portrayal
and later with cylindrical crowns and large buckles. They also wore white
shirts with voluminous sleeves, with silver buttons. The vest was made from
silk and adorned wit silver buttons. A silk cloth was tied around the man's
neck and in some cases a silk belt was girded around his waist. Over this, men
put woollen jackets wit fur trms at the sleeves and collar.
With reference to the same to sources and
comparative materials, women wore the headpiece avba or krchief (peče) on their heads. The velvet band on the
avba was embroidered with a gold thread and trimmed with white lace. The avba
also had a wide and long ribbon attached to the back, with ends extending to he
women's loins and lower. The lace trimmed kercief was folded into a triangle
and put on the head with its ends crossed at the back and tied at the top of
the head. Women wore white gloves trimmed with lace, nd pu a waist.length
cardigan (špencer) with puffed sleeves over their blouse. The skirt was wide,
made from printed lien or other fabric and bordered with green silk ribbon. On
their feet, women had flat-eeled shoes decorated with a silk bow and cut stone.
They tied a black silk apron with black
lace trim ove their skirt, and a metal belt (sklepanec) around their waist.
Their necks were adorned with cross pendants, and they had broohes attached to
the collars. Some also wore earrings.
PREKMURJE COSTUMES
Until the end of the 19th century, outfits frome homemade
linen were rather common among the Prekmurje peasantry. Before WWI, most men
and women already turned to garmens styled under the influance of the then
simple fashion and simular to what people wore in the largest part of the
Slovene ethinc area. Early 20th century adhernce to tradition and preference
for white and light -colured clothes are
reflected in the great popularity of light – coloured blouses. In the 19th
century, men were rather short and white linen trousers and knee high boots.
They put west from bought fabric over their skirts and narrow – brimed hats on
their heads. A special feature in the boys' clothing style were bougquets
pinned to their hats, with colourful ribbons extending all the way to the
waist. The ribbons were given to boys by their girlfriends. The more strips a
boy wore, the more he was loved by girls.
PRIMORSKA (LITTORAL) COSTUMES - TRIESTE
WITH HINTERLAND
In the second half of the 19th century,
the women from Trieste and its surroundings were dressed rather lavishly in
comparison to other Slovenes due to their high living standard and the
proximity of Trieste. Soon after the
middle of the 19th century, the Trieste natinal costume, which was marked by exquiste materials, abundance, various
ornaments, jewellery etc., began to develop intensely.
Man's costumes representing the clothing
style f the Trieste locals consist of dark blue and black suits bordered with
red. Some feature long trousers, a vest and a jacket, while others come with
knee-length trousers, coloured socks and no jacket. Furthermore, costumes
inclide a staw hat adorned with flowers, a regular hat, no hat or a fur hat
referred to as frkindiš. Women's costumes consist of white socks heavily
scrunched at the ankle; the more a
woman's stlckings were scrunched, zhe wealthier she was considered to be.
Wealth was also evident in the skirt hiding several petticoats and a ballerina
(folded strip used to enlarge a woman's backside). Aprons are made from silk
and comee in variouss colours. At the left side of the apron, women tie its
long strips into a bow. They wear a lot of jwellery (earrings,rings, brooches
etc.), which is not the case with other costumes. On their heads, married women
used to wear kerchief (peče) decorated with handmade embroidery and lace, while
maidens wore braaids. Some wwomen alsso wore fringed scarved (karpon) about the
shoulders, pinning a bouquet of coastal flowers to theirnbust on special
occasions.
GORENJSKA (UPPER CARNIOLAN) COSTUMES
the Gorenjska style of clothing in the
first half of the 19th century was the foundation for the development of the
Gorenjska region costume, which was soon adopted as Pan-Slovene. It is, without
a doubt, the best known of the Slovene varieties, and has beenused by numerous
folklore grups and folpop bands. It can also be found in suvenirs, miniature
models etc.
Men's variety of the Gorenjska region
costume includes knee-length suede trousers
(irhrice), high boots and a velvet vest (lajbč) worn over he shirt. A
silk scarf folded into a triangle is placed ovr the shirt, but it is mainly
concealed by the overlying vest and only shows its brigt colours at the
shoulders and neck. A carnation, one of te symbols of Gorenjska and Slovenia,
is pinned to te left side of the vest, near the heart.
Women's Gorenjska region costume consists
of a silk dress that my come in vaious colours (blue, green, red, brown, grey), silk
scarf worn around the shoulders, a black silk apron and a
blouse with a short body and puffed sleeves that spread in movement. The ends
of a silk scarf are pinned together just above the waist and decorated with a
fresh red carnation. At the right side of the waist, right at the hip, women
wear a folded handkerchief trimmed with lace. Underneath the dress, they wear two long ruffled petticoats
(untara) to make them look bigger and hence wealthier. the more petticoats a
young men. The stockings with small
knots tht made the legs look thicker also served this purpose. Around the hips,
women wore a metal belt (sklepanec) decorated with a ribbon, and their heads
were covered with either zavijačka, i.e. a headpiece for maidens, avba or peča
(kerchief).
BELA KRAJINA (WIHTE CARNIOLAN) COSTUMES
Theough not oficially confirmed, Bela krajina is supposed to
have been named after the 'white' Carniolan people, who were set apart from the
northeren, 'black Carniolan people' by their clothing, marked by the whitness
of bleached linen. The famous Bela krajina character Zeleni Jurij (Green
George), who chases away winter and announces spring, is also dressed in white,
though his attire is complemented by a cluster of birch branches. Another one
of region's typlical features is the traidional dance kolanje. In the 19th
century, Bela krajina men were linen trousers (bregeše) and along linen shirt
(robača) gurded with a leather belt wich was decorated with geometrical
imprints. The trauser were usually fringed at the bottom. One special occasion,
men tied a red sloth around the neck and adorned their hats with greens – often
with birch, another symbol of Bela krajina apart from the white linen. On their
feet were black or brown shoes. In 19th century women wore a white scirt with a
bodice, and a white linen or cotton blouse. In some warieties and one special
occosions, the aprom was starched and pleated. The belt (tkanica) was a different colour, often red with black
strips. Red socks were also a popular item. On festivals and formal occasions
woman wore necklases and black or brown shoes. In the 2nd, half of the 19th
century, the women of metlika began tying their kerchiefs (peča) in the
'flower' style, a variety of the 'comb' style. Maidens wore wreaths on their
heads, in sprinh made of fresh greens.
ŠTAJERSKA (STYRIAN) COSTUMES
Some of the c worn by the Rožmarin folklore group were
preforming dances from Štajerska testify that certain old features in cuts and
styled retained popularity for a fairly long time. But, above it was the blue
apron that made its way into traditional garmend representations from
Štajerska. While such aprons were, indeed, worn by the Štajerska people, they
were neither part of their everyday nor formal apparel .
The man in the
photograps wear white shirts and dark wool trousers, boots, west and hats as
well as blue aproms. With regard to the fact that carnival costumes live on
among the Štajerska people, dancers also wear carnival masks in their dance
preformances.
DOLENJSKA (LOWER CARNIOLAN) COSTUMES
Dolenjska is the land of cviček, where
boys and girls like to dance at grape harvests.The clothing heritage of
Dolenjsska had nt received propeer attention among folklore groups for a long time. When first reconsructions
of Dolenjska clothing styles appeareed, they referrd to the late 18h aand early
19th centuries.
At the beginning of the 19th cenury, men
from Dolenjska wore suede or wool trousers, linen shirts and, most
frequently, red wool vest wwith large silver buttons. Their feet were dressed
in hight boots, and their wide-brimmed hats were often decorated with buckles.
In that time, women wore wwhite gloves and skirts with attached bodices in various
colours (the popular blue, dark red, orange, green etc.). The bodice was
usually laced at the front. An apron, usually white, was put on over the skirt,
and a kerrchief (peča) was folded into a triangle and simply placed on the
woman's head. On their feet, women usually wore black shoes adorned with
buckles.
photos
Ubald Trnkoczy
