TRADITIONAL ROMANIAN CRAFTS

ROMANIAN COSTUMES

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CONTENTS

Traditional costume in Romania Men’s costume Women’s costume Workshop

TRADITIONAL COSTUME IN ROMANIA

The structure of Romanian traditional clothing has been unchanged throughout the history and can be traced back to the earliest times. The basic garment for both men and women is a shirt made of hemp, linen or wool. This was tied round the waist by using a fabric belt, narrow for women and wider for men. The cut of this basic shirt is similar for both men and women. In the past those worn by women usually reached the ankles, while men's shirts were shorter and worn over the trousers or leggings made from strips of fabric. Women always wear an apron over the shirt. This was initially a single piece of cloth wrapped round the lower part of their bodies and secured by a belt round the waist, as is still seen in the east and south-east of Romania. In Transylvania and the south-west of Romania this became two separate aprons, one worn at the back and one in front.

MEN’S COSTUME

Men's traditional clothing throughout Romania is composed of a white shirt, white trousers, hat, belt, waistcoat and or overcoat. Local differences are indicated by shirt length, type of embroidery, trouser cut, hat shape, or waistcoat decoration. In most areas shirts are worn outside trousers, which is the older style. This is a basic Balkan men's costume, largely uninfluenced by fashions from west or east. Hungarian and Saxon men living in Romania wear trousers with a more modern cut often made of dark material rather than white. This reflects their closer ties, and more frequent communication with the west.

MEN’S COSTUME - HATS

We have: Sheepskin hats Felt hats Straw hats

MEN’S COSTUME - HATS

Sheepskin hatsThere are four types found in Romania.High conical cap  - This is made of 4 pieces joined together

lengthwise. It can be worn peaked, with top bent forward, back or sideways, or with top sunk inwards, depending on local fashion. It is worn in Moldavia, Muntenia, Oltenia and Banat, originally by the "free men". In the mountains of Banat, the cap is sometimes worn with fur inside and a narrow white fur hem at base.

Round low cap - consisting of 2 parts, a long band forming a cylinder and a round top sewn to the upper edge of the cylinder.

Caps made of a single piece of fur are also found in Maramureş and Oaş. These are made by stretching the raw fur on a spherical wooden shaped block which makes it take the shape of the head. This simple "skull" cap was formally worn by serfs.

Cylindrical fur cap with the top larger than the base. This is worn by shepherds on both sides of the southern Carpathians due to this area being used for summer pastures by the Carpathian shepherds

MEN’S COSTUME - HATS

Felt hatsHard felt hats are made by craftsmen in workshops and are worn

throughout the year. These hats are found centred on the Saxon regions around Sibiu and Bistriţa and may have been introduced in Transylvania by the Saxons, whose craftsmen made them in workshops, from the 18th century. The wide brimmed hat appeared around 17th-19th century and felt hats with broad brims up to 60cm were worn in 19th & early 20th century, and continued to be worn in Valea Bistriţei, Moldavia until 1940s. Hats with 40cm brims were worn in central Transylvania and Muntenia. Felt hats with hard upturned brims - were worn in Crişana, Hunedoara and Bucovina following a fashion of the gentry. Wide brimmed felt hats with a large peacock feather are still worn in Năsăud , further south the hats are much reduced in size, shepherds in Sibiu and along the southern Carpathians wear felt hats with very small brims, the present day fashion tending to do away with the brim altogether.

MEN’S COSTUME - HATS

Straw hats

Straw hats are worn by men (and women) throughout Romania in the summer.  Straw hats vary in style from region to region although regional differences are now becoming less common as the straw version of the trilby takes over.

MEN’S COSTUME - SHIRTS

The traditional men shirt is one of the oldest elements of costume in Romania and the surrounding countries.

The cut and form of men’s shirts have fewer variants and less elaborate decoration than women’s shirts.

Traditional shirts were made of rectangular widths of white fabric woven on 2 heddles, both of vegetable fibres. Working shirts were made of hemp; shirts for festive wear were made of flax or cotton or animal fibres such as cocoon silk and very thin wool yarn.

In some parts the fabric used for shirts was woven with strips of various colours. In central and north Moldavia the shirt was sometimes woven in simple geometric patterns of white cotton yarn on background of thin woollen cloth.

MEN’S COSTUME - SHIRTS

Straight ShirtThis is the oldest form of men's shirt. It is made of one piece

of cloth forming the front and back, with a hole cut out for the neck and a slit from the neck to the chest.

This style has straight sleeves wider at the wrists which are joined to the main garment at the shoulder and had no cuffs. The only variation is to insert side gussets to give extra width, and a square of cloth under the arms.

The oldest version had no collar and was decorated only around the neck and sleeve ends. Later versions have collars and cuffs added, and have wider gussets which may be gathered into the collar and are more elaborately decorated.

MEN’S COSTUME - SHIRTS

Straight shirt with gussetsThis type of shirt was made with up to 8

triangular shaped gussets inserted in the front and back with pointed ends upwards forming a "M" shape, which was accentuated by black or yellow embroidery. The "shirt" was fuller due to the gussets and was often pleated. This style of shirt was worn mainly by shepherds.

MEN’S COSTUME - SHIRTS

Shirt with yoke or shouldersShirts with separate piece(s) of material joined at

the shoulders to form a yoke, or with inset pieces of material over the shoulders became common in the west of Romania from the early 20th century.

This type of shirt usually had a collar. The tops of the shoulders and the cuffs were decorated with embroidery, and there was also decoration on the collar.

MEN’S COSTUME - TROUSERS

The earliest form of trousers were strips of leather wrapped around each leg from the ankle upwards. Later strips of cloth were used.

In some regions the tops of the 2 legs were drawn together by a belt 4-6 cm wide, made of leather or hemp cord worn low on the hips. The fabric used for making trousers was usually white, although the type and thickness used depended on the season.

Summer trousers made of thin wool or linen could be tight, or wide. Both thick and thin trousers were made from a single piece of fabric cut into various sized rectangles.

The cut differes from region to region, as do the names used for trousers worn in summer and winter. In the south, dark trousers became fashionable from 19th century.

MEN’S COSTUME - TROUSERS

SUMMER TROUSERS

WOMEN’S COSTUMEAPRONS

Straight apronThe most common costume type has two rectangular straight

aprons which are worn at the front and back with the white underskirt showing at the sides.

These aprons are made of a rectangular piece of woollen material, either a single width or 2 widths joined together either vertically of horizontal.

The size varies from zone to zone, as does the style of decoration. They are tied round the waist using cords. 

WOMEN’S COSTUMEAPRONS

Wrap round skirtA rectangular piece of fabric about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide worn

wrapped around the waist is found in Carpathian mountain areas in Western Moldavia, northern Muntenia, and Transylvania.

This form of skirt is also worn beyond the borders of Romanian in Ukraine and Moldavia, and also further in the East.

WOMEN’S COSTUMEAPRONS

Pleated or gathered apronIt is made of home woven material, thick or thin cloth wool, cotton or

cashmere, and decorated with embroidery, or more recently of factory woven material such as floral printed calico. 

In Western Transylvania these aprons were originally made of white linen and were decorated with woven or embroidered motifs, which matched the decoration on the skirt, and blouse.

These were replaced by aprons made from the floral printed factory made material from the mid 20th century. In parts of southern Transylvania a black or dark coloured replaced the front towards the end of the 19th century possibly based on the gathered aprons worn by the Saxons in these areas.

WOMEN’S COSTUMESHIRTS

Women’s shirts were originally made of linen, hemp or wool and later cotton or silk homespun fabric woven using 2 heddles.

Thicker fabrics such as wool or thick linen were used in most of Transylvania and Moldavia and thinner fabrics (thin linen, cotton or silk) were used in southern Transylvania, parts of southern Moldavia, Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobrogea.

WOMEN’S COSTUMESHIRTS

Straight cut shirtThe straight or old style shirt was worn by women of all ages

in the Baragan plain and Dobrogea and by older women elsewhere. This is the same as the oldest type of men’s shirt.

It is made using a single width of homespun fabric which is cut into rectangles. The main width forms the body, a round hole is cut for the head and a slit is made at the front. It has no shoulder seam. Each sleeve is made of a width of material and is joined to the main part at shoulder level.

A small square of fabric (gusset) is inserted under the arm and side gussets were later added to give extra width. The older versions of the straight shirt did not have a collar.

WOMEN’S COSTUMESHIRTS

Shirt with shoulder insetsShirt with shoulder insets is a variant of the straight

shirt. A variant of this type is found in Maramureş where the two side gussets extend over the shoulders and the front and back pieces are gathered at the top edge, often using decorative smocking, making a square neck.

One or more extra frills are often added at the neck edge, and square underarm gussets are inserted. The sleeves are made from one and a half pieces of cloth and are gathered where they join the shoulders and at the lower edge using smocking matching that at the neck edge, either into a cuff or open out to form a frill. 

WOMEN’S COSTUMESHIRTS

Shirt with YokeShirt with a yoke has two variants. The first type is found in

south east Romanian. A rectangle of fabric is used to make a square yoke onto which rectangles of fabric are joined to form the front and the back of the blouse, and the two sleeves. Underarm gussets are inserted to give the blouse extra fullness. The edges of the yoke are decorated with embroidery.

The second variant is found in the north west. It is a later evolution of the straight shirt probably influenced by Slovakian and Ruthenian costume. In this variant a rectangle of fabric is used to make a square yoke onto which rectangles of fabric are gathered to form the front and back of the blouse.

WOMEN’S COSTUMESHIRTS

Gathered round neck shirt This type of blouse can be seen on the monument at

Adamclisi and Trajan’s Column, hence is thought to have existed at least since Dacian times. This form of shirt is also found in Slavic populations in Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine

The front, back and sleeves of this shirt are made of rectangular pieces of homespun fabric. Four pieces are used for the body of the blouse, one for the front, one for the back and two for the side gussets with a V shape cut out to insert the sleeves which are joined in at neck in raglan fashion. This type of shirt also has a gusset  inserted under the arm to ease movement. Originally the neck was gathered using a cord.

WOMEN’S COSTUMEHEADWEAR

Headwear and hairstyle were the only part of a woman's traditional dress, which depicted her marital status. Single girls had their heads uncovered. In the traditional wedding ceremony covering the head was a significant moment.

There were three stages in the ceremony, dressing the hair, gathering the hair, and covering the head. After their wedding day married women always had their heads covered. Each region had its own ways of traditional hairdressing, and in certain regions there were special decorated headdresses for wedding ceremonies.

WOMEN’S COSTUMEHEADWEAR

Oblong cotton scarfThe oblong cotton scarf or silk veil is the oldest type of  traditional

head covering. The oblong cotton scarf was worn in whole of Moldavia, Muntenia, Oltenia, Dobrogea and certain regions of Transylvania until the end of the 19th century, and is still used for decoration and a household linen in village houses.

It is made of flax, hemp, or cotton and is around 7-8 ft long and 15-20 inches wide and can be decorated with embroidery and beads. The style of wearing, varied from region to region and with fashion.

WOMEN’S COSTUMEHEADWEAR

Square scarfA basma is a square of fabric woven in cotton, silk or wool, and either

plain, decorated with embroidery, or printed. They can be of varying size and thickness. 

Basmalele are usually folded in half diagonally and worn by women to cover their heads, by tying them at the back, or under the chin depending on the zone, nationality, fashion or age of the woman.

Basmalele have been found all over Romania since the latter half of nineteenth century. These are usually factory made in fine-spun industrially woven wool and were originally imported from the Orient. Printed floral headscarves are the most common type seen today in Transylvania and Moldavia.

WOMEN’S COSTUMEHEADWEAR

Triangular scarfTriangular scarves are worn mostly in the south, Dobrogea,

East Moldavia and across the Danube. These were home woven of thin white cotton or muslin or bought ready made and are often fringed with lace and beads.

  The way of tying these varies from village to village. They can be tied under the chin, or with the ends passed under the chin and the corners turned up and tied on top of the head, or tied behind the neck, with the top wrapped around loops of hair.

WOMEN’S COSTUMEHEADWEAR

BonnetsIn Banat and southwest Hunedoara small cloth bonnets are

worn mainly by married women. These are made of flax or cotton fabric which is embroidered

with woollen, silk, cotton or metal thread. There are many different styles, some based on late 18th century bonnets found in other parts of Europe. 

The predominant colours are red with older women wearing bonnets in more subdued colours. 

The richest style of decoration is woven geometric motifs which cover the entire bonnet. These are made with  a special technique using a mirror to follow the pattern on the back of the cloth. Silver and gold coins and beads are used as decoration. 

WOMEN’S COSTUMEHEADWEAR

Straw HatsStraw hats made in specialist workshops are worn by women

along the Carpathians, and in south and central Transylvania.

They are worn in the fields in summer, often over a scarf as protection from the sun and for festive occasions when they are decorated with colourful ribbons, tassels, beads, flowers and small mirrors.

The most common style has a small crown and wide brim and

was possibly introduced by the Saxon Germans. 

WORKSHOP

Transforming modern clothes by using traditional motifs that are specific for Maramures

WORKSHOP

Materials that we usedWe mainly used motifs from the traditional costumes from

Maramures . Materials that we used:

- silk threads- leather threads- cotton- linen- flakes- beads

The embroidery was made in our specific colours: white,

black, red and green.

WORKSHOP

Techniques that we used In order to transform the modern clothes we

used the techniques of the traditional art:- knitting- embroidery- beading- decorating

The transformation was exclusively handmade, without using anything industrial.

WORKSHOP

Casual outfitBEFORE

Shorts White T-shirt

WORKSHOP

Casual outfit - AFTER

Red lace was added on sleeves and down and a red rose, made of linen, as a decoration

A linen red rose on the shorts, to match the T-shirt

WORKSHOP

Casual outfit – READY!

We added a linen girdle that is embroidered with flakes, a red rose for the hair and jewelry made of polymeric paste and leather.

WORKSHOP

Evening outfit - BEFORE

White linen shirt Black linen skirt

WORKSHOP

Evening outfit - AFTER

The specific shirts of Maramures is colourful , so we embroidered the sleeves and the low-cut neck with beads and flakes.

Specific skirts are loose and colourful . We sewed white lace in the lower part and we made false lap with the same type of lace. We also added colourful flakes.

WORKSHOP

Evening outfit – READY!

The evening outfit was garnished with a linen girdle with red, green and black stitching; we added to the whole outfit a red rose for the hair and jewelry made of polymeric paste.

TRADITIONAL ROMANIAN CRAFTS

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