National costume of Italy (photo)

National clothes are an important way of self-identification of the people. It reflects the features of thinking and character as well as in the language. The development of the costume can be traced to changes in the cultural and political life of the people, to find out which aesthetic principles were valued by one or another nationality. In addition, they abound with all sorts of ornaments, and they are simply pleasant and interesting to study. The Italian national costume has one feature. What - find out from this article!

The Separated Kingdom

In fact, the main feature of Italy's national costume is that it simply does not exist. The constant change of various tribes, who conquered the Italian lands, did not allow him to take definitive shape.

At different times, the Etruscans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Franks, Goths dominated here, and they all made their adjustments to the daily dress of the Italians. Not to mention the fact that until the middle of the 19th century, Italy, like Germany, was divided into many kingdoms, republics and lands, which also did not contribute to the development of a uniform appearance of clothing.

As well as the dialect, Italy's national costume in each province had its own. And to this day, three border regions enjoy a special status with a predominance of a foreign language - French, German and Slovenian.

General Features

Of course, there are some features that are characteristic of all varieties of Italian attire. First of all, this is the brightness and variety of colors. This is not surprising - under the generous rays of the warm sun blossoming flowers not only on fertile soil, but also on the skirts of Italian beauties.

The serene blue sky, mild climate, sparkling sea gradually perfected the character of the inhabitants of the peninsula, giving the world one of the most cheerful people. All this absorbed the national costume of Italy. Photos of girls in Calabrian traditional clothes are charged with energy no worse than unrestrained joyful Italian singing.

In all costumes, great importance was attached to decorations. This was also an indispensable element of Italian clothing. Married women were supposed to wear a hat and a black jacket, unmarried women had a snow-white apron, and widows were black. A bachelor man could flaunt the streets in a red jacket and a green hat with red cords.

The main thing - in detail

Considering the costume of Italy, a photo of which can be seen in publications devoted to the history of national clothes, you can see that almost all the differences are concentrated in the field of accessories. The composition of clothes is almost the same everywhere: women wore a long skirt with an apron, a corset and a white embroidered shirt. The head was covered with a headscarf. Men on top of a white shirt wore a jacket or a waistcoat with long sleeves. Pants were often narrow and tucked into leggings.

National costume of Italy (photo): female

The Italian women's wardrobe consisted of a long skirt in a fold or an assembly, shirts (often embroidered) with wide sleeves and a corsage. They complemented this outfit with an apron, cervical and head scarf. All these elements can be found in all provinces and lands, the length of the skirt, color solutions, embroidery, the presence or absence of lace could differ.

For example, in the northern lands in the Middle Ages, laces were very popular, decorating the outfits of beauties watching fashion. In the lands bordering on Germany, everyday clothes were more reserved and stingy in details. But at the wedding everything was allowed: suits were decorated with ribbons, plaques, feathers and embroidery.

Suits of southern lands: Sardinia

The most diverse national costume of Italy in the southern provinces. The rich ladies of Sardinia, for example, wore dresses of bright fabrics, mostly red, adorned themselves with a lot of rings - sometimes they could be up to seven pieces.

Women from the poorest layers of the population never wore more than three rings, and their dresses were practical gray shades, with many pockets for the convenience of doing chores. The differences were also noticeable in the accessories: the buttons of rich ladies were exceptionally gold, the middle class could afford silver, and the poor made them out of simple metals.

The most important detail of the women's wardrobe was a scarf or shawl covering the shoulders. Often it was the result of many years of work by skilled embroiderers and was a real work of art: thin lace, expensive fabrics, painted only with natural dyes. Depending on the case on which this or that outfit was worn, its composition could sometimes be very complicated: up to several scarves and skirts at the same time.

And to this day, national costumes are sewn by hand from the most expensive fabrics. Its cost can reach up to 10 thousand euros.

The Italian national costume in Calabria has taken a lot from Roman and Greek apparels. The women's skirts were shorter and more magnificent, ribbons were woven into the braids, a long scarf wrapped around the waist. In the men's wardrobe was added one more detail - a raincoat. Most often he was sewn from black or red cloth.

Male Italian costume

The Italian folk costume was somewhat simpler for men than for the women - at least, they did not have to wear several pairs of pants. But it also had its own raisins. Usually it consisted of trousers just below the knee, a white shirt with a simple embroidery and a jacket or tank top. The traditional headdress - burrit - came from black or red wool.

Trousers could be of different lengths, but they were necessarily filled in leggings. One of the required elements was ragas - a piece of cloth that wrapped around the waist over the trousers. The front of the jacket was usually decorated with rich embroidery.

In Sardinia, a men's suit could include up to ten items. Instead of a cap, men wore a peculiar cap that hung sideways or gathered in folds from behind, resembling a beret.

National costume today

At the present time, national clothes on Italians can only be found only at Catholic or national festivities. This nation honors its traditions and uses every opportunity to remind itself and the world about its colorful history with pleasure. Adults and children wear national clothes and take to the streets. Especially love these holidays are little mods, because the Italian costume for children is no different from the "adult" version. Is that the size. The costume of Italy, the photo of which you will find in this article, has many variations. It's impossible to cover them all, as each region, even every village, had its own distinctive features in the manner of dressing. No wonder Italy was the birthplace of haute couture.