The Costume of the 1800s
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In 1837, the arrival of the first queen of Greece in Athens, Queen Amalia, was a milestone in the evolution of costume.
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An intelligent woman, she soon realized her attire ought to emulate that of her oddly dressed people; and so, she created a romantic folksy court dress, what it became a national Greek costume still known as the Amalia dress.
It follows the Biedermeier style, with a kaftan (kavadi) top over which is worn a richly embroidered jacket. It was completed with a cap or fez, traditionally worn by married women, or with the kalpaki (a toque) of the unmarried woman, to which was added the black veil donned by Roman Catholics for going to church.
This dress became the usual attire of all Christian townswomen in Turkish-occupied as well as liberated Balkan lands as far north as Belgrade.
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Local costume held its own in villages situated in the plains, on the mountains, and by the sea-coast.
It was indeed at this juncture that they seem to have ceased evolving, just a short while before they began to be abandoned, in the face of the second and more powerful wave of western fashion: the fashion established by Queen Olga (from 1864 on), in alliance with the Greek industrial revolution which, in the case of clothing, was marked by sewing mashines, fashion periodicals and embroidery pattern books, and most importantly by the schools that taught cutting and dress-making skills.
Right: Bride's costume, Attica, c. 1890, Museum of Folk Art, Athens
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Man's Costume
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In the Peloponnese, Attica and generally Main Greece men wore the foustanella, a pleated white skirt that has prevailed as the official Greek man's costume.
The Greek warrior of the revolution against the Ottoman rule/occupation (1821) adopted the foustanella and later on it became the official dress of King Otto's court.
Today we see men wearing this costume on certain celebrations, national holidays and by the soldiers/members of the special regiment (euzonoi).
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Right: Costume once belonged to an Aid-de-Camp of Capodistria, First Governor of Greece.
Museum of Popular Art, Nafplio, Greece.
Special features of this costume are the long foustanella and the silk turban worn by the wealthy around their fez. Over the red silk sash men wore a gold selachi finely embroidered.
This particular costume has three jackets: the inner ghileki, second the fermeli with sleeves worn properly (not thrown over the shoulders), and the fermeloto guileki worn on top.
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Spyros Louis (1875-1940),
Marathon gold medalist, 1896.
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