Costume

Male costume which comprises a red vest (yelekkin) with yellow embroidery at the openings, a grey shirt, a brown headscarf, black baggy trousers (vraka) and boots (podines).

Foustanin, cotton dress made of striped alatzia fabric. Red, green, yellow, orange, and black stripes are formed in the weft against a black background. The garment comprises a wide skirt and a separate bodice, which are joined at the waist.

The white shirt is made of taisto fabric, with lengthwise puckered bands created by warp threads of two different tensions. There is a vertical opening at the chest.

Women’s headscarf made of kouroukla, dyed in a deep red colour called tzeramidin. It is decorated with printed floral motifs in red and yellow, with black outline. The designs – of the edges (kkenarin) and the four corners (the milia) – are similar to those of other printed headscarves of the workshop of Evris Michael (or Euripides Mantilaris) and Kakoullis Brothers. The edges of the headscarf are decorated with pipilla (lace). The pattern features tiny white flowers with green leaves, repeated in a row.

The headscarf shows signs of wear, and repair indicates that the pipilla lace had come apart in some places. Despite this, the clarity of its motifs and the brightness of its colours are well preserved. Similar samples exist in the National Historical Museum in Athens (Gangadi et al. 1999, 178, fig. 179, 180), in the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, in the Historical and Folklore Museum of Corinth, in the Municipal Museum of Folk Art in Limassol, as well as in private collections.

The shirt is made of taiston loom fabric (with puckered bands created lengthwise by warp threads of two different tensions) and is adorned with lace.  The sarka (waistcoat) with a deep opening at the bust and long sleeves, is made of black velvet and shows rich decoration of applied (sewn-on) gold cords.  

Private collection, Larnaca.

Reconstruction of women's traditional costume from Cyprus from the CMLE Collection. The following pages contain the various parts of the costume: shirt (CMLE 822/5a), skirt (CMLE 2196/11), belt (CMLE 2117/10), sarka (CMLE 6088), belt buckle (CMLE 14521), and women's red fez (CMLE 818/1).

Reconstruction of women’s costume from Cyprus, from the CMLE collection. The following pages contain the various parts of the costume: shirt (CMLE 1015/2), skirt (CMLE 2195/5), sarka (CMLE 1985/2), buckle (CMLE 2499/2), necklace (myrmidin) (CMLE 13905), women’s red fez (CMLE 2213/11) and fez headscarf (CMLE 2145).

Reconstruction of men's attire from Cyprus from the Collection of CMLE (ΜΕΛΕ). The parts of the costume are as follows: men’s vest (yelekkin) (CMLE 2682), men’s sash (ttalapoulouzin) (CMLE 6997), and headscarf (CMLE 928/2,a).

The costume consists of ypokamison (chemise), foustani (dress), a headscarf and an apron for the waist, a bag and podines (boots).

The chemise is short and made of taiston cotton fabric (woven material with crinkled stripes running lengthwise). The fustani is made of striped cotton alatzia, with white and red stripes in the warp and a brown cotton weft. It is entirely hand-sewn and has a body with a large V-shaped opening, passing beneath the breast, which is covered by the chemise. The long sleeves are attached to the body by sleeve-seams, as in modern garments. The long skirt is gathered at the waist. A black woollen apron is tied around the waist. The head is covered by two square kerchiefs, one tied like a cap and the other worn loosely over it.

The podines (boots) come up to the middle of the thighs and are made of black leather with thick soles made of several pieces of leather.

The costume of the town woman with festive skirt consists of: the skirt, the ypokamison (chemise), the sarka (sleeved jacket) and the headdress comprising two scarves. In the case of this costume, too, the basic garment is the long skirt. It is made of pink silk brocade with groups of parallel stripes in blue and mauve colours. the heavily pleated skirt gathered at the waist. The chemise is made of pure silk material woven on the loom.

Over the chemise is worn a short velvet jacket sarka, with applied decorations of gold braids. It has sleeves sewn vertically to the body, a small upright collar, and a vertical opening at the front.

The headdress, which indicates the social status of the woman wearing it, consists of two printed kerchiefs. The chest is covered with mirmidi made of many thin chains, a necklace called kertanes and a filigree cross with toutounia.

The costume of the woman of Karpasia with routzetti comprises the following dress items: a skirt called routzetti, the ypokamison (chemise), the sarka (sleeved jacket), the headdress consisting of two scarves. There is a belt with bucles around the waist.

The heavily pleated skirt, called routzetti, is made of woven cotton material dyed a dark red colour, and of a crinkled texture. The chemise is made of striped silk material woven on the loom in a natural colour. The edge of the neck, the opening on the front, and the sleeve hems are trimmed with silk pipilla (lace), forming an elaborate garland of flowers.

The sarka is made of black felt. Is fastens by means of four hooks and-eyes set vertically beneath the breast, leaving a deep opening. The narrow sleeves flare at the bottom. The hems of all the openings are trimmed with garland consisting of twisted gold braid threads worked into a floral motif, spirals, volutes, and plaits, with border of a continuous scroll. The scroll is a decorative feature found in many Cypriot sarkes, of which it is a characteristic finish. The sarka is lined with white cotton material, and the sleeves with red.

The headdress consists of a square cotton kerchief which has black printed floral decoration against a white ground and a border around the four edges of fine papilla (lace) and sequins. The outer kerchief has multi-coloured printed decoration on a light red ground. The breast is adorned with a myrmidi consisting of thin chains and a gilt silver filigree cross with toutounia.

The female black podines (boots) have a small heel and pointed toes. The heel, which consists of several layers of leather, is fastened on by small iron nails, and the sole is attached by iron and wooden nails. On the stitching at the sides there is an additional strip of leather of the same colour, and two leather loops are sewn to the tops with white cotton thread. The podines come up to the middle of the shins. Their only decorative feature is the white cotton stitching around the heel and three rows of fine stitching, two straight and one wavy, on the finish at the top.

The costume consists of a white chemise (ypokamison), a yelekkin (waistcoat, turk. yelek) over it, black pleated breeches (vraka), a sash (zostra) around the waist, a headscarf and black leather boots (podines).

The chemise is made of white cotton material and has an upright collar and long sleeves. The front part consists of a single piece of material with an opening down to the waist, which is fastened with buttons. The back consists of two pieces sewn together, gathered slightly where they join the shoulder. It is decorated with vertical pleats at the back. The sleeves are sewn vertically to the body and have cuffs fastened by two buttons. On the left side of the front part there is a pocket. The broad, heavily pleated vraka is made of black cotton material. Around the waist there is a blue sash. Above the chemise is worn a yelekkin (waistcoat, turk. yelek) made of black striped woollen fabric at the front and black velvet at the back. The back and sides are made of a single piece of black velvet. The vertical slit in the back is cross-fastened with a black ribbon. The front consists of two equal pieces of black woollen fabric. The button holes are trimmed with gaitania (braids), to which are attached loops and buttons. There is a semi-circular opening at the neck. On the right side there is a vase-shaped pocket decorated with orange, green and blue threads, which are used to create a variety of decorative motifs. The yelekkin is fully lined with white cotton material. On the inside there is a stamp witting: ‘‘Orfanos & Zivanaris LTD’’. The headscarf is made of fine cotton material (kouroukla), dyed with deep red colour. It is decorated with a row of floral motifs all around the edges and with a bouquet of flowers in each of the four corners. The outlines of the pattern are printed in black colour (karakalemi), and the flowers and leaves in red (tekkirin) and yellow colour. The scarf is decorated all around the edges with green and white handmade lace. The costume is completed with black leather boots of European style.