Costume Museum of Lykeion ton Ellinidon

Men’s double-breasted vest (yelekkin). The front is made of ready-made striped black fabric, and the back of black velvet. The front consists of two pieces of fabric that cross over the chest on both sides. This is also apparent in the arrangement of the buttons. On the right side of the chest are eight buttons and nine buttonholes, arranged diagonally. On the left, there are also eight buttons, fastened diagonally. Cord is sewn on the inside, and further up there is a single button. All the buttons are black, as is the decoration, which consists of a design along the base of the buttons, continuous spirals arranged diagonally on the chest, dense sewn-on cords forming a wide band around the opening of the neck, and a mesh pattern at the lower edge. On the right side of the front, there is a vase-shaped pocket with an outline of coloured cords. A horizontal embroidered band divides the pocket’s surface into two parts. On the top part, the date 1912, the year the waistcoat was made, is embroidered in orange, and on the bottom part, also in orange colour, the initials ΠΓ (PG), belonging to the owner. On the chest, above the pocket, sewn-on cords form a small, colourful decorative pattern, rectangular in shape with a mat design filling, surrounded by tiny spirals in yellow/orange, blue, and burgundy colours. This peculiar decorative motif is characteristic of other vests in the collection of the Costume Museum of the Lykeion ton Ellinidon, as well as other Cypriot collections, such as that of the Folklore Historical Museum of Corinth.

The back is made of a single piece of black velvet, which extends below the armpits and is joined with coloured seams to the front pieces. In the centre of the back, there is a vertical opening that would have been closed with some kind of ribbon passing through the remaining eyelets for a better fit on the body. The opening is bordered with sewn-on cord in blue, green, and orange, forming a decorative band of lattice pattern, which extends around the sides of the vest. The ends of the decorative band are adorned with tiny burgundy spirals.

A pair of leaf-shaped motifs in green and burgundy adorn the top of the opening on the back of the vest. The decoration continues with a lozenge filled with a mat design, as well as stylised floral patterns in a vertical arrangement. The vest is lined with off-white cotton fabric, and the neck opening is reinforced with braid.

Dimensions: height 35 cm., width 41 cm.

Donation: N. Triantafyllou.

Yelekkin (vest) made of black velvet, double-breasted, with eight buttonholes and eight buttons arranged diagonally on each side. The front part consists of two pieces, decorated with dense embroidery of thin sewn-on black cord around the chest opening, and intricate stylised patterns (lozenges, spirals, lattice motifs, etc.) at the crossing and around the buttons, as well as at the edge of the vest.

On the right side, there is an external, vase-shaped pocket of black velvet, with a border of blue, green, orange, and brown cord. Above the chest, there is a small decorative motif made of fine cords forming a rectangular with lattice filling, a lozenge and spirals, in blue, green, and yellow colours.

The back is made of a single piece that continues below the armpits and joins the front pieces with coloured seams. There is a central opening extending vertically from the waist to the upper back; it closes with a red ribbon threaded through 16 eyelets. By tying the ribbon, the waistcoat can be better adjusted to the body. Sewn-on twisted cord of green, orange, and blue colours forms a decorative lattice pattern running along the opening and the lower hem of the back. A stylised double-headed eagle in the same colours is embroidered above the opening.

The vest is lined with off-white cotton fabric. The inner neck opening and lower part of the bust are reinforced with braid. Black lining behind the buttonholes, measuring 10 cm above and 7 cm below, provides extra reinforcement to the front opening. Two identical stamps of the manufacturer Georgios Filis are impressed on the off-white lining. Similar stamps are found on other vests in the collection.

Dimensions: height 41 cm., width 44 cm.

Donation: Chr. Koutlidou.

Headscarf (tsemberi) made of fine cotton cloth (kouroukla), dyed in a dark vinegar colour known as xidin. It is decorated with printed floral motifs, composed of branches with leaves and flowers that are arranged diagonally along the edges of the headscarf, known as the kkenarin. The inner corners are adorned with neoclassical-style wreaths, a pattern known as milies. The headscarf is decorated with pipilla, a lace edging made of white and green silk thread and featuring a pattern of continuous tiny flowers.

The headscarf shows signs of wear and the colour has faded in some areas. In certain places the lace edging has come apart and there appear to have been attempts to repair it.

Dimensions: length 100 cm., width 100 cm.

Workshop of printed headscarves Evris Michael and Kakoullis Brothers, Nicosia.

Men's wide multi-coloured silk belt, known as ttalapoulouzin, with tassels on the narrow sides. The name originates from Tripoli in Lebanon (Tarabulus/Trablus), whence it was imported to Cyprus. It consists of three panels, joined lengthwise. The belt is made of woven silk, with stripes and a chequered pattern in a similar arrangement on all three panels, especially on the two outer panels, which are nearly identical. The warp on one outer panel is in burgundy and orange colours, as seen from its extension into tassels, while the tassels that extend from the warp in the other outer panel are in black and burgundy colours. The warp of the central panel is in black and white and also extends into tassels. The colours on the two outer panels are burgundy, orange, light green, black, and white, with alternating colours creating stripes of different widths. On the back side of the panels, the colours and threads of the warp are more prominent. The colours on the central panel are black, orange, light green, white, and burgundy. They are the same as the outer panels but with a different arrangement and density, forming stripes and a chequered pattern.

The connections between the panels are made by hand with a chain stitch, using thick silk thread in a bright orange colour. The Cypriot collection of the National Historical Museum in Athens contains a similar two-panel ttalapoulouzin (Gangadi et al., 1999, 120). A three-panel sample is also preserved in the Aziz Damdelen Collection, which includes numerous photographs of Turkish Cypriots wearing ttalapoulouzin as part of their festive traditional attire, even into the early decades of the 20th century, and often in combination with European-style shirts and jackets (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou and Damdelen, 2012, 244-245, no 118; see for example, photographs 004, 005, 007-009, 012, 013, 022). A similar belt, known as "tarapulous," was used in the Pontus region (Papantoniou, 1996, 108-109).

Dimensions: total width: 82 cm. (first-panel width 25 cm., central panel 29 cm., third panel 25 cm.)

Donation: Chr. Koutlidou

Men’s double-breasted vest (yelekkin) with buttons in a diagonal arrangement. On the right side, 10 buttons are preserved (one is missing), corresponding to 11 buttonholes, while on the left side, all 11 buttons are preserved. The two front pieces are made of black velvet with rich embroidered decoration, similar to that of vests 2683/2 and 2684/3. On the right side of the chest, there is a vase-shaped pocket with embroidered decoration made of cord and golden thread. A bird is embroidered on the upper part of the pocket. Its outline is decorated with golden thread, while the filling is done with silk threads in green and yellow. The rest of the pocket's surface is embroidered with spiral and lattice designs using golden thread. Higher up, on the right side of the chest, a small, colourful and stylised decorative motif is displayed, composed of tiny spirals and a filled horizontal rectangle, all embroidered with silk threads in red, yellow, blue, and green. This standardised design also decorates other vests. The back is made of red velvet and bears rich embroidered decoration of curvilinear patterns, which are repeated in the two facing birds with their heads turned backwards. Stylised birds are a characteristic feature of traditional Cypriot men’s vests, especially of the festive waistcoats of the Turkish Cypriots. They are typically embroidered on the pockets or backs of the garments, using coloured threads that differentiate the parts of the body of the bird (see, for example, Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou and Damdelen 2012, 204-209: 087-089). A similar design featuring a coloured bird and black embroidered decoration is also found on trousers made of blue felt, which, together with matching vests, comprise the traditional festive attire of the Turkish Cypriots (Gangadi et al. 1999, 118-119).

Dimensions: height 39 cm. width 44 cm.

Donation: K. Ioannidi

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).