Turkish Cypriot villager

The costume consists of ypokamison (chemise), vraka (breeches), yileko (waistcoat) and zibouni (short sleeved jacket), zostra (sash), kerchief and fez, and podines (boots). The chemise is made of thick, white cotton material with long, wide sleeves sewn vertically to the body, and an upright collar. Both sides have a small opening towards the bottom. The vertical opening on the chest is fastened by four buttons. The collar has a slight gathering around it, and there are free pleats at the join between the back and the shoulder. The breeches are made of white cloth woven on the loom and have different cut from the typical Cypriot black vraka. Much less material is used to makes them, and they are shorter and narrow, with no gatherings or pleats. Around the waist of the breeches is tied a zostra, a white woollen sash with vertical stripes of different colours woven into it at intervals, singly, in pairs, or in larger groups, and with fringes at the ends. The yileko and zibouni are made of similar alatzia, cotton material, with blue and red stripes. The sleeveless yileko, the front and back of which are made of a single piece of material, has a vertical opening on the breast, slits at the sides, and a small upright collar. It is lined with white cotton material, and the collar and vertical opening are decorated with white, blue and red cotton threads. At the collar, these coloured threads are braided into a gaitani. They are also used to form a braided strip at the vertical opening, with ten loops on the left side to receive the ten knitted buttons on the right. The zibouni is made from a single piece cut straight, with no stitching on the shoulders, and with a low crossed opening. The two sides are formed of single pieces, with a small opening at the bottom. A large opening on the left side, beneath the neck opening, serves as a pocket. The zibouni is fastened to the upright collar by two round, knitted buttons, identical with those of the yileko. The sleeves are sewn vertically to the body, with a small upward slit at the wrist and a circular opening on the outside. The inside of the zibouni is lined with white cotton material. The edges around the neck, and the opening down the waist, are trimmed with blue cotton gaitani that hangs free and is fastened at the waist, where it crosses the zibouni. The edges of the sleeves and the pocket are trimmed with the same gaitani. The head is covered with a white kerchief and a bright red fez made of felt, with a black tassel. A red label with gold lettering is attached to the inside of the fez, at the bottom: SULTANIE EXTRA. The high, black leather podines (boots), have thick soles made of several layers of leather. The soles have podinorizes, flat-headed nails, 30 in each sole. This accounts for the name podines exintarizouses (boots with sixty nails). The ends of the nails are worked into a corkscrew shape (tzinoma), visible at the top edge of the sole, which is decorated with twisted red and white wool threads secured in position by means of round-headed nails. Stiches on the heels form a pattern of zig-zag lines and spirals. The front of the boot is decorated with incised lines. On the vertical stitching at the sides is a piece of red leather forming a thin decorative strip. To the front of the top edge is sewn an extra piece, a tongue, made of red leather with two rows of sequins.