June
24th marks the annual celebration of The Universal Day of the
Romanian Blouse. For all Romanians around the world (and back in Romania) this is the perfect occasion to showcase their
beautiful culture and their rich traditions. This day (June 24) is also
known as “Midsummer Day”, or “Sânzienele” (in
the Romanian folk beliefs). So, dear fellow Romanian,
wherever you are today, please wear your national outfit and be proud of who
you are!
Our ancestral tradition
is alive, and we carry the story further on.
La mulți ani, iei și cămășii tradiționale românești! Tradiția
este vie și noi ducem povestea mai departe.
”Fiecare civilizaţie occidentală sau din est şi-a păstrat şi dezvoltat
propriile caracteristici ale vestimentaţiei tradiţionale purtate zilnic sau la
momente festive. Tocmai acest lucru conferă distincţie şi diversitate portului
de sărbătoare de pretutindeni. În ce priveşte portul românesc, acesta s-a bucurat de o deosebită apreciere şi
dincolo de graniţe. Înseşi reginele Elisabeta şi Maria, amândouă de origine
britanică, au ştiut să observe frumuseţea şi eleganţa costumelor populare
româneşti, ele însele îmbrăcându-se în portul tradiţional românesc la recepţii
de înaltă ţinută, împreună cu principesele şi doamnele de la curte.” (Steliana Băltuţă – etnograf)
● Did you know?
On
December 1, 2022, (on Romania’s
National Day), UNESCO has decided to inscribe the Romanian traditional
blouse on their list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, on
the same list in 2017 “Mărțișor” was added.
Also,
it is important to mention that “the Romanian Blouse has been an international
symbol of the Romanian culture and a source of inspiration for some of the
world’s greatest fashion.” Initiated and coordinated by the online
community La Blouse Romaine, in 2013, this
type of celebration is an opportunity to publicize and further broadcast an old
and beautiful Romanian cultural tradition.
The
Romanian blouse, "ie" by its original Romanian name, is not a
simple traditional peasant blouse, but it became a symbol of Romania, with its
legends, stories and deep significance. The "ie" (pronounced "ee-eh") is a
blouse, commonly worn by Romanian girls and women, and it has overcome its
historic peasant confines, as
it became an important source of inspiration for the fashion designers in
Romania and abroad (high-ranking
names, such as Tom Ford based his 2012 collection on the Romanian traditional
motifs).
The
"ie" is entirely hand-made from a special fabric (called approx. in English "sheer
lawn"), with exquisite embroideries on the chest, back and
sleeves, with designs preserved for centuries. The signs and symbols
embroidered on the Romanian blouse aren’t just random decorations, but each has
its own significance, depending on the region, the seamstress, and the person
who wore it.
Every "ie", along with the other items of the traditional folk
costume, has its own story. Among the symbols embroidered on the blouse
there is the tree or a tree-like design, which is the symbol of life, wisdom
and rebirth. The fir tree is particularly drawn on the Romanian blouse,
especially in the mountain rural areas, and symbolizes the immortality, a motif
seldom found in Romanian mythology.
The
circle or a sunflower represent the sun, day or Divinity; in Romanian
tradition, the sun was at the core of life and often associated with abundance.
Other
motifs related to daily activities can be found ranging from one region to
another: water (either as a river or
as sea waves) and fish in the fishing villages along the rivers and
sea coast, wheat or corn stems in agricultural villages, wheels or coin in
crafting traders’ villages, and so on.
At
the same time, the colors on the blouse also vary according to the geographic
region; green and gold symbolize the plains, gray, red and brown for the
mountains and blue for the rivers.
For
instance, in the past, young girls from the countryside, who were not married
used to wear merry colors on their blouses, combinations of red, yellow, pink
& light colors, while the dark ones (brown, black, dark green) & gold were usually worn by
older women, married & having a certain social statute.
● My previous greetings on the same theme: The Universal Day of the ROMANIAN BLOUSE – 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed).
