Saturday, October 13, 2012

Sunday Stamps - folk costumes

This week's Sunday Stamps comes to you from Estonia. Both of these stamps were designed by Mari Kaarma.


from the farthest northeastern region of Viru, this stamp from 2004 shows a Jõhvi woman and girl in early 19th century dress. 
The most conspicuous common feature for women was a linen blouse called käised (meaning: sleeves) which was decorated with rich embroidery. Complemented with a vertically striped skirt, it constituted the typical north Estonian women’s dress in the 19th century. Viru wives traditionally wore caps, while girls adorned their heads with chaplets. A married woman had to wear an apron and in the 19th century it was often made of fabric bought from a shop. The Jõhvi apron was an especially festive and bright green colour. The girdle was wrapped several times round the waist, with brooches, beads and coin necklaces worn for decoration, as much as one could afford them.

from northern Harju
this stamp from 2011 shows a girl and a woman from the first half or the middle of the 19th century in dress from Jõelähtme, near Tallinn. The girl’s headgear is a so-called eared wreath and a wide red band decorates her green-striped skirt. The girl’s sleeve embroidery is rather simple, but the sleeves of the married woman who sports an embroidered apron are decorated with lavish wide embroidery and she wears a pot hat lined with silk. 

17 comments:

  1. I love seeing folk costumes. The drawings show the details well, and the women look like little dolls.

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  2. Imagine having to wear such complicated clothing and still get a days work done.

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  3. I like the striped skirts, and of course the embroidery. :-)
    A similar skirt is seen in folk dress in some parts of Poland.
    Thank you for joining in this week!

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  4. And so you see that the world over, traditional women's costumes were colorful and imaginative and not at all demure and at least in Europe had very many somolarities. Thanks for posting these.

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  5. very pretty, would be great to see these costumes 'live' one day :)

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  6. They are fantastic costumes, and really nice stamps :)

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  7. Pretty costumes. Wearing as much beads and jewellery as possible sounds addictive:-)

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  8. I wonder what it would have been like to go about daily actuvities in outfits like that? Or were those more formal?

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  9. Very nice stamps. I like that the backbround is white. Simple and clear.

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  10. I am thinking this must be the dress for special occasions. I cannot imagine keeping it clean while doing chores!

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  11. I'm always amazed to see how clothing changes,from being a full-covered and nowadays,almost naked.
    My Sunday Stamps: Folktales

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  12. Those are such pretty costumes! I hope they were kept for best - cleaning, looking after chickens, children and the house don't sound like suitable activities for those beautiful clothes!

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  13. Pretty stamps designed by a woman with a charming name.

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  14. Great stamps, I don't think I have seen any Estonian stamps before.

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