French national costume
The culture of another country is always of great interest to art lovers, travelers, and ordinary people interested in different cultures. National costumes of different peoples is a vast topic that can tell about the traditional features of the inhabitants of a particular region.
We decided to focus on the French national costume, choosing it because the French have always been trendsetters.
A bit of history
The main features of the French national costume began to take shape in the distant 16th century. These were the prerequisites for ruffled collars, cropped men's trousers, raincoats, lace details and various embroideries.
More clearly, the elements of the traditional costume of France were formed more already in the 17th century. Long shirts, ruched skirts, stockings, knickers, necklines, etc. came to the wardrobe. Clothing was made from materials such as wool and canvas of various designs. This continued until the end of the 18th century.
In the 19th century, factory-made fabrics were already beginning to be used. Sewing was usually done by rural tailors, mostly for lunch, lodging, or a small fee.
After the Great Revolution in France, changes began to occur in the national costume.This was connected, first of all, with the growth of prosperity, as well as with the appearance on sale of new factory fabrics - cloth and silk.
This is how festive outfits appeared, of course, they were influenced by urban fashion. The forms of the apron, skirt, headdress, as well as the cut of the bodice varied among the provinces. This was especially noticeable in the color elements. Even within the provinces, costume elements often differed.
At the end of the 19th century, urban costume began to appear everywhere. However, for a long time such an element as a headdress remained in use, especially in remote areas or in the Alps.
Peculiarities
Colors and shades
Among the colors for clothes, mostly calm, restrained shades prevailed. Among them are gray, brown, white. Such colors were characteristic of both men's and women's costumes.
Of course, women's wardrobe items were sometimes brighter colors. In addition to standard colors, the skirt could be blue, red, less often black. Aprons were also in shades of red or blue, as well as yellow. Corsage - purple, burgundy, brown or striped.
Fabrics and fit
In peasant clothing, the thinner canvas was used mainly for festive wear, such as skirts or shirts, as well as underwear. Rough canvas was intended for everyday wear.
If we talk about outerwear, then it was sewn from denser and warmer materials, for example, cloth, adding cotton or canvas threads to it.
After the revolution, the usual materials were replaced by factory fabrics, among which was silk.
Varieties
Female
The national women's costume consisted of a skirt with numerous assemblies, a wide jacket with long sleeves and a clasp at the collar, and a scarf or scarf draped over the shoulders.The skirt, as a rule, was long, approximately to the middle of the lower leg; a jacket was worn with it, falling down from the top of the skirt. The jacket was pulled together at the waist with an apron ribbon, which was slightly shorter than the skirt. The scarf was tied on the chest or placed under the bib of the apron.
A bodice was a must for the costume. The headdress of a woman is a cap, over which they put on another scarf or hat. The bonnet was worn at home and on the street.
Male
The traditional men's costume of the 19th century consisted of the following clothes: pants, shirt, leggings, neckerchief, vest or jacket.
Until about the 30s of the 19th century, peasants wore short pants to the knees, while together with leggings or woolen stockings, which were tied under the knee with a wool garter, usually blue or red. Often the gaiters were of the same material as the pants.
Already after the 30s, long tight pants appeared. The shirt already had a turn-down collar. The cuffs and collar were initially tightened with two ribbons, and later they were fastened with buttons. Additionally, they also wore a neckerchief. Together with the shirt, they also wore a light-colored vest with two rows of metal buttons. A jacket was worn over it, it could be short or elongated.
The shirt came into everyday use at the end of the 18th century. She had a straight silhouette, approximately to the middle of the thigh, with gathers on the sleeves and collar. She was sewn from canvas.
Initially, the shirt was festive clothing for peasants, and after the revolution of 1830, artisans and workers began to wear it in the city. For peasants, it still remained a traditional outfit for holidays and folk festivals.
In the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the shirt had already become work clothes, but still retained its position in the countryside.In winter, the shepherds put on top of it a wide cloak made of goatskin or coarse wool.
Until now, sometimes you can see the classic shirt on the artists.
If we talk about a headdress, then in the 18th century it was a cocked hat for a peasant, it was worn until the beginning of the 19th century. Replaced her round wide-brimmed hat, straw - for summer, felt - for cold weather.
Men - the inhabitants of the coasts wore a hat-cap made of wool, similar to the Phrygian cap. Such a hat-cap was decorated with a pompom hanging from the back.
Children's
Children's costumes at that time were not much different from adults, everything depended on the gender and age of the child.
For girls - a skirt, shorter options were possible than for adults. The skirt was complemented by an apron and a shirt, a bonnet was obligatory.
For boys - cropped pants, an elongated shirt and a vest. Leggings were worn along with trousers, the headdress was similar to an adult male.
Accessories and shoes
Traditional shoes are shoes carved from wood. These shoes were designed for both men and women. It has been worn for a long time.
If we talk about accessories, then gradually women used lace details in decorating clothes, as well as more elegant silhouettes in clothes. So they tried to emphasize their femininity.
Openwork sleeves from the elbow to the wrist are another of the accessories that are inherent in fashionistas of that time. Various hairpins that were hidden under the headdresses looked elegant on the fair sex.
Modern models
In the modern world, residents often try to revive traditions by arranging various festivities and recreating any events, as well as organizing costume contests.
Basically, the differences between the costumes are in decoration, embroidery, headwear shapes, sometimes even bizarre shapes, corsage decorations, fabric and color schemes.
Of course, mostly traditional costume is worn by artists or patriots at festivals. Thus, the inhabitants demonstrate the originality of their area.
In modern models there are brighter extravagant shades, new shapes and details.
Of course, the costumes of Tarentaise, Chablais, Faucigny or Maurienne differ in details, but they are all different types of Savoyard national costume, i.e. costume of the Savoy nation. And the same goes for the Bressanians, Poitevins, Picards, Alsatians, and so on. The selection contains costumes of different nations, the costumes of Provence, Alsace and Brittany are striking. And the French court costumes of Ile-de-France are also presented. France, like any large country, is interesting for its diversity of peoples, customs, languages, costumes, cuisine, and folklore.