3. Content
Briefly about Žemaitija
National costume of Žemaitija
Žemaitija’s women
Žemaitija’s men
Clogs
References
4. Briefly about Žemaitija
Žemaitija is one of the five
Lithuanian ethnographic regions. The region is
also known in English as Lower Lithuania. It is
located
in northwestern Lithuania. Nowadays the
capital of Žemaitija is Telšiai.
Į turinį
5. Žemaitija’s national costume
Traditional clothing from Žemaitija is often
described by comparing it with the clothing
of Aukštaitija and by seeing in it a certain
stylistic opposition. The clothing's deep
colors, dominated by the color red, and the
outfit's massiveness lends credence to this
idea.
8. Shirts
Red decorations of the long
linen shirts were sometimes
woven into the lower
sleeves, cuffs, narrow
collars, shirt's fasteners,
sometimes - into the
shoulder tabs. Decorative
patterns
from Žemaitija were
geometric. They were of a
delicate, rather simple
structure often covering a
given area like a web or a
small group of stripes.
9. Skirts
Fancy skirts in Žemaitija were
cut wide and densely gathered.
The pleats made women's
figures stouter which, in terms
of the village aesthetic, was
considered very desirable.
Nineteenth century women
in Žemaitija were not satisfied
with only two skirts, they would
often wear even more. Outer
skirts were usually patterned
with vertical stripes. The stripes
were laid out in a distinctive
pattern which was unique in
Lithuania. Especially colorful
skirts were worn in
northern Žemaitija. They were
woven with red, green, yellow,
violet, dark red, white, and
black stripes, although red was
usually the dominant color.
10. Aprons
Aprons for special occasions
were wide, gathered at the
waist and shorter than the skirt
by only a handbreath. These
aprons were made of white
linen with lengthwise woven
stripes of red linen or cotton
threads. The stripes were
either smooth or zigzag,
symmetrical or asymmetrical.
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth
century, apron styles began to
change. In southern Žemaitija,
red pick-up ornaments (zigzags,
clovers and such) replaced the
striped red bands of white
aprons. Bright colored wool
decorations were woven into
greenish or brownish cotton
material.
Į turinį
12. Caftans
Men in Žemaitija wore
caftans (sermėga) sewn
from homemade matted
woolen cloth. They could be
either the color of natural
wool (gray or brown) or dyed
dark green or black. Caftans
were gathered at the waist.
A later, and more elegant,
version was a caftan
gathered or pleated only at
the back. Caftans were
sometimes embellished with
decorative threads and
black edges.
13. Belts
Men wore leather belts
which, in accordance with
ancient tradition, were still
decorated with metal rivets
and plates. In addition,
sometimes men
in Žemaitija tied caftans
with red and white
checkered linen or cotton
scarves. Men
in Žemaitija wore high
boots. Less prosperous men
sometimes wore simple
shoes such as naginės or
clogs both for special
occasions as well as for
work.
14. Hats
A man's fancy dress was
topped with a hat. It was
made of felt and usually
dark in color. Its crown was
cylindered or hemispheried
and had a straight brim. Men
in Žemaitija decorated their
hats and valued peacock
feathers most highly as
decorations. Sometimes
flowers were also pinned to
the hats. Occasionally, red-
checkered bands were tied
over the hats' crowns, under
which more feathers or
flowers could be tucked.
Į turinį
15. Clogs
Clogs were worn by
Lithuanian peasants
from the end of the 18
th until the beginning of
the 20 th century. Both
poor and well-to-do
peasants wore them
every day when
working in the fields
and doing their daily
chores because clogs
had a definite
advantage – they were
waterproof. Į turinį
