Žemaičių liaudies drabužiai
LTPlačiau žemaičių drabužius pirmieji aprašė Simonas Daukantas ir Motiejus Valančius. Valančiaus Palangos Juzė XIX a. viduryje keliavo per Žemaitiją nuo šiaurinio iki pietinio jos pakraščio. Sugrįžęs namo, jis papasakojo apie aplankytas tolimas parapijas: kokie ten ūkiai, kokie žmonės, kaip jie dirba, kaip linksminasi, dainuoja ir šoka, taip pat - nebūtų Juzė kriaučius - gana smulkiai apsakė, kokius drabužius kur mėgstama dėvėti. Skaitydami “Palangos Juzę”, sužinome, kad Salantuose į bažnyčią vyrai rinkdavosi apsitaisę pilko milo sermėgomis, siūtomis į liemenį, o moterys ten “labai gačnios: bažnyčioj buvo apsidariusios su striupkėmis, už aplinkui kvaldotomis, su sijonais margai dažytais, pačių austais. Galvos aprutultos su didžiomis pirktinėmis skepetomis, atsisklėtusios su tokiais pat raiščiais. Neturtingos - su namie austomis žičkuotomis skaromis. Ant krūtinės jų gali regėti daug brostvų, škaplierius ant plačių raudonų pasaitų”. [p. 5].
ENThe nineteenth century. Lithuanian peasant’s holiday costume was a picturesque and colorful set of clothing, whose pattern, ornamentation and style of wearing reflected the customs and beliefs of many past centuries. They were a means of interpreting the upper class fashions of either those times or of times passed. With the passage of time, clothing styles changed not only among the elite, but also among the common folk. Here changes in folk art, however, occured much slower. Conservative traditions forced the preservation of certain articles of clothing that comprised the costume, their old-fashioned patterns and ornaments even when their practical function was already lost. Many of these types of garments were especially worn by women. Where esthetic criteria was more important than customs, these garments’ forms changed faster. Men’s and women’s caftans, jackets and vests reflected characteristics of styles such as Baroque, Rococo and Empire. A particular trait of the folk costume is the way in which the different styles of the various simple refined patterns, the fabric’s coarse and soft textures are unified into one esthetic ensemble. This trait differs from the elite fashion which, from a stylistic point of view, is more uniform.Tradition and customs strictly regulated every villager’s social behavior, including his clothing. A collective flavor, rather than an individualistic one, dominated. Strict traditional norms that caused the slow change in folk costumes also provided much time to polish, perfect and slightly alter the already existing ensemble. That is why the typical peasant traditional holiday costume practically always became a work of art. The Samogitian folk costume is usually studied in comparison with its largest neighboring etnographic area - Aukštaitija, or the Highlanders’ costume, regarding it as the latter’s opposite. Samogitian clothing’s most typical characteristics in general terms are its vivid colors - among which red figures predominantly, the massiveness of the costume’s silhouette, many ruffles, and the large amount of draped garments. The Samogitian man’s costume, first of all, should be characterised as a horseman’s costume. In Lithuanian folklore, the riding horse is a man’s inseparable companion, and the word “horseman” is used in songs as a synonym to “lad". A man’s costume was comprised of long, narrow trousers, a shirt, a caftan and also later a vest. He wore high boots and a leather belt decorated with metal rivets and plates. An inseparable part of a Samogitian man’s clothing was a felt hat, decorated with peacock or rooster feathers.A woman’s clothing varied more than a man’s in the summer and winter. The more important and decorative was the summer variant. Its base was comprised of a long linen chemise, two or more wide woollen skirts, an apron and a bodice. Samogitian skirts were striped vertically, were vividly colored and the apron was of white linen, colored throughout with small, red ornamented stripes. The chemise was also decorated with red ornaments. Samogitian women liked to wear scarves and shawls of various sizes on their shoulders and neck. In the nineteenth century, these were usually checkered in red and white. Maids went bare-headed, braided and decorated their hair with wreaths made out of ribbons (rangės). It was mandatory for married women to cover their hair. They wore small bonnets, on top of which they tied large red and white checkered scarves in a special way, reminiscent of how medieval wimples are tied together. At the end of the nineteenth century Samogitian folk costumes began to change very rapidly. They became progressively more similar to the clothing of city folk. By the beginning of the twentieth century only a few isolated ladies of venerable age dressed in the old style.
