Romanian traditional clothing
traditional clothing of Romanians
Romanian traditional clothing refers to the national costume worn by Romanians, who live primarily in Romania and Moldova, with smaller communities in Ukraine and Serbia. Today, the vast majority of Romanians wear modern-style dress on most occasions, and the garments described here largely fell out of use during the 20th century. However, they can still be seen in more remote areas, on special occasions, and at ethnographic and folk events. Each historical region has its own specific variety of costumes.
Ethnographic regions
Romanian traditional clothing can be classified according to seven traditional regions. These can be further subdivided by ethnographic zones, which may range between 40 and 120, depending on the criteria used.
The seven main traditional regions are:
Transylvania or Ardeal
The western plains: Lower Mureș Plain, Criș Plain (Crișul Negru, Crișul Alb, Crișul Repede), Lower Someș Plain (Oaș Country)
Banat, including Timiș Meadow and Caraș-Severin
Wallachia, including Western Wallachia called Oltenia and Eastern Wallachia called Muntenia
The Lower Danube, including Bărăgan, Northern Dobruja and southern Moldavia
Moldavia, including Bukovina, Western Moldavia, Eastern Moldavia also called Bessarabia and since 1991 Republic of Moldova including Transnistria
Balkans or Romanians of the Balkan Peninsula, which can be further subdivided into four areas:
The Daco-Romanians along the borders: Southern Dobruja also called Cadrilater between 1913 and 1940 (Bulgaria), the Timok Valley (northwestern Bulgaria and eastern Serbia), Vojvodina/Serbian Banat and Ukraine (especially around Chernivtsi and Odessa)
Istro-Romanians in Istria, Croatia
Macedo-Romanians (or Aromanians) in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and North Macedonia
Megleno-Romanians in Greece and North Macedonia
Genesis and evolution of Romanian traditional costume
First mentions of Romanian clothing
The Romanian popular costume finds its roots in the part of Thracian, Dacian and Getae ancestors and resembles that of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, of course with differences consisting of decorative and colourful details. For example, women's portraits carved on Trajan's Column in Rome after the Dacian Wars provide information about their clothing. Dacian women wore shirts rippled at the neck. Sleeves were either long and wide or short.
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