Poland

Żywotek avaIn some regions of Poland, women wear a charming bodice called “żywotek” as a part of their traditional attire. This item serves as a corset and supports the bust. At the same time, a żywotek can be extremely decorative and festive. Some people consider the design of this folk vest to be of Ottoman origin because it is very similar to a “jelek”, an Ottoman traditional waistcoat. But many Slavic countries have bodices of the same look in their folk costumes.

shirt buckle avaWomen of different ethnic groups and different countries have been using jewelry with their national clothing throughout human history. At the same time, men wear considerably fewer jewels. Still, there are some really nice pieces. For example, in Poland, males of particular regions traditionally wore cute shirt buckles and shirt collar studs to fasten their folk shirts. Very few of them survived to this day, so we decided to exclusively show you these jewelry items preserved in Polish folk museums.

sukmana avaThe traditional outer garments in Poland have always been distinctive, catchy, and prominent, worn proudly by the locals. And they have a lot in common with Slavic typical outerwear in general. Of course, Polish outerwear differs from region to region, as the climate and regional clothing traditions vary as well. But even when a garment looks simple at the first sight, it somehow radiates elegance and sophistication. Take, for example, the popular woolen coat called “sukmana”. It was the clothing of peasants, but how charmingly it is decorated!

Krakovian avaDiversity is typical for Polish folk dress. In total, there are 68 different variations of traditional attire in Poland. Impressive, isn’t it? And each of them has some unique features, usually regional. In this article, we’ll talk about the Krakovian folk costume – possibly the most ornate, colorful, and famous far outside the country Polish traditional outfit. Krakow is also one of those cities where the biggest folklore parades in the whole Poland are organized, with numerous participants and dozens vintage and modern folk costumes.

Poland avaThis is a modern replica of attire typical for Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, the beginning of the 1500s. Such gowns were already out of fashion in Western Europe, but Eastern European women still widely used them. Especially the wives and daughters of handicraftsmen. Let’s see what pieces such outfit included, how they were put on, what construction they had, and what accessories complemented the costume. This is a great chance to look under the main gown that we can observe in old paintings.

A ZTraditional pieces of the male and female national costumes in Poland: bielunka, bruclek, ciasnocha, cucha, czepiec, czółko, fortuch, galaty, gorset, gunia, jaka, jedbowka, jedwabnica, jelenioki, kabotek, kaftanik, kalita, kapuza, kłobuk, kontusz, kopki, kornet, koszula, krakuska, kurpsi, kyrpce, maciejówka, modrziniec, nogawice, orpant, oplecek, pas, pas kontuszowy, poloki, rogatywka, serdak, spódnik, stroje ludowe, sukmana, szpyncer, trzos, watówka, wystek, zapaska, żupan, and żywotek.

Craft avaHave you ever seen Polish paper-cutting or embroidery? These handicrafts are among the main folk crafts of Poland. The patterns are traditionally Slavic and very pretty; the most popular are floral patterns. Polish artisans organized the exhibition of their handcrafts in China. They compared their traditional embroidery and paper-cutting designs with the Chinese ones. Surprisingly, there are many similar features.

polish couple avaThe national attire of Poland is very colorful, festive, and diverse. Different regions of the country have their own unique features. It’s a pity, folk costumes are very seldom used in a day-to-day life; but Polish people often wear them on special occasions (weddings, ethnic festivals, national celebrations and etc.). The most impressive pieces of Polish national clothing are headdresses. They are unique, very delicate, and sophisticated.