Latvian Folk Dress - Latvijas Institūts

Latvian
Folk
Dress
Latvian peasants in the drawings of J. C. Brotze,
end of the 18th century.
18th-19th century
We have most knowledge of Latvian ethnic dress of the late 18th and
19th centuries as most records and items of festive clothing have been
preserved from this period. This also helps to understand the traditions
of previous generations, as a large part of 19th century festive clothing
was not created during the lifetime of just one generation.
Written records from the 18th century affirm that the most common
colour of Latvian peasant’s dress was the natural white and grey of
linen and wool. The records suggest that the favourite colours of
Latvians and Lithuanians were white or light grey, and thus they could
be distinguished from their neighbours, as Russians preferred bright
colours, while Estonians dressed in black. Until the beginning of the
19th century, when natural dyes were still used, most Latvians’ clothes
were natural grey, while for decoration they kept to the century-old
traditional four-colour scheme of blue, red, yellow, and green.
The most significant source of information on Latvian peasants’ dress
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries is drawings and descriptions
by Johan Christoff Brotze (1742-1823). In his drawings he depicts local
people, showing not only festive clothing, but also work clothing.
•During the 19th century, linen tunic-shaped shirts were still the main
garment worn. Work shirts still looked very similar to the ancient ones.
For festive occasions, however, there were now variations of collars, cuts,
and embroidery (most often in white, sometimes red and very rarely,
black). Shirts were pinned with small smooth or relief ring-shaped or
heart-shaped brooches. Sometimes there was a row of brooches down
the front opening of the shirt. Women’s linen shirts usually consisted of
two parts. The visible upper part was made of fine linen cloth, but the
lower part that was hidden under the skirt was made of crude linen.
Above the shirt, Latvian women wore long skirts, coats of various length
(longer in the 18th century and waist-length coats or vests in the 19th
century), and woollen shawls instead of cloaks.
Often the only jewellery worn by Latvian women were silver brooches
with thimble-like bubbles, red glass “stones” or beads and numerous
tiny silver “leaves”. These were worn on the chest, usually as fasteners for
shawls. Young girls wore crowns that were made of cardboard covered
in cloth and embroidered with glass beads, tinsel, and thin brass rings.
Latvians did not often wear amber beads although the material was
easily accessible on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Rather they preferred
glass beads and silver coins. There was no tradition of wearing earrings
in the entire territory of Latvia.
At the turn or the 19th century, men wore homespun coats, mostly of
a natural grey colour, that were decorated with red, green or blue cord
and matching appliqué on the sleeves. Buttons were used for fastening
the coat.
In summer, linen overcoats were worn.
Men’s clothes of dark blue, brown or natural black appeared in the
second half of the 19th century when industrially-made cloth was used
for festive clothing. Men wore vests for special occasions. Both long and
down-to-the knee trousers were in use.
12 13