This male costume was worn mainly in the central and southern regions of Greece. The costume derives its name from the pleated white skirt made of many triangular shaped pieces of cloth sewn together diagonally. The foustanela was worn by the Greek fighters of the 1821 revolution and today it serves as the official uniform of the Evzones, Greece’s Presidential Guard, who can be seen guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens. The foustanela skirt consists of 400 pleats symbolizing the years during which Greece was under Ottoman rule.

This is the simplified version of the Karagouna wedding dress with bright colors symbolizing the wealth of the valley of Thessaly. The undergarment is a long tunic which is hemmed in black fringe and covered by a pleated white overcoat decorated with embroidery. A matching red velvet vest is worn over the overcoat. Arm bands with black or multicolored fringe are a distinctive feature of this costume. Worn around the waist is a red felt apron with a broad velveteen band embroidered with gold thread. The headpiece consists of a black embroidered scarf wrapped and then twisted around the head and decorated with gold coins across the forehead. Across the bosom are worn many rows of chains with coins which symbolized the wealth of the bride.

This female Gida costume comes from the Roumlouki area of central Macedonia and is considered a village style of dress. The main piece of the costume is an outer coat of either white or dark blue, with decorative flaps which fold to the back revealing rich embroidery. Under this is worn a long white chemise. Both the black woven belt and apron are decorated with distinctive colored patterns. The headdress, which is made of white scarves and black tassels, is decorated with multicolored flowers.

In general, the male costume of Macedonia includes a pair of white cotton undergarments, a pair of black woolen pants, a billowing white cotton shirt, a waistcoat, and a long wide sash. On the legs are worn broidered woolen socks and pigskin laced shoes. In the old days, men wore a red fez which has now been replaced by a black cloth cap.

The basic components of the Cypriot male costume are the densely pleated baggy trousers, vraka, which is common in all the Greek islands, and the waistcoat, gileko, or jacket, zibouni. This apparent uniformity is punctuated by some local features, manifest in the size of the vraka and the color of the cloth used for the chest garment. These characteristics used to be indicative of the wearer’s origins. The vraka is made of coarse hand-woven dimity, which was dyed, after sewing, by local dyers, poyatzides; black for elderly men, blue for younger ones. The vraka varied in size and shape from region to region. The vraka for “best” wear was very wide, requiring forty piches (yards) of dimity (sheer double-threaded cotton fabric).

The village of Metaxades lies in the mountains near the border with Bulgaria and this style of dress has many similarities with those of its Slavic neighbors. OHFS’ particular version of the costume consists of a white cotton under-dress with long sleeves. Over this is worn a black Thracian tsoukna, a sleeveless cotton over-dress. The tsoukna is heavily embroidered around the bodice with multi-colored threads. The openings to the right and left are also trimmed with embroidery. On top of the tsoukna there is a woven apron held in place by the famous Thracian enameled belt. The barboula, or headdress, consists of several multi-colored floral scarves which are decorated with flowers.

If you would like to order costumes go to greektownimports.com