Folk costume, traditional dress, traditional attire or folk attire, is clothing of an ethnic group, nation or region, and expresses cultural, religious or national identity. An ethnic group's clothing may also be called ethnic clothing or ethnic dress. Traditional clothing includes everyday and formal wear. The word "costume" in this context is sometimes considered pejorative, as the word has more than one meaning, and thus "clothing", "dress", "attire" or "regalia" can be substituted without offense.[1][2][3][4]
In regions where Western dress styles are common, traditional garments are often worn during special events or celebrations. International events may cater to non-Western attendees with a compound dress code such as "business suit or national dress".
In some contemporary societies, traditional garments are required by sumptuary laws. For example, in Bhutan the driglam namzha mandates what citizens should wear in public spaces.[6] Bhutanese citizens must wear the traditional clothing of the Ngalop people, including a gho and kera for men and a kira and wonju for women,[7] including for official business, schools and institutions, and official occasions and assemblies.[8] These restrictions apply when people are in or near "monastic fortresses (dzong), monasteries (gompa) and temples (lhakhang), and government buildings. Karin Altmann, a textile art scholar, describes the intent behind this law "to prevent specific features of Bhutanese culture from disappearing," and "to emphasize national identity",[8] but it has contributed to conflict due to the ethnic and cultural diversity of Bhutan.[9]
Kenya – There is no national costume, per se, but leso (kanga) is worn throughout Kenya;[14]kikoi, similar to kanga fabric, is also widespread. All tribes have their respective traditional garments, though; for example, the Maasai wear their traditional shuka and beadwork[14]
Bahamas – None, unofficially Androsia-cloth clothing. Junkanoo costumes can be considered folk costume but fall more into the sector of carnival dress than traditional garment.
Trinidad and Tobago – Tobago has an Afro-Tobagonian Creole culture with the Bélé costumes as their typical garment, commonly made of madras. Trinidad, however, has no defined national garment; the two major ethnic groups in the island wear the following during cultural occasions:
Canada – Each region has its own traditional costume:
Lumberjacks of Quebec and Ontario – Traditional logging wear includes mackinaw jackets or flannel shirts, with headgear being a tuque or trapper hat; a good example is seen with folk characters like Big Joe Mufferaw. Many stereotypes that foreigners (non-Canadians) have regarding Canadian folk costume (as well as other customs) actually come from Quebec and Ontario.
Newfoundland – Traditional mummers dress in masks and baggy clothes in Christmas season celebrations; the Cornish influence has also brought yellow oilskins and sou'westers as typical wear in coastal areas.
Utah – Mormons may dress in 19th-century pioneer clothing for Mormon trek-related activities and events.
American Upper Midwest, Pacific Northwest, the northern portions of the Great Lakes Basin and northern New England (especially Maine) – Due to the cold weather, the garb in rural areas tends to more closely adhere to heavier materials, such as flannel shirts or Buffalo plaidmackinaw jackets, and a knit cap or, in the case of the Upper Peninsula, a Stormy Kromer cap. A good example is seen in the typical attire of Paul Bunyan, a folk hero popular in areas where logging was a common occupation, as well as lumberjacks working in the area. Due to the cold climate very similar to that of neighboring Canada, the style of clothing worn in the region is generally associated more with Canada than with the United States by foreigners (non-Americans).
Louisiana – The Cajun people of Louisiana traditionally wear the colorful capuchon for Mardi Gras celebrations. Creole women used to historically wear the tignon, mostly in plain or madras fabrics, but it is now sometimes worn for heritage events or cultural reasons.
Samba costumes for Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian carnival costumes are used only during the four days of Carnival by Samba schools members. Outside of Carnival, the most traditional men's clothing is that of the malandro carioca (carioca rascal) or sambista, a stereotype of the samba singer, with white pants, a striped shirt, white jacket, and a straw hat. Many stereotypes that foreigners have regarding Brazilian folk costume (as well as other customs) actually come from the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Caipiras (Brazilian country folk) in São Paulo, Goiás and other nearby states conserve traditional folk styles of clothing, imitated by participants of festa juninas.
Pará – typical clothing of Carimbó, a popular dance from the northern region of Brazil.
Indigenous clothes for many states within the Amazônia Legal area. In this region, there is an extensive indigenous community with different ethnicities, and each of them has their own typical clothes.
An example (among several) is the kushma used by the Asháninka.
Guyana – Guyana is unique among South American nations to not have a designated style of national dress. Every ethnic group wears their cultural clothing during important events or occasions:
Hokkaido – Ainu clothing, such as a tepa, a sacred belt called raun kut or upsoro kut, a konci (hood), hos (leggings), and grass skin jackets like tetarabe and utarbe; ceremonial garments include a sapanpe and a matanpushi
Altai Republic — ton (fur coat), sürü börük (cap), kaptal (overcoat), and the chegedek (Altai-Kizhi) or chedek (Telengits), a sleeveless cloak historically the daily and ceremonial wear of married women, now worn only as bridal attire or during festive occasions[24]
Indonesia[30] – There are numerous national and regional clothing in Indonesia due to the diversity of cultures that make up the island nation; they include:
Bulgaria – Every town has its own design of a national costume (nosia), with different types of clothing items traditional for each of the ethnographic regions of the country.[32][33]
Austria – Each state has a specific design on national costume; the most famous is that of Tyrol, consisting of the characteristic Tyrolean tracht and dirndls.
Germany – Every state has its own specific design of a regional costume (Tracht). For example, Bavaria's well-known tracht: Lederhosen and Dirndl. Many stereotypes that foreigners have regarding German folk costumes (as well as other customs) actually come from the state of Bavaria.
Hungary – elements of Hungarian folk costumes include pendely (linen underskirt), gatya (pleated skirt-like pants), elejbőr (sheepskin vest-like item), kacagány (fur pelt), and ködmön (sheepskin coat)[39]
Netherlands – Many areas, villages, and towns used to have their own traditional style of clothing. In the 21st century, only a few hundred people still wear traditional dresses and suits on a daily basis. They can be found mainly in Staphorst (about 700 women), Volendam (about 50 men) and Marken (about 40 women). Most well-known parts of Dutch folk costumes outside the Netherlands are probably the Dutch woman's bonnet and klompen.
Estonia – Rahvarõivad,[40] also known as rahvariided
Finland – Every region has its own specific design of national costume (kansallispuku, nationaldräkt). These vary widely. Many of them resemble Swedish costumes, but some take influences from Russian costumes as well. For the Sami in Finland, each place has its own Gákti or Luhkka for colder weather.[41]
Sweden – the traditional folkdräkt has been specific to the local region and varied from province to province but has since 1983 been supplemented by an official National Costume, Sverigedräkten [sv], common for all;[43] first unisex design in 2022: Bäckadräkten;[44] 18th century: Nationella dräkten; Sami: Gákti, Luhkka for colder weather[43]
Canary Islands – Every island has its specific style of traditional dress. Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre designed a costume in Gran Canaria in 1934 to serve as pan-islander costume for all islands, but only caught on in Gran Canaria, being specific to its capital city Las Palmas.
^Reese, Debbie (15 May 2007). "The word "costume" and American Indians". American Indians in Children's Literature. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
^Arce, Isis (4 February 2019). "Native Regalia is NOT a Costume!". Voices of Native Youth. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
^Higgins, Julissa (7 May 2018). "Opinion: Why It's Time to Stop Using the Word "Garb"". The Fashion Studies Journal. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
^Martinez, Gimeno; Leerssen, Joep (2022). "Dress, design: Introductory survey essay". Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe. Amsterdam: Study Platform on Interlocking Nationalisms. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^Shah, Shalini (October 31, 2016). "Bhutan's Queen Mother Sangay Choden Wangchuck on weaves in everyday life". Vogue India. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^Lhamo, Passang (April 2, 2019). "Driglam Namzha: Why The Bhutanese Do What They Do". Daily Bhutan. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^ abAltmann, Karin (2016). Fabric of Life - Textile Arts in Bhutan: Culture, Tradition and Transformation. Berlin, München, Boston: De Gruyter. pp. 30–32. doi:10.1515/9783110428612. ISBN 978-3-11-042861-2.
^"Lhotshampas". Minority Rights. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^Chatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in Central Africa". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^"Traditional Tuesday: Cameroon edition". Nene Fashion. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^Rabimov, Stephan (July 12, 2017). "Gabon's 'Heritage' On Display At The New York Fashion Week: Men's". Forbes. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^"Come Discover the Culture of Comoros". Adore Comores. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
^ abcChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in Eastern Africa". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ abcdChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in Southern Africa". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^Kanungo, Pallavi (February 23, 2023). "Ohorokova: The African attire born out of protest". HT School. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ abChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in Western Africa". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ abCondra, Jill, ed. (2013). Encyclopedia of National Dress, Vol. I. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-313-37637-5.
^ abChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in Central Asia". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^Many stereotypes that foreigners have regarding Chinese folk costume (and other customs) actually come from only the Han Chinese.
^"The Clothing of Taiwan's Indigenous People– Men and Women's Clothes". Digital Taiwan - Culture & Nature. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^"Dress and Dressing Up". Taiwan Memory Exhibition. National Central Library. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^"Bunun". Council of Indigenous Peoples. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^Hejzlarová, Tereza (2019). "Traditions and Innovations in the Clothing of Southern Altaians". Annals of the Náprstek Museum. 40 (1): 13–17. doi:10.2478/anpm-2019-0002. S2CID 208534450. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
^ abcdeChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in South Asia". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^Al Mamun, Abdullah (May 28, 2023). "Traditional Dress of Bangladesh That Reflect Our Culture and Heritage". Bangladeshi Heritage. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^"What to Wear in Bangladesh". whattowearonvacation. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
^ abChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^Sawe, Benjamin (April 25, 2017). "What Are Examples Of Traditional Indian Clothing?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ abcdeChatterjee, Saheli. "Anthropology in Fashion: Cultural Clothing in Southeast Asia". YOAIR Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^Phelan, Miriam (18 August 2017). "Sephardi Dress". Jewish Museum London. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
^"Български народни носии – България в стари снимки и пощенски картички". Retrobulgaria.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
^"Latvian National Costumes". The National Costume Center SENĀ KLĒTS. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^"National Costumes". Lithuanian National Culture Centre. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^The State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw. "Regional Types - Traditional Polish Folk Costumes". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^"Traditional Dress". The Museum of Russian Art. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum". "Get the Ukrainian Look: Ukrainian Folk Dress". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^Béni, Alexandra (January 18, 2018). "Get to know the invaluable Hungarian folk costumes". Daily News Hungary. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^"Estonian Folk Costumes". rahvaroivad.ee. NGO Estonian National Costume (MTÜ Rahvarõivas). Retrieved December 23, 2023.
^"The National Costume Center of Finland". craftmuseum.fi. Craft Museum of Finland. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^"Bunad history". bunadogfolkedrakt.no. Norsk institutt for bunad og folkedrakt (Norwegian Institute for Bunad and Folk Costume). Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^ ab"Swedish Traditional Clothing: The Ultimate Guide". seekscandinavia.com. Seek Scandinavia. May 31, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^Welin, Matilda (January 10, 2023). "The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now". The Collection. BBC. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
^"Fijians of Indian Descent – Clothing". Think Pacific. Think Pacific Limited. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^"Check out our iconic products: Mother Hubbard dresses". Ardici. Ardici: Artisanat de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^McDonald, Hamish (January 18, 2023). "Papua New Guinea's 'bilums' weave together function, fashion". Nikkei Asia. Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ ab"Weaving and clothing". archives.anu.edu.au. Australian National University. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^"Tapa: Pacific Style - Solomon Islands tapa". tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^"Traditional Tapa Valued in Tikopia". Solomon Times. Honiara, Solomon Islands. March 5, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^"Breastplate (Tema, Tambe, or Tepatu)". metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^Burt, Ben (March 1990). "Kwara'ae Costume Ornaments". Expedition Magazine. Vol. 32, no. 1. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^Cummings, Maggie (2013). "Looking Good: The Cultural Politics of the Island Dress for Young Women in Vanuatu" (PDF). The Contemporary Pacific. 25 (1): 33–65. doi:10.1353/cp.2013.0007. hdl:10125/32890. S2CID 145598013. Retrieved November 7, 2023.