Folk costumes are the historical wear of our ancestors which have been fashioned through the centuries according to peoples possibilities, needs and customs.
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During their development they were influenced by neighbours and by high society but adjusted to suit local tastes and traditions. The costumes were made of handwoven woolen or linen cloth, pieces of knitwear were added in the 17th century. The main parts of the costumes were natural - linen clothes were white, woolen clothes white, brown or black in colour. Other tones were achieved with plant dyes. At the beginning of the 19th century indigo-blue started to spread and bright artificial colours from the middle of the century. International and town fashion influences were increasingly noticeable in 19th century folk costumes. |
Due to archeological finds we also know something about the costumes of the 1st and the 2nd millennium. Estonian wear of that time had many common traits with the other cultures of the Baltic region. Womens wear consisted of a linen chemise and long woolen sleeveless smocklike coat. A rectangular piece of cloth was wrapped around the hips or was worn on the shoulders.
Data about the 13th-17th century is scant too but some full sets of womens wear from this period have survived (for example the finds of Parisselja and Rabivere). The cut of the costumes had generally remained the same, only the ornaments and decorations had changed. The 17th century brought along several important modifications: alongside the wraparound, the stitched single-colour skirt began to spread; North-Estonian men started to wear knee height trousers and women a cap instead of the previous headdress.
Already in the 18th century more manufactured materials like tinsels, silk ribbons and twines came into use. More important innovations were skirts with longitudinal stripes, potlike headdresses and floral designs as decoration.
There is more data about the 18th century costumes: museum exhibits, written notes of people's recollections, drawings and materials published by scholars (J. G. Georg and A. W. Hupel).
Estonian folk costumes were retained and developed even further in the 19th century, while at the same time becoming more urbanlike (manufactured cotton cloths, embroiderers, ornaments from fashion magazines). Waistcoats for men and women spread as new articles of clothing. So did short jackets and sweater.
The transition to urban fashions in the 19th century progressed at varying speeds. In places several transitional forms and innovations appeared (Lihula-Kirbla embroided skirts). At the beginning of the 20th century folk costumes were common in Setumaa, parts of Western Estonia and on the islands, on the island of Kihnu even nowadays.
Estonian folk costumes have many regional differences. Partly they are very old, linked with ancient tribal diffences, the other differences have developed in later history. The freedom of people's movements as serfs was limited mainly to within their home parish. The main meeting place was the church where people used to wear their best clothes.
We can divide Estonian folk costumes by their general traits into four larger groups: