Traditional costume from the East Kraków region

Strój Krakowiaków Wschodnich

The region where live people called Krakowiacy is a big part of the top left basin of  Wisła so  the west part of Jura krakowsko-częstochowska, the south part of highland of Małopolska, and on the east on both banks of Wisła the west part of Kotlina wiślańsko-sańska. With such  geographical difference in whole region goes a differene in outfits. On the eastern part of region of Kraków we could say about more agricultural lifestyle and on the west more agricultural-industrial lifestyle. Thats why there is many difference in outfits of western and eastern citizens of that region. Eastern capitals of culture were Dąbrowa Tarnowska, Pińczó, Proszowice and Brzesko. Described outfits come from Dąbrowa(womens outfit) and Brzesk(mens outfit).

Mens outfit
The characteristic headgear of men from Brzesk was magierka. It was made on wires and had singled out bottom. It was decorated with blue-red threads and peacock’s feather. Men used to wear also a krakuska – a hat very similiar to the headgear from west – but it had different form of peacock’s feather and had a dacoration made of floral boquet. Shirts were made always of white linen material. Its least decoration was red stripe or silver stud. Trousers called portki were made of thin linen or cotton material and always were put inside the shoes. In calder days men wore trousers made of thicker linen material and they put few of them. Kaftan – the vest worn by men from East had the same form as in western region. They were made of blue material and were decorated with green, yellow and red threads and with embroideries. Embroideries had always floral patterns sometimes men had embroidered his name on a vest. The vest was tied with white leather belt. It was decorated with small metal buttons and green or red thread.  On the one side of the belt men used to put some “noisy decorations” which provided metalic sound. Men wore knee-long black leather boots.

Womens outfit
In the region of Dabrowa maids didn’t wear any headgear but they wore a floral wreath decorated with metal plates and metal stars. In cold days maids and married women wore small bandanas. Mostly they were white or red. Holiday headgear of married women was always a bonnet-bandana. Women wore two skirts or sometimes more. Women wanted to look wider so they tried to make their figure more fat. Womens shirts were mostly sewn from white cotton cloth. They were decorated with special “rzezane” sewning. On the neck women wore kryzka which was buttoned under the neck. Its curves were ended with small “teeths”. Coresets worn in Eastern Cracov region had very diferent forms. To make such a corset women used black velvet, clear woolen materials or patterned, floral tybet. Clear corsets were decorated with velvet and embroidery made of thread and beads. Caftans were made as same as corsets from many kind of materials but mostly from wool. In region of Dąbrowa they were made of red woolen material with decorations on the front and sleeves with flat embroideries and bead embroideries. Women wore black tied shoes or top shoes.

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