#italian folk costume

[griefsinfernalflower]

Arbëreshë women, Sicily, Italy 🇮🇹

[calabria-mediterranea]

Vintage photos of woman in traditional folk costume - Lamezia Terme, Calabria, Italy

Nicastro's traditional female dress was called pacchiana since 1600 and remained in use until around the mid-1960s.

All women wore it, except those few belonging to the nobility.

The pacchiane were working class women, free from the canons of the time and, despite the name of their costume, they had grace and majesty of bearing, the maximum expression of Calabrian female beauty.

The pacchiana costume was worn by young women for the first time between the ages of 14 and 15, on the occasion of Holy Christmas, Easter, or the patronal feast and marked the girl's passage from childhood to adulthood, now of marriageable age. These costumes, which were frequently also worn with the ''tail'' or fadiglia, with lace, frills and embroidery of great splendor, were also worn in the neighboring towns as well as in the city of Nicastro. There were eight characterizing pieces:

1) the long white canvas skirt;

2) the rigid boning corset;

3) u pannu of different colors depending on the state of the woman

4) the blouse, made of cotton or lace;

5) the curly or pleated skirt;

6) the apron, called mantisinu;

7) the mannile, a strip that covered the head;

8) the shawl.

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[global-musings]

Sardinian Girls

[calabria-mediterranea]

Vintage photo of a woman in folk costume from old Nicastro (now Lamezia Terme), Calabria, Italy

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

Woman from Nicastro, Calabria region of Italy

Italian vintage postcard

[mary-laib]

TW: period-typical racist attitudes

-

I'm tired of "victim" of racism Alastor. I want to see more of him in all his flaws. Give me "victim and perpetrator" of racism Alastor:

• Being creole and looking mostly white, he gets a lot more leeway with Louisiana folk and that makes him cocky

• He grows up with privledges that darker skinned folk don't get and suddenly that means he's special and better than them

• He starts hanging out with all these white folk and other white-passing creole people and he starts to believe half the things they say about people of color

• (Of course, his mama's still one of the good ones)

• He gets unreasonably offended and defensive anytime someone calls him out for what he is, whether its by other racists clocking him as Not White or people calling him out for his racist attitudes when he's one of them

• He takes pride in his ability to blend in with the white folk, yet simultaneously hates the fact he looks nothing like his mother and everything like his father

• The reason he starts learning to do a radio accent is so he can sound more white. It makes him seem even stranger to most white-folk until he actually becomes a radio host and then its just a symptom of his career

• He lies. He takes pride in his relationship with his mother and her religious practices, but he still lies about her. His mother isn't of color, she isn't a homewrecker, she's a good, christian woman, his father wanted him, yes, they're both white, his mother's Italian, not creole, he's not creole.

• He straightens his hair to look more white (not because he's scared of being seen, not because he hates the reminder of what his mother would think of him now)

• Statistically speaking, murderers tend to keep it within their own race (maybe he kills white people in his own sick way of saying "I'm one of you too!" Maybe he kills other people like him because he hates that reminder and deep down he knows)

He's a sick freak wearing a Normal Man costume and I want see him portrayed as such.

[iliothermia]

Where do you find references or research to create all the unique patterns in your compositions and the outfits of your characters?

When I do reference, mainly books on Greek/Jewish textiles, architecture and illuminations. Books are expensive though 💀 I'll add some online resources!!

Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink (link to scanned version)

Ceremonial Synagogue Textiles: From Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Italian Communities

The Jewish virtual museum has some resources

This folk costume blog is a great resource for Greek regional clothing, but also folk clothing and embroidery in general. I love this blog

I do end up making a lot of patterns based on my own memories of everything I've seen, too though. Hopefully some of those resources will be helpful!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Dance

for your next poem/story

Allemande - a 17th and 18th century court dance developed in France from a German folk dance; a dance step with arms interlaced

Beguine - a vigorous popular dance of the islands of Saint Lucia and Martinique that somewhat resembles the rumba

Bourrée - a 17th century French dance usually in quick duple time

Cabriole - a ballet leap in which one leg is extended in midair and the other struck against it

Chaconne - an old Spanish dance tune of Latin American origin

Czardas - a Hungarian dance to music in duple time in which the dancers start slowly and finish with a rapid whirl

Estampie - a usually textless, monophonic musical work of the late Middle Ages consisting of several repeated units that probably accompanied a dance

Farandole - a lively Provençal dance in which men and women hold hands, form a chain, and follow a leader through a serpentine course

Gavotte - a dance of French peasant origin marked by the raising rather than sliding of the feet

Hora - a circle dance

Juba - a dance that was accompanied by complex rhythmic hand clapping and slapping of the knees and thighs and that was performed on plantations in the southern U.S. by enslaved Black people

Kolo - a central European folk dance in which dancers form a circle and progress slowly to right or left while one or more dancers perform elaborate steps in the center

Lavolta - an early French couple dance characterized by pivoting and making high springs or bounds

Matachin - a dance performed by a matachin (i.e., a sword dancer in a fantastic costume)

Maxixe - a ballroom dance of Brazilian origin that resembles the two-step

Mazurka - a Polish folk dance in moderate triple measure

Passacaglia - an old dance performed to a passacaglia (i.e., an old Italian or Spanish dance tune consisting of variations usually on a ground bass in moderately slow triple time)

Pavane - a stately court dance by couples that was introduced from southern Europe into England in the 16th century

Quadrille - a square dance for four couples made up of five or six figures chiefly in ⁶/₈ and ²/₄ time

Rigadoon - a lively dance of the 17th and 18th centuries

Saltarello - an Italian dance with a lively hop step beginning each measure

Strathspey - a Scottish dance that is similar to but slower than the reel

Tarantella - a lively folk dance of southern Italy in ⁶/₈ time

Varsovienne - a graceful dance similar to a mazurka and popular in many European countries, Mexico, and the U.S.

Zamacueca - a South American especially Chilean courtship dance

More: Word Lists

[calabria-mediterranea]

Vintage photo of a woman in the folk costume of San Giovanni in Fiore, Calabria, Italy

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

San Giovanni in Fiore. Costume calabrese

[another-goblin]

They finally released a full-res version of that concert promo, and it raised some questions.

1. Why an accordion?

I don't think they put too much thought into what instruments to give to the characters, but there is certain logic.

Characters from a Chinese-inspired faction (Jingliu, Yanqing, and Jing Yuan) seem to use traditional Chinese instruments (with both Yanqing and Jing Yuan playing a flute. Like father, like son!) Kafka plays the violin. Aventurine playing an electric guitar, an aggressively modern and international instrument, might indicate how he's removed from his traditional roots.

So what about the accordion? How Greco-Roman or traditional is it? (the short answer is, not at all.)

The accordion had been invented in the 19th century in Germany.

It rapidly gained popularity in rural Europe due to its ability to both play the melody and the accompaniment.

It has also been gaining popularity in classical and jazz music lately, as well as apparently being quite popular in South America. Despite this, it seems to be mostly associated with folk European music (especially popular in Eastern and Central Europe, especially the Balkans), creating a connection with traditional European music.

It basically represents a "traditional" European instrument without being tied to any particular culture (because of not being traditional actually).

So what instrument would you give a quirky and kind of old-timey European? An accordion.

Because at the same time they had to emphasize how not from Amphoreus he is, so traditional Greek or Latin instruments were out of the question (notice how Castorice is playing a modernized version of an ancient Greek lyre.) And you can't give him any instrument associated with different European countries because he's not from there either.

To think of it, an accordion is a good fit for a weird, forever homeless guy of unclear origin who can't be associated with any country in particular.

2. Why is the accordion so small, with tiny keys?

There are mini-accordions and kids accordions, but their keys are normal size. This one seems like a normal accordion just scaled down 2 times. Weird.

Does he often walk into bars with his tiny accordion?

Speaking of which, what do people say about men with small accordions?

Does he play sad songs on the world's smallest accordion?

Bad jokes write themselves.

3. What is he wearing? Why the "skirt"? The obvious (and the only correct) answer is that it's just an awkward attempt to marry his traditional outfit with a modern western costume.

But why not speculate? First, it gave me strong Indian vibes. Modern western-looking clothes with a long garment sticking from under the vest:

I'm 100% sure that wasn't the inspiration, but it kind of looks like it, right?

Meanwhile, nothing I could find of traditional Greek and Italian clothes looks even close.

And it's a pity that they decided to give him this default "western" look with this little traditional element that feels out of place.

Speaking of skirts. Hoyo, stop being cowards! Make him double down on his unapologetic weirdness! This is a man who wears a marble bust as a mask and takes baths in the middle of a scientific space station. Make him proudly wear this! And play this!

(Btw I'm curious how historical this costume actually is. I never saw anything like this outside of official occasions or performances)

But the way he is now, I can totally see him playing at a wedding in an Albanian village in the beginning of the last century.

[kiwibes]

I dont know if this belongs here but I am part of a historical dancing troupe and I would really appreciate anyone willing to follow our instag account (@caprioolgent). I know that it is not a tumblr of course (not sure if such content would be appreciated here?) but it is really hard to get these types of organizations in the spotlight

So I started the account to reach more people than with our website and fb. I do it mixed english and dutch for the international folks! I have never before done sth like this so bear with me!

Short introduction! We are a small dancing troupe in Ghent (Belgium) and we specialise in reconstructing and performing late medieval, Bourgondian and Renaissance dances. Roughly 14 to beginning 17th century.

The majority of the costumes are selfmade. We try to stay loyal to the historical silhoutte but we are flexible because of difference in sewing skills of our volunteers, real wool textile being expensive, it is a large time frame so we don't have a costume for every 30 year-block in the renaissance period etc. Most of our court dances are french, italian, spanish or english.

So if you wanna make my day please give us a follow�� and if you have any suggestions, anything you would like to see please feel free to let me know!

Thank you!

[sproouts-jpeg]

more strawpage stuff!!

nami and luf trying to cool off from the summer heat with some tangerines!! (+ sanji’s there too to offer his beloved navigator a drink)

this is probably my favorite thing i’ve ever drawn recently! idk why the image quality is so ass tho…

ok now this is the part where i start ranting cause im on tumblr and i can do that efficiently here!!

luffy: brazilian & egyptian

oda says he’s brazilian and i have no qualms with that, he was already latino to me to begin with lol

and so obviously that makes dragon + garp brazilian too :)

also the bororó people of brazil have a folk hero sun god in their mythology, which def fits how nika is depicted in op

(i may or may not entertain the idea of crocodile being his other dad; it’s a fun concept) (so yeh i hc croc as egyptian)

zoro: japanese & mongolian

i just remember getting this from another artist and i though it was cool

but also historically mongols were nomadic seafarers

and iirc zoro’s mom, terra, was related to bandits, so i’d imagine her lifestyle would be seafaring as well. so i hc her as mongolian

and zoro’s dad, arashi, being of wanoan descent, obv he’s the op equivalent of japanese

nami: swedish

i didn’t have any ideas so i just went with what oda said im so sorry my queen ;-;

usopp: south african + brazilian

oda’s dumb and didn’t specify which country in the entire african continent usopp is from, so i chose south africa

they have a long history of oral poetry and storytelling, which i feel matches with usopp’s love of tall tales

then i chose brazil bc i thought it’d be fun to have luffy + usopp bond over their shared culture

also cause i love him a lot and one of the the highest honors i can give him is making him latino

also also that one color spread of the mugiwaras in random cultural clothes where usopp was wearing a brazilian carnival costume

sanji: french, chinese, + german

well oda says he’d be french, and i think it fits. he’s flamboyant as hell despite trying to be nonchalant, and ig he speaks french too.

i imagine his mom, sora, to be half french and half chinese

that blue dress she wears has pankou knots as button closures; if u give me any small detail i’ll just run with it

also i just like the idea that theyd speak cantonese instead of mandarin :)

judge is german obv… he’s king of the germa kingdom. it’s pretty on the nose

chopper: canadian (inuit)

he’s a reindeer, which according to oda makes him canadian ig

i got the hc of him being indigenous/inuit from another artist, and i just like that a lot

robin: russian (sakha/yakut)

oda said she’d be russian but like look at the woman!! she’s very much not white!!! so i imagine her as indigenous!

compared to other indigenous groups of russia, the yakut people are the least assimilated to russian culture, so they have a greater preservation of their language!

that for some reason just reminds me of robin a lot

also their cultural wear has really cool elaborate silver coin jewelry, which i think would suit her

also also they rear reindeer, which i think it’d be funny if that’d be the reason for robin to be endeared by them (and thus chopper)

franky: italian american

water 7 is based on italy, and even tho he’s not from there i choose to make him italian anyways

also his soda loving self and aggressively kind personality and just the way that he looks, ig that’s why oda says he’d be american

on an unrelated note; i’ve accidentally incorporated “suuuuper” into my regular vocabulary and it’s all franky’s fault

brook: austrian + colombian

oda says he’s austrian, ig cause he’s a violinist and so is austrian composer mozart

while he could easily just be a black austrian, i love him too much and thus i’ve given him the honor of also being colombian (like me :D)

also colombia has a big music scene that’s influenced by its afro-latino communities!

jimbei: indian + japanese

oda said he’d be indian irl so i went with it

also whale sharks, which jimbei is based on, can be found on the coast of the country

but since he also wears mostly kimonos, i’d imagine maybe it’s a cultural thing, so i also hc him as half japanese

another unrelated note: i need to draw jimbei in some kind of indian traditional wear i haven’t decided what yet tho but it’d be cool

vivi: egyptian

not much to say either… alabasta is based on egypt ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

and her favorite food, mulukhiyah, is egyptian too

and her white and pink princess dress kinda is based off some ancient egyptian dress too

so ig it’s basically canon

another hc i got from twitter; vivi is a nickname her full name is vinisha! very cute!

that was a long rant with little to no substance lol hope u still liked it tho byeeee

[griefsinfernalflower]

"Girls of Many Lands" - cigarette cards issues by Major & Drapkin Co. in 1929

Source

[calabria-mediterranea]

Vintage photos of women from Nicastro (now Lamezia Terme), Calabria, Italy

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[chiaraforfun]

Jily lives prompt:

“may I ask you, fair lady, for a dance with me?”

“Hehehe.. of course, my fair sir”

As the tempo slowed, he pulled her closer with his hand boldly resting on her hip.

"Well, may I know what you are dressed as, enchanting lady?" he asked with a teasing grin.

She pretended to be surprised. "Oh, haven’t you figured it out yet, sir?"

"Not really, but I do like it when you call me sir" he smirked, spinning her in a quick twirl followed by a dip that made her laugh. When he brought her back to position, the movement shifted the veil in front of her face.

He went to put it back in place, but she stopped his hand, taking it between hers and forcing him to relent. "No, leave it like that" she chuckled mischievously.

After a few more steps, she explained. "I am the Black Lady."

"Ah" he said, still confused.

She laughed "She’s the ghost of a folk legend. It’s said that a lady roams the park at night dressed in black with a veil covering her face, intending to lure unsuspecting men. They, enchanted by her magic, fall in love and follow her to a villa shrouded in fog, where they dance with her until exhaustion. Then, pushed by frenzy and curiosity, they lift the veil," she said, guiding James's hands slowly and seductively to lift it, then turning to show him her made-up side with a cheeky smile. "They discover that underneath there's just a skull, and they end up going mad."

He smiled, enchanted by both the story and her.

Here it is! The full story is on my Ao3 💕💕

Hope you like it ❤️

If y'all like stories like these make sure to check it, and if you want a costume-made make sure to ask and I will write one for you too.

My Ao3 is c_H_i_A_r_A and these promts are part of my story "StoryTime".

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63206518/chapters/162311305

My story was also inspired by Italian folklore "la Dama Nera". Dylan Dog, a Comic book artist, was inspired too to write:

[trilobiter]

The other day I was listening to some old Broadway soundtracks (think Rodgers and Hammerstein old), and I got to thinking again about where the line is, exactly, between what we call "musical theater" and what we call "opera."

If it's just a matter of form, then my assessment is that this venn diagram is very nearly a circle. On both sides you have sets, costumes, singing while acting. Musicals are more likely to have spoken dialogue between the songs, but there are plenty of sung-through musicals, and many operas have spoken dialogue too. Musicals do tend to be built around the popular song structures of their time, whereas operas are strongly associated with European-style "art music." However, many operas also include songs with folk and popular forms, and many musicals (especially older ones) have great big overtures and other musical flourishes that are positively operatic. Most of the most well-known operas are sung in Italian/French/German, but surely most people know that English language operas exist.

It seems as though the strongest basis for dividing musical theater from opera is the stylistic basis - musicals mostly sound like popular music, operas sound like "art music," whatever that means. Some people think the whole musical theater experience is dorky, but showtunes are at least broadly legible to everybody - you can probably sing along, even if you don't particularly want to.

Opera, on the other hand, has a reputation among the masses as being incomprehensible, because it's either too old-fashioned or (if it isn't literally over a century old) too avant garde. The language barrier plays into it too, no matter again that some operas are in English or that subtitles are widely available in this day and age, even in live performance. There's a prevailing sense that the average person in an opera house would find most of the show goes over their head - as if you need a degree in music theory or a Swiss bank account to understand why the clown is sad that his wife is unfaithful.

But the thing is, crossovers are possible and they do happen. Sweeney Todd has been staged by opera companies multiple times. Porgy and Bess has been recorded over and over by popular singers and musicians. The only thing that really keeps these two worlds separate is mystique, or "vibes" - which is to say, nothing that is real.

What I'm saying is that all you musical theater nerds need to start getting into opera too. Everything you like about musicals is in opera. Opera is full of blorbos or whatever. Everybody's always bursting into song and losing their minds doing things they can never take back. It's extremely gif-able.

[elegantshapeshifter]

Im not sure if youre unable to answer this as i dont believe you’re American but i’m unsure how to learn about and incorporate the local land spirits/lore into my practice without it being appropriative of native culture as they will have encountered these spirits first and their lore is their own obviously.

Sorry, being Italian I'm very much European-based.

In order to incorporate the local lore to your practice, you need to see the folklore, folk tales, legends, uses and costumes of the European COLONIALS who went there. Sometimes, however, they already have demonized everything. So if you see that Witches and Fairies and Spirits in the folklore of European Colonials are all connected to the Devil, without any spiritual character apart from the Devil, then it means that once it went to the New World it was already demonized. So you need to find where those people who colonized the New World were from in Europe, and searching for the folklore of that European country.

It's best to compare both the Colonials Folklore and the Original European folklore, because in the meantime it could have changed. But if the legends about Fairies, Leaders of the Witches, Wild Hunt, Processions of the Dead, Sabbath, and so on were all demonized, then you need to attain from the original European counterpart.

I know that usually Americans are from various origins, but you need to focus on only one at time, otherwise it's going to be too messy to understand ^^"

P.S.: the same applies for Oceania, I don't know why we never consider Australia and New Zealand!