Serbian clothing pattern in Serbian clothing pattern in Nerodimlje (near UroŔevac),
late 19th and first half of the 20th century
Women's, Serbian, rural national costume in the narrow part of Kosovo: a "shirt," a woven and leather "belt," "bojÄe" (a type of skirt), "jacket," "ÄurÄe" (a type of coat), "pamuklija" (cotton garment), a woolen "koporan" (overcoat), "kožuh" (fur coat), "socks," and "opanci" (traditional shoes). On their heads, women wore: "otoz" with a scarf, "scarf," "tepeluk" or "Äelenka" (types of headwear).
The shirt was made of white domestic cotton fabric, cut from one piece with several "platno" and "rebranik" (wedges) on the side to give it width at the bottom for free movement. The sleeves were straight-set; the shirt was richly decorated with embroidery of multicolored wool and thread ("fula"), white and yellow, with the addition of sequins, old coins, and pearls. The decoration on the sleeves and chest used to form a whole. If the shirt was more richly decorated, it was a festive shirt and was named after the type of ornament embroidered on it. Thus, there were known shirts such as "ÄurÄevajka," "polaÄurÄevajka," "tri-Å”are," "zmijana," "roganja," "zlatnica," "skulanka," "iseklija," etc. Many shirts had additional decorations such as "ojme" (beads) of white and red cotton or "krme" (laces and trim) around the collar edge and the chest slit, often adorned with pearls and sequins. The lower edge of the shirt was hemmed and always decorated with either a trim of multicolored wool, appliqued lace-tent, tiny shiny beads, or with two parallel, hand-made stitches known as "red tegelj" (usually done in red cotton thread). There is another decoration on the shirt at the bottom of the back part, which forms part of the composition with the chest and sleeves. It is usually embroidered with the same material as the embroidery on the chest and sleeves. These two identical motifs are called "provoz" in the folk. Between these two motifs, there is another small embroidered decoration called "micko provojÄe."
These shirts embroidered with multicolored wool disappeared soon after World War I, while "ÄurÄevajka" shirts, embroidered with metal threads, were used until just before World War II.
The belt was quite wide, usually "fourfold" woven; the base was "makarÄe" (spool of machine thread), and the weft was black wool (first comb or first strand and silk thread) in various colors. The belt has different names in the folk, depending on the weaving and decoration. All variations of the belt share the characteristic that one larger part is woven only with black wool, while the other shorter part (which is actually the outer part) is decorated. The represented motifs (linear, geometric, and stylized vegetal) are called "bisizan," "peraklija," "koliÄi," "kolobodan," "krune." In addition to the embroidery of wool and silk, these belts can also have embroidery of white and yellow metal threads and kolobodan or a combination of all. Over the belt, a leather belt is fastened, sometimes adorned with yellow "puljke" (buttons) made of pyrite, and at the top of the belt is a hook or lace. If the belt is wider, it had two rows of buttons. A thin "sinÄir" (chain) was also worn, on which "trepke" (fake yellow coins) were strung.
The bojÄe is worn over the shirt and below the waistband. It is a short, finely pleated skirt, longitudinally assembled from two panels. There are several types of bojÄe, differing in the way they are woven and decorated. Typically made from black or dark cherry-colored wool, it is finely pleated. It is fastened around the waist with two strings. On the lower free edge of the bojÄe, there is either no decoration (for older women) or small lace decorations supplemented with tiny pearls or sequins. Another type is the light bojÄe, a festive garment, also longitudinally assembled from two panels; the base is cotton while the weft is made of multicolored silk and white metal thread. It is a wedding garment but also worn by young women during festivities. Women used to wear two bojÄes, one in the front and the other in the back, joining at the hips. When the usage of the "vijanka" or boÅ”Äe began, the front bojÄe was no longer worn, and the back one was extended in length and width, so that only one bojÄe was wrapped around the entire waist, with the seams under the "vijanka."
Over the shirt, a vest (jelek) is worn. It is a short, small garment, reaching up to the waist, sleeveless, deeply cut at the chest, fastened below the bust. This garment is also known as "kolsuz." It is made of frieze or woolen fabric in cherry, blue, brown, and green colors. If the vest is dark red, it is called "karpuz." It is richly decorated with metal or cotton braid, metal thread, "klobodan," and more recently with multicolored silk "bikma" (thickly twisted silk thread). This garment is a tailor's product.
At the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, a woolen koporan with sleeves was worn over the vest. It is a garment made of "alena" (red) colored wool, bell-shaped, with narrow sleeves and decorated around the chest cut. This garment was also made by tailors.
The ÄurÄe is another garment worn during cold days. It is made from dark, usually black wool, with sleeves up to the elbows and long up to the waist. It is decorated with black braid and most often yellow bikma. The koporan and ÄurÄe have replaced the cotton and leather jackets.
Pamuklija is a long garment made of cotton satin, lined with cotton, hand-quilted with fine stitches, and with sleeves. The edges are decorated with braid. In cut, this garment is similar to the urban anterija, i.e., pamuklija is actually an urban garment adapted for rural living.
The apron for women, called boÅ”Äa,
Wool and metal thread woven in two threads. It features woven stripes and geometric motifs of wool and metal, crocheted and purchased lace, small coins, sequins, and beads. It is made of two longitudinal panels with cotton waist ties.
The rear apron for women, called zadnjaca
Cotton, metal, and wool woven in two threads. It features woven stripes and stylized floral motifs, and white lace trimming. It consists of two panels with attached ties for fastening.
BojÄe
Wool woven in two threads. It features woven stripes and embroidered stylized motifs of wavy branches with leaves made of metal thread and tiny sequins.
The vest is made from frieze, with a lining of purchased fabric, mainly made of silver threads and braids.
Socks are made from homemade dark wool, most often dark cherry-colored, decorated with "streaks" where sequences of vegetal motifs are embroidered.
Over these socks, rawhide sandals called "opanci" are worn, with black wool uppers and long white fronts, curled upwards with a pointed tip. This type of footwear, about fifty years ago, was replaced by rubber sandals, also very primitively made, and later by factory-produced rubber sandals, "kapicar". For formal occasions, bought shoes from the city, "kondure", were worn.
Between the two World Wars, this attire gradually disappeared. First, the "vijanka" ā a woolen apron worn over the shirt and bojÄe ā penetrated these regions, serving not only an aesthetic role but also protecting the bojÄe and shirt from excessive dirt. It was usually made from dark wool and consisted of two panels. There are two types: one decorated only at the ends of the longer sides and another that gained transverse "streaks" during weaving. Both types feature embroidery with cotton and silk thread, metal, and klobodan, often using the "punjaÄki stitch" with vegetal motifs ā "branches" and "flowers". The two longer edges and the shorter bottom edge are often trimmed with lace, which is called "krama" if handmade and "tenta" or "tentela" if industrially produced.
Soon after the vijanka, a black woolen pleated skirt made from homemade red wool, longitudinally assembled from two panels, either unadorned or with an applied strip of black velvet, penetrated Kosovo. This skirt completely changed the Serbian rural Kosovo attire, so that before World War II, it consisted of a shirt with sleeves, now shortened to the hips, "futarka", "vijaÄa", "pojas" (belt), "jelak" (vest), "koporan" (sometimes made of fabric), "pamuklija" in some villages, "ÄurÄe" (a kind of jacket), "socks", "opanci" (traditional sandals) and "kondure" (shoes). After World War II, only the futarka and shirt remained in use, especially among older women. Among the younger female population, the upper garments are now exclusively of industrial origin and urban cut, so the old Kosovo attire is no longer seen in Kosovo villages.
A characteristic adornment of the old female Serbian Kosovo attire is the ottoz with a scarf and tepeluk with a scarf.
Tepeluk is a small, round silver (or copper) plate made using the filigree technique, placed on a cherry-colored cap, over which a "Å”amija" (white, red, yellow, green, or multicolored) is already placed. The Å”amija is arranged to cover half of the cap and part of the tepeluk, gathered at the top of the head and falling freely down the back. Underneath the scarf and tepeluk, the hair is loose (unbraided). Around the tepeluk, strings of small coins or ÄinÄuva are fixed. The same decoration is applied to the cap under the tepeluk, with three or four rows of old coins, pearls, and sequins. Additionally, decorative filigree pins, flowers, and other ornaments are inserted into the cap and hair.
Married women wore an otoz (headwear) shaped like a reel, about the thickness of a thumb, wrapped in white cloth and decorated on the front with strings of coins. It was placed over "saplŠµtci" or "suplŠµtci", which are two braids that women braid on both sides of the face, extending them over the temples to under the chin where they are tied with a woolen ribbon decorated with coins, and then bent and tied again on the top of the head. The braids are adorned with various decorative pins and coins. Over them and the ottoz, a cotton scarf, woven double-threaded, is worn. The base is "black Izmir" (off-white cotton), and the weft is black and white Izmir, creating "streaks" (wider stripes) of different shades of white and varying widths during weaving. On both narrow ends of the scarf (which is shaped like a long towel), there is embroidery. These are usually various vegetal motifs embroidered with metal thread, klobodan, and multicolored cotton. This embroidery is found between two wider "streaks" obtained by weaving. And there is also embroidery along these streaks. This scarf is named differently according to its type - "zmijana", "božurana", "pojasana", "strekana", "zubena", etc. The scarf is arranged so that both decorated ends, i.e., their tips, come above the forehead and the other two fall over the braids and ears. Older women also wear ottoz, but it is much less decorated. The only decoration is "trake" - fringes made of pearls and beads along the edge of the scarf, folded so that they fall on the forehead in the same line as the otoz.
"Äelenka" is a wedding cap that was actually the former girl's tepeluk, only more richly decorated and was in use until World War II.
One of the wedding caps was also "perjanica", richly decorated with pearls, small coins, mirrors, and colorful feathers. This cap became customary shortly after World War I.
Lastly, it should be mentioned that this head decoration has been replaced by a Ŕamija or "mavez", as the factory-made woven scarf is also called here. Today, the scarf is worn by older women, and very rarely by the younger generation.
As jewelry, girls wore necklaces of coins and ducats on their chests. This signified the wealth of the girl's and later the bride's family. On their hands, they wore rings (mainly made by people from Janjevo) and "belenzuke" ā bracelets.
Men's costume
Men's costume was made from frieze, mainly dark and grey, and less often from white. It consists of a "shirt", "gaÄe" (underpants), "ÄakÅ”ire" (trousers), "pojas" (belt), "jelak" (vest), "koporan" (overcoat), "gunj" (a kind of jacket), "kožujÄiÄ" (leather jacket), "terleme" (socks), "kalÄine" (leggings), and "opanci naÄikme" (traditional sandals).
The shirt was most commonly made of hemp and "melazno" fabric (hemp base and cotton weft). Long to the knees, made from a single "stan" with side wedges, it had wide, straight sleeves (which were not fastened in the past, but now are gathered and fastened with cuffs). The neck was adorned with a decorative collar, and sometimes there was a slit on the chest. The shirt for more festive days was adorned with more embroidery, and sometimes with "kitkama" (tassels) of multicolored cotton. This shirt was worn over the pants in summer.
The long-legged, small-rise pants were made from the same fabric as the shirt. The more festive ones had embroidery on the hem of the legs, often decorated with sequins "sprinkama".
ÄakÅ”ire, made of frieze (dark, gray, and less often white) consists of legs, wedges (wider and narrower), and a turn of varying size, so there are actually two variants of the same type of ÄakÅ”ire. The legs end with "paÄaluci" decorated with braid or "bik" (a type of thick thread) and have two slits on the front, "rkmache" also decorated with braid.
The belt, worn over the ÄakÅ”ire, was made of wool. The most commonly worn belt, known as the "Skadar" belt, featured characteristic multicolored stripes along the entire belt, or a colorful belt where dark red predominated, or simply a dark red belt. Each of these belts was wide and ended with tassels made from the base. More recently, a cotton belt, also richly colored, has been made. Over the belt, a narrow leather belt was worn.
The "preklopnjak" and "prsnik" vests (jelek) were worn over the shirt. Made of frieze and woolen fabric, and more recently of a fabric called "sledža". Both were sleeveless. "Preklopnik" had wide flaps that overlapped on the chest, while the flaps of "prsnik" just touched each other. Both vests were usually adorned with braid, and for the wealthier, with bikma embroidery.
Koporan was made of frieze or woolen fabric, like the vest, with sleeves, and the flaps overlapped on the chest. It was a winter garment, long to below the waist, with long, straight, and narrow sleeves. For more formal occasions, it was richly decorated with braid and embroidery.
Gunj, a winter garment made of frieze or goat hair, was similar in cut to koporan but longer, reaching to the knees.
The socks were made of wool, usually dark colors (most often dark red), long above the ankles, and those worn over the pants in summer were mid-calf length. Socks for the younger people were decorated with braiding or embroidery, while those for the older generation were not. In winter, "kalÄine", usually made of frieze or goat hair and decorated with braid, were worn over the socks and ÄakÅ”ire.
On their feet, they wore "opanci na Äikme", made of raw leather. Wealthier people wore leather shoes.
On their heads, they wore "terleme" or "ÄeÄe", white wool-knit or frieze-cut caps, around which shawls or scarves were always wrapped. One end of the wrapped scarf or shawl usually hung freely on the side. The fez entered the village only when the village began to adopt city clothes. Mostly, it was worn by wealthier peasants.