Woman’s Folk Costume | Torysky, Slovakia

Description

Origin: Slovakia | Spis region | Torysky village
Era: Early 20th century (circa 1910-1930) and WWII era (circa 1930-1950)
Includes: blouse, dress (vest with attached skirt), apron, cap, forehead lace decoration, lacing ribbon, kerchief
Condition: good; occasional small holes in red wool vest (not significant); light wear to black velvet trim on vest; small snag in crochet along cap edge; other light wear consistent with age; suitable for both wear and display
Additional Notes: Traditional Rusyn woman’s costume from the village of Torysky in eastern Slovakia. The skirt is made from heavy hand-printed blueprint cloth featuring a polka dot motif. The apron is likely the oldest piece of this ensemble and dates to the early 20th century, possibly late 19th based on the style and designs. It is made from indigo-dyed linen that is practically black and has embroidery and a band of red and white trim along the waistband. While less decorative than the more colorful examples that came later it is a wonderful early example and may have come to Torysky from neighboring Nizny Repase as part of a bride’s dowry when she moved to the village to join her new husband’s family. The apron is reversible with blueprint design on the back’s waistband. The blouse is gathered and embroidered at the collar and has cross-stitch embroidered designs on the cuffs. The vest is laced up the front with a woven ribbon that can be tightened to the desired size. The ribbon is quite short however so you may with to replace it with something longer if you want to fully lace the vest. The head is covered by a special bobbin lace and crochet cap that is worn together with a handmade lace band on the forehead. A kerchief would have been worn over the cap anytime the woman was leaving the house. You can see how the kerchief was printed in four sections as evidenced by the faint white lines through the center that cut the field into quarters.