Romani dress is the traditional attire of the Romani people, widely known in English by the exonymic slur Gypsies. [lower-alpha 1] Romani traditional clothing is closely connected to the history, culture, and national identity of the Roma people. [2] [3]
Certain scholars connect similarities of Romani dress with South Asian populations due to the general consensus of the South Asian origins [lower-alpha 2] of Romani people. However, they also note that there are many differences as well, which is indicative of the contact Romani people have had with various other groups. Because of this, Romani dress can vary drastically among different tribes, however, there are certain constant similarities that define Romani dress as a whole. Romani people are often recognizable to other Roma through their appearance and cultural dress codes. Moreover, Romani people value the outwardly display of their wealth and prosperity which is reflective in their traditional dress. [2]
The dress of Romani women emphasizes the cultural tradition of displaying your wealth as a sign of good fortune. Romani women tend to wear golden necklaces, bracelets, and headscarves, all of which are often embellished with golden coins. The Diklo is a traditional headscarf worn by married Vlax Romani women. [2]
For the lower body, Romani women traditionally wear skirts. The size of the skirts varies among people of different tribes, ages, and marital status. Traditionally skirts were always worn below the knees as the lower body is considered taboo in Romani culture due to the laws of marime, but this has changed in modern times. Romani women would also traditionally avoid trousers although this has also changed among the young generation. Additionally, among the Vlax Roma, married women will wear a white apron above their skirt. [2] [7] The apron of a Romani women was in place to protect the food from the dirt of the dress per the cleanliness code of Romani people. [8]
In certain Vlax Romani cultures such as the Gábors, Romani women over the age of 10 are required to wear a dress code that consists of a colourful pleated skirt, colourful blouse with patterns, long pleated apron from the same material as the skirt, and for married women, the kerchief constitute the rule for clothing. Married and young women alike wear a red ribbon in their hair. For footwear, women wear sandals, slippers, boots or shoes. The color of the skirts can reflect a Romani women's status and age with brighter colors being used by younger girls and darker colors by older women. Black skirts are a sign of mourning in the Romani culture. [3]
In the Muslim Roma communities of the Balkans, women of the younger generation tend to wear more conservative Islamic dress while the older generation prefers more traditional dress featuring traditional Roma designs, colors, and symbolism. [9] In Muslim Roma society, the dress code of women is closely monitored and modesty is emphasized especially when it comes to the lower half of the body. [10]
Romani men in urban areas tend to wear shiny suits and ties as a display of fashion, status, and elegance. Romani men often wear golden rings and necklaces as jewelry. The hat and vest of a Romani man is indicative of his tribe and clan affiliation. Because of the Romani stigma surrounding the lower body, Romani men will often avoid wearing shorts. [2]
Romani men's clothing was standard throughout their respective clan and the sharing of clothes between clan members was seen as a symbol of brotherhood. [11]
In certain Vlax Romani cultures such as the Gábors, Men are required to wear a dress code consisting of a broad-brimmed hat, loosely fitting black trousers, a dark overcoat and shirt, and a waistcoat with silver buttons. For footwear, men wear black closed shoes. [3]
In many areas to this day, the identification of someone as Roma can have negative consequences. Numerous attempts have been made to assimilate Romani people into European society by minimizing various cultural markers such as clothing. European states have had optional and forced attempts at assimilating or eradicating Romani culture. During the Porajmos and other events of extreme persecution where the identification of Roma could be dangerous, many Romani people had to abandon their cultural dress. However, Romani people continue to resist assimilation to this day despite current efforts by European states to demonize and outlaw Romani culture including Romani dress. [12]
Due to movements such as Bohemianism, many non-Roma people have begun to dress up as Romani people. Helen Graham describes the problematic nature of this trend:
The problem with the Instagram tags is that non-Romani people can "dress-up Gypsy" for a day with no serious repercussions, but when a Romani person dresses in traditional clothing, or even a semblance of it, the response can be brutal. [13]
A kilt is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first recorded in the 16th century as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak. The small kilt or modern kilt emerged in the 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt. Since the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland, and more broadly with Gaelic or Celtic heritage.
The Romani, also spelled Romany or Rromani and colloquially known as the Roma, are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of present-day Rajasthan. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed by historians to have occurred c. 1000 CE. Their original name is from the Sanskrit word डोम, ḍoma and means a member of the Dom caste of travelling musicians and dancers. The Roma population moved west into the Ghaznavid Empire and later into the Byzantine Empire. The Roma are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are located in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.
There are typically two types of clothing worn in Japan: traditional clothing known as Japanese clothing, including the national dress of Japan, the kimono, and Western clothing, which encompasses all else not recognised as either national dress or the dress of another country.
A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards.
The Sinti are a subgroup of Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France and Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today only a small percentage of Sinti remain unsettled. In earlier times, they frequently lived on the outskirts of communities.
Vlax Romani is a dialect group of the Romani language. Vlax Romani varieties are spoken mainly in Southeastern Europe by the Romani people. Vlax Romani can also be referred to as an independent language or as one dialect of the Romani language. Vlax Romani is the second most widely spoken dialect subgroup of the Romani language worldwide, after Balkan Romani.
Serbian traditional clothing, also called as Serbian national costume or Serbian dress, refers to the traditional clothing worn by Serbs living in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the extended Serbian diaspora communities in Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, United States, etc. Like any traditional dress of a nation or culture, it has been lost to the advent of urbanization, industrialization, and the growing market of international clothing trends. The wide range of regional folk costumes show influence from historical Austrian, Hungarian, German, Italian, and Ottoman Turkish presence. Nonetheless, the costumes are still a pinnacle part of Serbian folk culture. From the 19th century and onwards, Serbs have adopted western-styled clothing. This change has started in larger settlements such as cities and towns, although it was not uncommon to see rural women in traditional working costumes all the way until the end of 1970s. Today, these national costumes are only worn by some elderly in rural areas but are most often worn with connection to special events and celebrations, mostly at ethnic festivals, religious and national holidays, weddings, tourist attractions, and by dancing groups who dance the traditional Serbian kolo, or circle dance.
The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people. They were traditionally coppersmiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani.
The Romani people are a distinct ethnic and cultural group of peoples living all across the globe, who share a family of languages and sometimes a traditional nomadic mode of life. Though their exact origins were unclear, recent studies show Kashmir in Northwest India is the most probable point of origin. Their language shares a common origin with, and is similar to, modern-day Gujarati and Rajasthani, borrowing loanwords from languages they encountered as they migrated from India. In Europe, even though their culture has been victimized by other cultures, they have still found a way to maintain their heritage and society. Indian elements in Romani culture are limited, with the exception of the language. Romani culture focuses heavily on family. The Roma traditionally live according to relatively strict moral codes. The ethnic culture of the Romani people who live in central, eastern and southeastern European countries developed through a long, complex process of continuous active interaction with the culture of their surrounding European population.
Clothing in Afghanistan consists of the traditional style of clothing worn in Afghanistan. The various cultural exchanges in the nation's history have influenced the styles and flavors of contemporary Afghan designs. The national dress is the fusion of different ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The styles can be subdivided into the various ethnicities with unique elements for each. Traditional dresses for both men and women tend to cover the whole body, with trousers gathered at the waist, a loose shirt or dress, and some form of head covering.
The Finnish Kale are a group of the Romani people who live primarily in Finland and Sweden. Their main languages are Finnish, Swedish and Finnish Romani. Kalo/Kale is the collective name for traveler people in Finland, England and Spain.
Outside Western cultures, men's clothing commonly includes skirts and skirt-like garments; however, in the Americas and much of Europe, skirts are usually seen as feminine clothing and socially stigmatized for men and boys to wear, despite having done so for centuries. While there are exceptions, most notably the cassock and the kilt, these are not really considered 'skirts' in the typical sense of fashion wear; rather they are worn as cultural and vocational garments. People have variously attempted to promote the fashionable wearing of skirts by men in Western culture and to do away with this gender distinction.
Muslim Romani people are people who are ethnically Roma and profess Islam. There are many different Roma groups and subgroups that predominantly practice Islam, as well as individual Romani people from other subethnic groups who have accepted Islam. Xoraxane Roma in Balkan Romani language, are non-Vlax Romani people, who adopted Sunni Islam of the Hanafi madhhab at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Some of them are Derviş of Sufism belief, and the biggest Tariqa of Jerrahi is located at the largest Arlije and Gurbeti Muslim Roma settlement in Europe in Šuto Orizari, locally called Shutka in North Macedonia have their own Romani Imam and the Muslim Roma in Šuto Orizari use the Quran in Balkan Romani language. Many Romanlar in Turkey, are members of the Hindiler Tekkesi a Qadiriyya-Tariqa, founded in 1738 by the Indian Muslim Sheykh Seyfullah Efendi El Hindi in Selamsız. Roma Muslims in Turkey and the Balkans are mostly cultural Muslims or nominal Muslims.
Buzescu is a commune in Teleorman County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Buzescu. It is well known for its wealthy Roma inhabitants and their extravagant Romani palaces.
Pakistani clothing refers to the ethnic clothing that is typically worn by people in the country of Pakistan and by Pakistanis. Pakistani clothes express the culture of Pakistan, the demographics of Pakistan, and cultures from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir regions of the country. The clothing in each region and culture of Pakistan reflect weather conditions, way of living, the textiles and embroidery used and its distinctive style which gives it a unique identity among all cultures.
Polska Roma are the largest and one of the oldest ethnolinguistic groups of Romani people living in Poland. Some Polska Roma also live in Germany, North America, Switzerland, Great Britain and Sweden, The term "Polska Roma" is both an ethnonym of the group and a term used in the academic literature. As such it is distinct from the terms "Polish Roma" or "Roma in Poland" which better denote the broader Roma population in Poland. Polish ethnographer Jerzy Ficowski, writing in the 1950s and 1960s used the term "Polish Lowlander Gypsies" to refer to the same group, though this terminology is no longer in widespread use.
Croatian national costume, also called as Croatian traditional clothing or Croatian dress, refers to the traditional clothing worn by Croats living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, with smaller communities in Hungary, Austria, Montenegro, and Romania. Since today Croats wear Western-style clothing on a daily basis, the national costumes are most often worn with connection to special events and celebrations, mostly at ethnic festivals, religious holidays, weddings, and by dancing groups who dance the traditional Croatian kolo, or circle dance.
Hanfu, are the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese since the 2nd millenium BCE. There are several representative styles of hanfu, such as the ruqun, the aoqun, the beizi and the shenyi, and the shanku.
Mamianqun, is a type of traditional Chinese skirt. It is also known as mamianzhequn, but is sometimes simply referred as 'apron', a generic term in English to refer to any Chinese-style skirt, or 'paired apron' in English although they are not aprons as defined in the dictionary. The Mamianqun is a type of qun a traditional Chinese skirt worn by the Han Chinese women as a lower garment item in Hanfu and is one of the main representative styles of ancient Chinese-style skirts. It originated in the Song and Liao dynasties and became popular due to its functionality and its aesthetics style. It continued to be worn in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties where it was a typical style of skirt for women and was favoured for its unique aesthetic style and functionality. Following the fall of the Qing dynasty, the mamianqun continued to be worn in the Republic of China, and only disappeared in the 1920s and 1930s following the increased popularity of the cheongsam. As a type of xifu, Chinese opera costumes, the mamianqun maintains its long tradition and continues to be worn nowadays. In the 21st century, the mamianqun regained popularity with the emergence of the Hanfu movement. The mamianqun has experienced various fashion changes throughout history. It was typically paired with ku, Chinese trousers and Chinese jackets, typically either the ao or gua.
Marime,mahrime or marimé is a central concept in traditional Romani culture, particularly within Vlax and Northern Roma groups, that refers to a notion of ritual impurity. The opposite of marime is užo, a term referring to ritual cleanliness. The interpretation of the laws of marime vary in different Romani communities and individual Romani people vary in how strictly they follow the laws. Some Romani people do not follow the laws of marime at all.
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