Emponas of Rhode

The woman's costume Embonas considered one of the most beautiful in Greece.

The costume consists of a white shirt, the "malola" when it gathers or "Grispos" when it does not. The front and sleeves are decorated with many ornaments and colorful embroidery.

The skirt is wide, full of folds and colors.

The daily dress is blue woven, while the official dress - worn on Sundays and holidays - consists of black shiny fabric. The bust, which is stitched together with the skirt is tight and lifts up his chest, reminding the ancient women's clothing that we see in Minoan frescoes of Knossos.

It is said that in prehistoric times the Minoans colonized Rhodes and left the high culture, not only in the peaceful nature of the people, but also in popular culture and in particular in authentic traditional costume of women of Embonas.

To complement the impressive costume of the island, women wearing a colorful head scarf, which they call "akrivomantilo" or "tsoullato".

Introduction to the Greek Foresia

Men's Costumes

There are two main types of costumes for men. Foustanella and Vraka.In the central and southern regions of Greece wear the "fustanella". After the liberation of Greece in the first quarter of the 19th century, all male costumes in Peloponnesus took the form of the fustanella.Fustanella was worn by the Greek fighters of the 1821 revolution and today it serves as the official uniform of the Evzones, Greece's Presidential Guard.The fustanella skirt consists of 400 pleats symbolizing the years during which Greece was under Ottoman rule. The remainder of the costume is composed of a white shirt with very wide flowing sleeves, an embroidered woolen vest, a sash worn around the waist, and shoes (tsarouhia) with large pompons.

The embroidery is made of spun wool and the belt is of a fine leather work.

The Fustanella has changed in the meaning of detailed work, the length of the fousta, and, sometimes, the number of jackets worn. The sleeves have become decorative, resembling wings without the function of sleeves. After all the changes, it has become the standard Pan-Hellenic male costume used to the modern times. Extremely popular, this costume is now one of the world's most well-known traditional garments. 

Vraka: The word vraka means generally the male Crete costume although this kind of trousers worn by the islands inhabitants of Greece instead of a fustanella. The men's costume is made of heavy wool felt to protect against the cold and is embroidered with black cord. In some island 'vraka' was worn by women too and was long, to the ankles, because during the Turkish occupation women wanted to hide their legs from the eyes of the Turks. The male Epirotan costume has also characteristic pair of pants, called 'bourazana' or 'panovraki', which resembles the Macedonian 'salvaria' or 'vrakia'. The pants are either white or black. 

Women's Costumes

One general rule about the Women's costumes concerns the main parts of their traditional dress. Most of the mainland costumes in particular have a cotton chemise (poukamiso) as the basic garment. On the body, over the chemise, there is a sleeveless vest which is usually made of wool. These may be short or long. Sometimes dresses are of homespun wool, but in some areas they are made from finer factory woven wools. Colors are sometimes black, sometimes white. Sometimes in urban areas, they are made from velvet. Other important elements of the women's costumes are various types of aprons, sashes, and head coverings. 

The head coverings are usually large scarves of various materials and colors. Women's dresses were handmade embellished with detailed needlework and decorated in a rich and colorful fashion. Although there are some generalizations that can be made about the women's dresses and their styles and components, costumes of each area tend to be different.