Clothing in Hungary, 1911
Not so many years ago, before the great flood of cheap German and Austrian clothing material was poured into Hungary, the people dressed in linen they wove and spun themselves.
From: Unknown To: 1911 C.E.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Peeps at Many Lands: Hungary by H. Tornai de Kövër, 1911.
Not so many years ago, before the great flood of cheap German and Austrian clothing material was poured into Hungary, the people dressed in linen they wove and spun themselves. Their clothes were made from the sheep skin or of a sort of felt material; in fact, every portion of their dress was a piece of home product, and they had plenty of opportunities of showing their skill and excellent taste in all the beautiful leather-work, lace, embroidery, and very finely woven linen.
Those who are interested may see real works of art, made by the simplest peasant, in the museums of Hungary. Many districts have given up the national dress, or have only partly retained it, mixing it with cheaper and less artistic materials that are especially made to suit the peasant taste. But if we look at these factory wares and compare them with the original home-made materials, we must own that it is a great pity that the home-made stuffs and national dress are dying out slowly but surely. Although many districts have partly or wholly given up wearing the national costumes, the majority of the people still cling to the old fashions. In no way can the factory replace all the individual skill and taste brought into play by the women of the peasant classes.
As soon as a baby-girl is born, the mother begins spinning and weaving the future marriage outfit the daughter will get. And as soon as the baby has grown to be a little girl she is taught to stitch and seam, spin and weave her own marriage portion. The Hungarian women in some districts even now spin the finest thread and weave it into such thin linen that it is almost transparent, and there is a certain kind which is rather crinkled like crape. Every girl has to work at her own bridal veil, and also make the lace of the little cap that she has to wear when married. These are chiefly done by needle on net. Bodices and petticoats are all richly embroidered, also the front of the low-necked chemise and the short puffed sleeves. The bodices are often worked with the finest gold thread and many coloured silks. The leather winter coats are also embroidered with coloured crewels and punched leather patterns.
The most wonderful part of the matter is that all the women work according to their own taste, without using patterns of any kind. They make their own designs when working and from memory, using as models the flowers of the woods and fields and the leaves and fruits of trees; it is never an exact copy of the thing seen in Nature, but transformed into a new living idea, each woman working according to her own ability and taste.
Flowers get fantastic shapes and leaves are moulded into definite types, and all these forms are combined and made richer—one might say blended—by arabesques of all kinds. While the women work chiefly in linen and lace, the men busy themselves in making the fine soft red leather top-boots for the women and strong, heavier ones for themselves. It is the fashion to put a piece of iron at the bottom of the high heels of these boots, so that they should clink in walking. Then they make the leather coats lined with sheepskin and ornamented with many colours of punched leather.
The boots and coats are made by men called Hungarian tailors or Hungarian bootmakers, to make a distinction between them and the other workmen in those trades. Almost every peasant loves to carve wood, make his own coloured tobacco pouches, toys for his children, and headstones in the cemetery, which are carved in wood. Each district has its own dress, which bears resemblance to that worn in another part, but which also has some distinctive feature.The favourite colour of the Hungarian woman is white, and in some of the real Hungarian districts pure white is the reigning colour, only the little tight, short, sleeveless bodice reaching to the waist is made of coloured silk or velvet, richly embroidered. There are other districts, again, where multi-coloured dresses are worn, making the women look like great flaming exotic flowers. They wear a low-necked chemise, gathered into many folds at the shoulder, with wide sleeves reaching to the elbow, and there it is tied tightly to the arm with coloured ribbons.
The skirts are many, wide, and short. There are places where ten skirts are worn, one over the other, each about ten yards in width, drawn into artistic tiny folds at the waist and reaching down to the knee. At one time the soft red leather top-boot was the only form of footgear worn; now in many places it has been changed for the little velvet or coloured leather slipper, and stockings are worn. with it. To have a well-shaped leg is thought to be a great mark of beauty. The hands and feet even of the peasant women are well shaped and small, with slim wrists and ankles. On weekdays the women and men go barefooted, unless they go into the town. In that case they carry their boots on their backs, and only put them on just before reaching their destination.
It is the custom in some parts of the country to take the boots off before entering the churches. The women have a peculiar walk, as it is thought very stylish if you can make your ten skirts swing and sway by the movement of the hips. A little apron must always be worn—of lace or silk on Sundays, and of simpler materials for working days.
Then there are different ways of hairdressing, the one type being, for girls, the long hanging plait, into which wide coloured ribbands are plaited and allowed to fall to the bottom of the short skirt. The hair is parted in the middle and smoothed to the head, whilst unmarried women wear the so-called "Parta" on festive occasions; this is an artistic arrangement woven of gold and silk, ornamented elaborately with beads, and is taken off after marriage.
When going to church the women wear silk shawls—mostly coloured ones—and in places where the people are especially wealthy the women put on three or four, one on top of the other, arranged in such a manner that in front, over the chest, one sees the multi-coloured stripes and again at the back where the ends hang down. These shawls have usually long, heavy silk fringes. Ear-rings are not, or at least were not, usually worn by the peasants, as in most districts the hair is combed over the ear and, in some places, pinned into two little rolls just hiding it ; but on their necks they wear from eight to ten rows of coloured glass beads, and the Catholics all kinds of gold or silver amulets. The dress of the Hungarian peasant woman may seem peculiar to the foreign eye, but it is well adapted to the circumstances of life that she lives in.
The colour of the men's dress is also white—that is, the part worn on work-days in summer. On Sundays and in cold weather they wear tight cloth trousers, with top-boots reaching to the knee, waistcoat and jacket of the same material, much braided and full of silver buttons. In summer they wear a white shirt cut low at the throat and held together by a silk or linen scarf, the sleeves very wide; a short waist-coat, often made of coloured leather and finely embroidered; a pair of trousers reaching to the knee and having many yards of stuff in them give them the appearance of skirts; a leather belt, in which the tobacco pouch and other necessaries are kept; and over this a cloak woven of sheep's wool, elaborately embroidered in one or more colours, with rich arabesques of punched leather. These cloaks are always worn thrown over one shoulder.
These articles of clothing are often quite works of art, full of original ideas and designs, and cost a good deal. For winter wear there is the "Suba," which is a great round cloak made of sheepskin, sometimes worn with the wool inside, sometimes turned inside out. It is mostly of a dirty white colour, but often brown or black, also ornamented with red leather. No wonder
when foreigners see the peasants in their winter dress—peaked black sheepskin caps and cloaks—that they believe them to be half barbarians. But the Hungarian climate, with its sudden and great differences of temperature, make this piece of clothing absolutely indispensable. The herdsman in the lowlands or in the mountains has no other bedclothes or covering; one might say it is his house which he carries about with him, like the snail. It is waterproof and an absolute protection from wet, hail-storms, and, in the great heat, from the sun.
The dress of the women goes through many changes from the time of her girlhood until old age. As a girl and young married woman she wears the finest transparent linen and light colours; these always get darker with age. The light silk shawls, too, are exchanged for brown and black, the lighter things being passed on to the younger generation.
Even among the Hungarians themselves there are many distinct types in the dress. Then there are all the Slavonic tribes to be thought of. The Slovak dress has perhaps the greatest resemblance to the Hungarian, but it is yet different. The Slovak seldom wears the wide shirt; his part of the country is colder, so he covers his legs in tight, thick cloth trousers, wears heavy
top-boots, but more often a primitive leather shoe, with strips of cloth or leather wound round the leg, something like the modern puttee. The woman's dress resembles that of the Hungarian, but it is less picturesque, heavier in every way, the bodice covering the hips and with long sleeves to it. But then these women have not the grace and vivacity or the beauty of the Hungarians.
The Rumanian women wear a long chemise and a red or multi-coloured striped apron, often interwoven with gold. One is put on in front, the other at the back; in walking the chemise is seen at either side. They love trinkets, jewellery, and particularly a chain of gold coins, one
may often find rare and ancient examples of Roman coins in a family necklace. The Rumanian woman, when young, has great beauty, but she is often withered at thirty: the habit of using "rouge" for the cheeks helps to spoil the complexion in a short time. A chemist who had only just gone to a Rumanian district asked a young girl why she used "rouge." "Why, the villagers will think I have not a penny for paint," was the answer. "Rouge" is just as much a part of their dress as any other article of clothing.
The Germans living in Hungary dress mostly in dark blue prints, also wear their skirts wide, with
long-sleeved, very tight bodices, flattening the chest almost to a deformity. They are not picturesque, their German has a harsh guttural sound, and their brass bands are intolerable. But, like all the other nationalities living in Hungary, they, too, do fine needlework—especially beautifully embroidered bed things and head shawls. The babies of the Hungarians and all the other nations living in Hungary are pressed into pillows with tight swaddling clothes, with their little arms and legs pinned down in the most uncomfortable manner; as soon as they can toddle they are dressed exactly like their parents, and are the funniest little things to look at imaginable.
Tornai de Kövër, H. Peeps at Many Lands: Hungary. Adam and Charles Black, 1911.
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