“Unkempt Attire Does Not Befit Us”

Abstract

There are very few European countries with a tradition of national costume. Local, folk, and regional costumes are common. One can even define an outfit topographically in terms of its historical features. However, national dress, which is the identifying mark of a country, a symbol of national identity, well-established through centuries of tradition, is a rather unique phenomenon. Although in several instances the emergence of national attire has an older history (for example, in Switzerland, Spain or Denmark, the trends have been noticeable since the 18th century, while Gustav iii in Sweden in 1778 promulgated a decree on the wearing of national costumes), the greatest explosion of trends to promote national attire occurred in the 19th century. This is related to the widespread national or national liberation tendencies that swept through Europe during this period. Nineteenth-century aspirations to return to some fashion, to look for historical designs or to create national costumes took place especially in smaller countries (or those that did not exist on the maps at the time), which wanted to preserve and assert national identity in this way. From this point of view, it will be interesting to look at the tradition of promoting patriotic and national liberation ideas through clothing in the Polish lands.