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Παραδοσιακή Ενδυμασία Και Δυτική Μόδα
Παραδοσιακή Ενδυμασία Και Δυτική Μόδα
There was a historical period right after the creation of the Greek state,
where Greek citizens from various regions, dressed in very different
ways, used to walk around the streets of Athens or Nafplio. According to
the historian Loukia Droulia, the different historical conditions that
prevailed in the regions of Greece also determined the clothing of the
Greeks. For example, in the places with Ottoman occupation the different
religion but also each social class determined the appearance of the
Sultan's subjects.
On the contrary, a different mentality had prevailed in the areas that were
under Venetian occupation. The Greeks did not dress differently from the
Venetians because of the assimilation policy implemented by the
Venetian Republic. Therefore, until the 18th century, as far as the
Ottoman regions were concerned, clothing constituted essentially a code
that represented the identity of the individual and thus determined the
limits of his/her position within society.
After the 18th century, due to trade and shipping, the Greeks traveled and
settled in the large urban centers of Europe. There they met and adopted
western fashion, clothes which slowly after the creation of the Greek state
began to make their appearance after the 1830s, on the streets of the
capital. And while the bourgeoisie preferred European clothes, labour and
rural class people continued to wear their traditional clothing. Therefore
again clothing functioned as a code that separated people's position
within society.
This situation continued until 1870 when traditional dress was abandoned
and European clothes were worn by all. But why did this happen?
Because then a first period of urbanization of the Greek society was
completed. There was rudimentary industrial development, people started
arriving in the cities and western clothing was more convenient and also
more affordable for jobs in the cities. Greek factories began to produce
cheap cotton fabrics to meet the needs of the people.
Source
Lucia Droulia. The costume changes in the years of the national
formation of the new Hellenism. Scientific Symposium "Romanticism in
Greece", November 12 and 13, 1999, Society for the Study of Modern
Greek Culture and General Education, Moraiti Foundation School.