Gallery of European traditional costumes & cultural uniforms 4

Macedonia:
Macedonia's dress is very different from any other culture in Europe. As a very young social identity of Slavs that now retrojectively considers itself the descendants of the ancient Macedonians (and Alexander the Great in many Macedonians' minds), Macedonians have created a dress reflecting their independence from Yugoslavia. Due to its geography, we see Greek, Albanian, and Turkish elements alongside their native Slavic heritage. It is among the most encumbering of European costumes.






Bulgaria:
Bulgarian traditional dress is unique in its own, but strongly Slavic like its people. There is a wide diversity in their costumes for men and women, reflecting a proud and long familial tradition in Europe's oldest Slavic nation. Cities like Varna take great pride in their costumes, and many families still personally knit one for their weddings.






Romania, Moldova:
Romanian dresses are highly unique, presenting a variety of influences from the Turkish Muslim, Slavic, and even Gypsy occupations in Romania throughout their long history. Moldovan costumes are highly similar (though also diverse) because of the common history, culture, and language Moldova and Romania (Wallachia) have shared, with the two countries only dividing because of Cold War politics.







Czech, Slovak:
Czech and Slovak costumes display regional variation due to these two peoples' distinct political and geographic history, despite their almost identical genetic and linguistic heritage. The Czech and Bohemian people spent most of their history under German rule after centuries of proud independence, whilst the Slovaks were ruled by the Hungarians until the destruction of Austria-Hungary in 1918. Hungary was ceremonially under German (Habsburg) political and therefore cultural rule, since the Germans were the wealthiest component of the empire. As a result, both Czech and Slovak costumes demonstrate German influence, but there are still noticeable regional and Hungarian influences on Slovak costumes.







Poland:
Polish costumes are unique, though distinctly Slavic. Poland as one of the oldest and proudest Slavic countries delivered influence on many of the neighboring Slavic cultures. There is also significant regional variation in the different regions where ethnic Poles live, such as Ukraine (Galicia), Lithuania, and Silesia.





Lithuania:
Lithuanian costumes are unique and divergent from all other neighboring costumes in their historic effort to promote and create a distinct culture seeking freedom from Soviet and Polish influence. They are unusually simple.






Latvia:
Latvian costumes are relatively simple and warm due to their very cold climate. We see many influences in their national dress, including those reflecting historic occupant nations (Poland, Russia, Sweden, Germany), and also unique characteristics in their attempt to build a unique culture to encourage their independence from Russia.






Belarus:
Belarusian costumes are largely derived from Russian and other regional influences, reflecting their strong Slavic heritage. We see great similarities to Polish costumes due to the fact that the Slavs of the region (there was no Belarusian identity) were under Polish-Lithuanian rule for nearly 400 years.





Hungary:
Hungarian dress is unique because of the long history of Hungary as a major independent European power. During the eclipse of Hungary's independence due to the devastating invasion of Hungary by the Ottoman jihad, and during 400 years of German rule in the Austrian Empire (1526-1918), Hungarian identity remained strongly independent. The Hungarians were given political and ethnic status second only to the Germans in this massive multi-ethnic empire, and thus the Hungarians spent most of their time as subjects to the Germans defining themselves as a separate community. Hungarians remain proud equestrians, harking back to their heritage as steppe riders who entered the Hungarian plain from the Ural Mountains over a millennium ago before settling to become one of the most magnificent powers of Eastern Europe.







Estonia:
Estonian dress is unique despite their cultural, religious (Lutheran), ethnic, and linguistic similarities with their Finnish brothers to the north. Their distinct features in their dress reflect Estonia's struggle against foreign occupants (Russians, Poles, Lithuanians, etc.). Naturally, there is great Scandinavian/Germanic influence, but also evident influence from the Poles, likely proliferated through Polish-ruled Latvia/Livonia because the Poles never ruled Estonia.






Ukraine:
Ukrainian costumes, like their culture, are linked to other Slavic ones, particularly Russian, but their distinct historical hardships due to national, religious, and socioeconomic conflicts has caused the formation of a separate Ukrainian identity. Due to changing political boundaries and migration, ethnic Ukrainian minorities (Rus, Ruthenes, Rusyn) populate some of eastern Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Russia. There is blatant variation across these regional communities. The region of Galicia, straddling Poland and Ukraine and previously split between two bitter rival Ukrainian and Polish populations that mutually engaged in ethnic cleansing throughout the early 20th century, was mostly transferred to the Ukrainian SSR after 1939 and again in 1945 by the Soviet Union. Marked differences are present in this region, as well as Central Ukraine, that diverge from the standard.
(Thanks to Ms. Herasymenko for the picture corrections)




from the New York Ukrainian Festival



Russia:
Russian traditional dress are unique, but closely linked to other Slavic cultures' national costumes. They are some of the most varied of all European costumes.