Fashion at National Museum of the Romanian Peasant

Romanians wear their traditional costumes with pride. The traditional costume is still worn in rural places today for the daily life, and this is a unique aspect of Romania. There are also a series of events when almost all Romanians wear the traditional costumes, for example, to celebrate the winter.  You don’t need a special event though for admiring the fashion and our traditional costume because this is available all year long at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

National Museum of the Romanian Peasant

Șoseaua Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff 3, București 011341, Romania

The museum

Placed in the heart of Bucharest, in the Victoriei Square, the museum designed by the architect Ghika-Budesti, is inspired by monastic interior and has the aim to collect “autochthonous art”, including the traditional costumes of the Romanians. The construction of the building took a while and was finalized in 1941 when a palace in traditional Romanian style with floral decorations was opened for the public.

The Romanian peasant didn’t surround himself with many things, collecting just a few artifacts. There is one thing though that was found in every house and this is the traditional costume. In this museum, you will feel like home because looking around you will only find familiar objects and get to know the Romanian peasant at the same time.

About traditional costumes

Romania has a variety of traditional costumes. According to different criteria, there are about 500 different costumes, but the biggest differences are between the regions that together form Romania. There is a traditional costume for Transylvania, the Western Plains, Banat, Wallachia, Lower Danube Area and Romanians living in the Balkan Peninsula. However, with all these varieties, all the costumes have a structure that remained unchained throughout time and history. The costumes are simple, and although they have different cuts, fabrics and ornamenting, the costumes represent Romanian people and their cultural unity.  Both, man and women, have a chemise made out of hemp, linen or wool, bound around the waist by a fabric belt. While men wear white trousers, women have a traditional skirt and over this vestimentary piece an apron. Depending on the area, the apron is only in the front or double, one in the front, one in the back. The costumes include other accessories like hats for the man. There is one must - a pair of peasant leather sandals.

There are different costumes for the daily life and festive events. Although the structure still remains the same, the festive ones are more richly embroidered. In the past, the ornaments of the clothing were also a sign of wealth. While very decorated costumes were a sign of riches, no or poor decoration was worn by more modest people.  

When visiting one country, one can be curious about daily life and tradition. While visiting Romania, there is a great opportunity to admire the traditional costume or even be a witness of traditional Romanian fashion at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant.