Latvian Folk Costumes

Latvian Folk Costumes derive from the "Sunday best" clothing that Latvians wore at festivals, weddings, and other major celebrations. Since this clothing was worn rarely, and was usually expensive to make (in time, and sometimes also in materials), the "fashion" of these clothes changed slowly — especially if such clothing was handed down from generation to generation, as often seems to have been the case. Thus, it is not surprising that Latvian folk costumes often reflect the fashions of the 19th, and even the 18th, century.

There is no single national costume for Latvia; instead, the clothing is distinctive from province to province, and sometimes even from parish to parish. Here is a brief overview of some of the folk costumes associated with different areas of Latvia:

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This page created and maintained by
A. Steinbergs

Last revised September 18, 2008