Regional Forms of Hungarian Folk Costumes

CHAPTERS

We have reviewed the basic materials of Hungarian folk costumes as well as the articles of clothing made from them, and the most important changes they went through. These factors, appearing in different combinations, create the characteristic folk costume of a certain region. We have tried in the foreword to introduce the different ethnic groups, ethnological regions, and isolated settlements of the Hungarian people. Besides architecture, folk costumes are the most visible part of folk culture. It is therefore reasonable to examine the broad regions of the Hungarian speaking territory from the point of view of folk costume.

Naturally we cannot attempt to introduce in detail folk costumes of every region and ethnic group. We speak only in generalities, paying special attention to those areas where folk costumes flourished in the recent past or can be found even today. We thus will attempt to make the reader acquainted with some of the important features of Hungarian peasant culture not only by grouping them by subject matter but also by showing, as much as possible, their geographic proliferation.