Men’s Clothing from Kuldīga
Brief information
Shirts – straight cut, embroidered shirt with a stand-up collar;
Trousers – natural white or grey wool fabric;
Belts – leather, brass, or woven; pants are secured with a leather belt; long coats are worn with striped woven belts, brass chain belts with front panels, which are engraved, embossed or set with polished glass stones; alternatively, leather belts with ornate brass buckles;
Coats – either long or mid-length dark grey wool coats; mid-length coats extend to the mid-thigh, while long coats are mid-calf length in white wool with contrasting fold-back cuffs;
Headwear – black, felted wide brim hat, which may be embellished with a beaded ribbon or silk band;
Legwear – knitted white wool socks with patterned legs;
Footwear – knee-length leather boots or leather shoes;
Jewellery – the shirt is fastened with a small silver annular brooch (sakta) or fabric ribbon; a folded silk scarf is worn, knotted around the neck.
History and Origin
Men’s clothing from Kuldīga is characterized by a linen shirt in one of two styles, either two separate, rectangular fabric pieces sewn together at the shoulders, while the other has a one piece body, where the front and back consist of one contiguous piece of fabric folded over at the shoulders. The shirt has a stand-up collar with whitework embroidery, fastened with a fabric ribbon or small silver sakta. A silk scarf, folded length-wise, may also be worn knotted around the collar.
Trousers are natural white or grey wool, worn with pant legs inserted into knee-length, leather boots or, if shoes are worn, into socks with patterned cuffs.
There are both mid-length and long coats made of dark grey wool. Mid-length coats extend to the mid-thigh, while long coats are mid-calf length. Long coats are white wool with contrasting fold-back cuffs.
Black felted,wide brim hats embellished with a beaded ribbon or silk band were also worn.
Plain or patterned wool socks were worn.
Foowear consisted of black leather shoes or knee-length leather boots.