Moldavian Folk Costumes
Moldavian women’s folk dress is structured around the traditional shirt and the catrință, the Moldavian name for the single woven wrap-around garment more generally known as the fotă. The catrință is a rectangular textile, traditionally woven from wool, wrapped closely around the body over the poale and secured at the waist with woven bete. This construction distinguishes it from costume types in which two separate woven pieces are worn at the front and back.
Women’s shirts occur in several forms. Gathered shirts may have sleeve decoration organised into the embroidered altiță at the upper arm, the încreț beneath it and vertical rows of embroidery extending down the sleeve. Straight-cut shirts also occur, so construction must be considered together with ornament. Hemp and linen belong to the older household textile tradition, followed increasingly by cotton. Wool was the principal material for the catrință, while silk, metallic threads and other purchased materials appeared in more elaborate festive garments.
Moldavian catrințe range from simple versions for work or mourning to richly woven examples with red or dark-red borders and groups of coloured vertical stripes. Their colour, width and arrangement could vary according to locality and the age of the wearer. Black is a frequent ground colour, although dark blue, burgundy, red and brown are also documented. Northern Moldova and Bucovina developed particularly recognizable woven and striped variants.
Head coverings completed the social language of the costume. Marame and ștergare, long woven head cloths, belonged to older women’s dress, while commercially produced scarves became increasingly common during the nineteenth century. Hairstyle and head covering varied according to age and marital status, while festive dress could include beads, coins and other local ornaments.
The identity of Moldavian folk costumes lies in the coherence between shirt construction, embroidery, the weave and wrapping of the catrință, colour, materials and head covering. These elements must be read together when identifying authentic vintage Romanian clothing.
