Women’s costume of Cyprus with the sayia

Parts of the costume

Tap a piece to see it on the costume.

1. 1 KourouklaA thin cotton headscarf; young women wore it green or wine-red, older women brown. Old ones were cross-stitched at the four corners, later ones printed from wooden blocks by the mantilarides.
2. 2 ChemiseLong and buttoned, to below the knee, of cotton or silk.
3. 3 SleevesThe chemise sleeves, very wide and decorated.
4. 4 FoukariLong pantalettes gathered at the ankle; the festive ones of silk, with loom-woven decoration of dyed silk cocoons.Not shown on the drawing
5. 5 SayiaA long dress open all the way down the front, of striped alatzia, slit at the sides, with long wide sleeves open from the elbow.
6. 6 ApronEmbroidered for feasts, plain for every day.
7. 7 BodiceIn the drawing, the front of the body under the outer garments. The sources describe no separate waistcoat.
8. 8 WaistIn the drawing, the waist. The sources describe no sash.