[HNW] Hybrid folk costume

[Mike Newell]

Dear Kayta:

< I liked so many different costumes that I decided to invent a hybrid,
using all my favourite parts from Poland down to Romania, and call it
'Ruritanian'..>

<Giggle!> Yes, I'm familiar with Ruritania, and have used the term to mean
"generic folk costume" for a long time. What a stitch (pun intended) for
you to use this term to describe a fun hybrid outfit. Wonderfully silly.

Speaking of folk costume, the Philadelphia Museum of Art had a lovely
costume exhibit a couple of years ago. Along with various swanky high
fashion outfits from the 18th and 19th centuries  was a whole wall of folk
outfits from various countries. All dummies were freestanding -- no glass
or lucite. Some folk costumes were displayed pretty close to where us
pedestrians could see them. I was boggled to see lots of cross stitching on
one costume, and it was *not* done on evenweave, yet it was lovely and
fairly even. Obviously a woman who had many years of experience just
eyeballing it. As if.....  *big sigh*

--Kathryn
SCA: Kathryn Goodwyn
"too many centuries...too little time"