Folk costume used to be one of the basic elements that distinguished a regional group. Its genesis and form depended primarily on geographical, economic and social conditions, as well as on historic events.
Festive garment was a way of identyfying the owner's origin and social position. It defined the owner's financial situation, marital status and profession. It was one of the few manifestations of folk culture in which superfluity and luxury were marked. The disappearance of folk costumes, which in Pomerania started already in the second half of the 19th century, was to a large extent connected with the development of industry and the abandonment of traditional lifestyles, and this process was often rapid.
Scarce traces of clothing once worn by inhabitants of Pomeranian villages (on both sides of the present border) have survived to the present day. The National Museum in Szczecin's exhibition entitled "From the Old Chest. Old Pomeranian costumes" presents, through archival photographs, iconographic representations and original, preserved clothing elements, the costumes of the inhabitants: from the rich, agricultural south and coastal, fishing north (Jamno - Trzebiatów - Ruegen). Many of the objects and photographs are on public display for the first time.
The colourful diversity of vintage clothing on display is a perfect break from the unified and homogeneous clothing of the 21st century.
Exhibition: From the Old Chest. Old Pomeranian Costumes
Curator: Iwona Karwowska
Vernissage: – 13 June 2024, 18.00
Duration: 14 June – 8 September 2024
The National Museum in Szczecin - the Szczecin History Museum
ul. Księcia Mściwoja 8