traditional dress

hey there! welcome to my blog. :D 

I've always loved traditional dresses from all over the world and I thought I didn't know much about the traditional clothing of my country: Italy. sooo I'm doing some research through the internet, books and people who tell me directly so that I can be more informed. I decided to share my passion and my research with you.

while I was looking ... I went to the flea market and I found this doll. These little dolls are Italian souvenirs from around the 1980s and are wearing traditional clothing from that Italian city or region. this little doll in particular wears typical Venetian clothes.

I want to write about the shawl which in the Venetian dialect is called "zendalo". we can find some versions: in silk with long fringes, in lace or in wool and in different colours. Women of all social classes wore it. it could cover the shoulders but also the head.

the first shawl factory in Venice dates back to 1761 thanks to Persian influences and there was a flourishing trade even if silk in Venice was known and worked since ancient times.

Sometimes women kept their shoulders a little more uncovered and threw the hem of the zendalo so that the long fringes got caught in the men's buttons creating a "random" encounter and it is thought that a well-known Italian expression "attaccare bottone" originates from and it is translated as "attacking buttons" that is to start a conversation with an excuse, even if it is often a bit long and boring. 

from 1848 the zendalo became strictly black as a symbol of mourning for the fallen soldiers following the revolutionary movements.

what do you think? did you like the trivia? would you like to know more about italian traditional dresses? :) 

thanks for reading!