The Cypriot female costume basically of the outer

The Cypriot female costume basically of the outer garment, the chemise and the distinctive long pantaloons caught around the ankle

• The foustani a one-piece waisted and pleated dress, was the preferred overgarment in the rular areas of Cyprus, particularly the plain and the mountains, well into 1950 s, which decade was turning point for modernization in the countryside. The festival foustani was worn with an embroidered apron, the everyday one with a plain.

• The zoma a sash improvised from diagonally folded dark kerchief, tier round the waist with the pointed end behind.

Bridal costume • The festival dress was usually also the bridal costume, the addition of certain accessories and the characteristic scarlet kerchief, worn in some regions throughout the first year of marriage, being the only features distinguishing the bride from the other female guests. Brides also plaited long stran of wire, ttelia, in their hair, and these hung down like a veil concealing the face.

Οι αντρικές φορεσιές • Its basic components are the densely pleated baggy trousers, vraka, which held sway in all the Greek islands, and the waistcoat, yileko, or jacket, zibouni.

• The vraka was made of coarse hand – woven dimity , wich was dyed , after sewing , by local poyatzides, black elderly men, blue for younger ones. The vraka varied in size and shape from region to region.

To poykamison the vraka is worn with a chemise or shirt , of dark striped cotton material everyday and of silk on Sundays.

The yilekkozibouna was usually made of dark velvet with brightly coloured applique desighns of birds and animals on the back, such as confronting lions , a symbol of virility.