The Romanian Blouse- A Cultural Treasure

A national culture can be recognized by its unique elements of identity and belonging. If Italy gave great opera composers to the world, France built the Eiffel tower, India enchanted with the Sari and USA made Facebook possible, Romania hasn't yet shown, what it has to offer to the world. It has remained hidden and unfairly underrated by those who haven't ventured in this cultural civilisation. Probably, part of its charm is that its treasures aren't easily revealed. Its deep spiritual culture needs observation and careful attention because its inherent creativity is quiet and modest, waiting patiently to be discovered. Romania has always been admired from a foreign perspective, reminding it to be proud and take cognizance of its rich heritage and culture.

Design, fashion and art are often representative of a country's culture, telling volumes about the bygone era, tales from the past, historical and geographical mysteries and ancient traditions. For instance, the great modern sculptor Constantin Brancusi from Romania whose works were inspired by nature's symbols, simplicity of country life and ancient Romanian traditions. Similar exquisiteness can be found in the craftsmanship of the Romanian weaving women who learned to sew symbols on the IA – the Romanian blouse for thousands of years. These blouses represent Romania's history with infinite stories being encrypted in the form of signs and ancient alphabets on these blouses. Modern life made Romania adopt Western culture and consumerism instead of valuing the customs that lie deep within the country's s fibre.

Fortunately, the foreign and fresh perspective showed Romania how special and still wearable is the "clothing item" IA! A myriad of fashion designers started incorporating ancient Romanian designs into their collections. Starting with Tom Ford and now with chain stores as H&M, the symbols on the IA are gaining widespread popularity and this phenomenon made Romania realize that it has got to claim this moment.

In this zeitgeist, a simple Facebook page called "La Blouse Roumaine" wanted to promote Romanian femininity through the IA and achieved massive support right from the first week of its conception. It's beautiful portrayal of its design's simplicity and juxtaposition of peasant women sowing with fashion models posing started moving people to action, inspiring them to proudly wear the IA again and promote this unique craft epitome of the Romanian heritage. Along with "Semne Cusute", a blog which documents all the lost symbols online, "La Blouse Roumaine", in just 8 months became an authority and a voice that is heard by museums and embassies. On the 24th of June, the community inaugurates and celebrates the Universal Day of IA, coinciding with the Midsummer and an ancient pre-Christian holiday, the Sanziene.

The aims of the community until now have been to make Romanians all over the world celebrate this day, be proud of their heritage and introduce it to other nationalities. After the first Universal Day of IA, the focus will be more international, so that Romania can "export" its values and create a new country brand. This gathering of people online, fighting for a common and beautiful goal, has made Romanians like me more united and proud of our identity, more connected to our past and happier to be alive.

The Romanian Blouse is a perfect example fusing a country's culture and history with its present and creating a strong fashion statement!

Written by : Alma Andreescu, Our Romanian Travelista