Australian Dress Register

Blaguna migrated to the Illawarra in 1997 with her husband. Her children were already living here and she now lives with them. She is from the village of Dolenci in the region of Demir-Hisar.

'People don't wear aprons any more. My great-grandmother was the oldest person to live and die in national costume. The cosula (vest) was made by my mother and grandmother and is the main part of the costume for that region. It was all hand-made at home, put together and then decoration added. For mother, getting parts was hard but jewel merchants in Bitola travelled around and visited once a month and sold things to the women.

The alena (apron) pattern is special to the region. Some ladies made changes in the pattern and mixed colours. When a girl got married she made many gifts for the family. She knitted thirty to forty socks and wove aprons for the women. Men were given pairs of socks, tied together with woollen ties and put around their necks. Marriage was different then. '

-Blaguna Naumovska

This apron is an example of the central part of traditional Macedonian costume. This example was worn by the current owner's mother, Cveta Naumovska in the village of Dolenci in the Demir-Hisar region of Macedonia. The aprons of this region had been worn by many generations of Macedonian women and were central to their lives. Different aprons were worn for all facets of a women's life from marriage, childbirth, working in the fields to mourning and celebrations. In many part of Macedonia an apron with its regional design indicated not only where a woman was from but also who she was and what stage in her life she was at.

The 20th Century represents a period of significant change in the lives of Macedonian women. The introduction of chemical dyes, embellishments and mass produced fabrics from the rest of the world dramatically altered the techniques employed in the manufacture of traditional dress especially woven aprons. Aprons which primarily sourced supplies from the local environment, including wool from sheep, dye from plants and the occasional embellishment from the travelling salesman were now replaced by products and resources from outside of the local village. This in turn transformed the aesthetic of traditional dress with the introduction of brighter colours and embellishments. This is evident in this example with the use of novelty printed cotton ties which include cartoon motifs of a small white rabbit playing a range of musical instruments.

In the post-war period many Macedonian women migrated from their homes in small villages throughout the world. A significant number of Macedonian families migrated to the Illawarra region of New South Wales, lured by jobs for their husbands and male relatives provided at the Steel Works at Port Kembla, just south of Wollongong. Many of the women who migrated brought with them aprons, a singular representative component of their traditional dress. For the Macedonian migrants to the Illawarra, a journey across the world transformed this woven rectangle from an integral part of daily life into a memento of a culture and a past way of life. The apron had been central, both to special occasions with music and dancing, and to their working lives.

This garment was exhibited in 'Ties with Tradition: Macedonia apron designs', the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2009. The exhibition was subsequently shown at the University of Wollongong, School of Art and Design, 8th -27th April, 2010.

The printed cotton ties with a novelty print of a small white rabbit playing musical instruments is believed to be a later addition.

Printed cotton ties on apron

Machine-made lace bib insert

Heavy embroidery around neckline & hem of vest. sleeves, neck & hemline of shift

Apron: loom woven wool from local source

Vest: woven wool

Shift & scarf: linen/cotton mix

Apron: Tapestry woven on a loom using weft face weaving techniques where the warp threads (made of cotton) are entirely covered by the woollen weft threads. The apron is woven in one thirty centimetre wide length of fabric, cut in half, hem the sides, and hand-stitch the vertical centre-seam along the selvedges. The result of this is an asymmetrical stripe sequence down the front.

Around the edge of the apron is red binding for decoration and at the top right and left are novelty, printed ties to secure the apron around the wearers waist.

Vest: Woollen vest hand woven by the local tailor in the village using local wool fibres and embroidered using purchased threads, sequins and beads by the women of the village. The cut and construction of a vest was traditionally unique to the village that it came from.

Chemise: Linen, woven on a loom and hand embroidered with purchased red threads.

Scarf: Purchased fabric and beads and made up by the owner

Lace bib: Purchased machine-made lace, made up by owner

There are two ties on the apron to secure around waist and at the centre front of the vest.

The thick weave of the apron and vest with its woollen weft allows the apron the stand rigid when worn.

Media release for 'Ties with Tradition: Macedonian apron designs', University of Wollongong, School fo Art and Design, 8th -27th April, 2010.

http://www.uow.edu.au/crearts/sad/fca/UOW076139.html

Accompanying this apron are other key components of traditional Macedonian costume including a linen chemise with a rich red and black embroidered edge, a heavy, rich embellished vest with beading and embroidery, a lace bib insert and a white cotton scarf with blue beading around the edge. It is believed that the lace bib and scarf are later additions to the complete costume.

Blaguna also owns a second apron. It has a horizontal seam a heavy dense weave, dark colours and plain ties suggest it was a working apron for an older woman.