I’ve received enough requests (through comments, messages and emails) for more clothes videos over the past few years to warrant the making of this, an explanation of why I haven’t made more clothes videos. 😀 Not quite what you might have had in mind, but it’s where I’m at right now.
You can watch this video directly here.
I’m not sure I’ve communicated well enough in the past that my wife collects traditional, handmade Romanian costumes. These aren’t new; they’re historic and they range in age from 50-100 years or more. She buys them in “as is” condition, she makes repairs where needed, she washes them with special detergents and she places them in her collection. They come out looking quite amazing. Sometimes she chooses to sell some of them, but then she ends up buying more. And we’ve taken to photographing them from multiple angles, to document them. We may even put a book together to showcase her collection. At any rate, I’m quite taken with the beauty of these costumes and their intricate, hand-sewn designs. I hope you will appreciate them too. Here is a set of ten photographs taken recently.
Today is the International Day of the Romanian Blouse, and it is also the first day of an exhibition of a part of Ligia’s collection of traditional, authentic Romanian costumes (blouses, skirts and more). About twenty costumes are currently on display at the Museum of Natural Gas in Medias and can be seen there during normal business hours through the end of this week (the 29th of June). Admittance is free.
Some time ago, the two of us decided to call Ligia’s collection “Straie Alese“, because it includes authentic, rare, vintage, hand-woven and loom-woven articles of clothing from all parts of Romania. Most pieces are 50-70 years old and some are more than a century old. For those who have already asked, most are not for sale. A select few of the costumes are sometimes offered for sale.
The launch of the exhibition was held earlier today. You can see the photo gallery below. Now, an exhibition at a museum does not happen by itself. There were a tight-knit group of women who keep the tradition alive in our city and who were glad to find out about Ligia’s collection and they worked with Ligia to organize the showing, so we’d like to thank them here for their guidance and invaluable assistance. The exhibition would not have happened without them! 👏🙌🌻
We’re glad this first event happened right here in our city, which, situated as it is in the geographical heart of Romania and in the bosom of Transilvania, seems especially favored by fate to be a good starting place for a project that can reach far and wide. We are of course open to collaborations with other museums, here in Romania and abroad.
Enjoy the photographs!
Here’s my take on the subject of men’s clothes. I realize I’m going against current trends with this view, but thanks to my recent experience with severe back pain, I’ve gained additional insights into the effects that clothes have on our posture, our bodies and ultimately our health. I know and I have seen first-hand how some clothes can provoke back pain and others can relieve it, and that’s what I talk about in this video. I hope it helps you!
This video was requested quite a few times in recent months and I finally had the chance to record it this weekend, albeit in a somewhat constrained timeframe. Nonetheless, I was able to present general rules about picking ties and then demonstrate how I would pick a tie for one of my own outfits. I hope that it will be of good use to you!
Raoul Pop 