Tradicional Costumes from the Island of Zlarin

The introductory chapter (»What are national costumes and how to study them«) attempts to define the concept of \u27national costume\u27, analyze its significance in the traditional culture of human groups, and examine possible ways of studying them. The second chapter (Descriptions of Zlarin costumes - material remains and oral accounts) Is a result of field research and it gives detalled descriptions of men\u27s, women\u27s and children\u27s traditional costumes and their parts. The description Is most detailed with respect to women\u27s costumes, which are still worn by some women on the island, while men\u27s and children\u27s costumes have practically gone out of use and are consequently more sketchlly presented. In an attempt to trace the development and change in clothing patterns, the third chapter (»Zlarin costumes in earlier periods - written and pictorial sources.) analyzes references to clothing In different sources from the sixteenth century to the present day, with particular emphasis on seventeenth-century bequest documents. This diachronic procedure, among other things, makes it possible to get an idea of the male costumes in earlier periods. In order to determine the place of Zlarin costumes among the types of clothing in other parts of the country and the varied Influences that can be seen in Zlarin, the fourth chapter (»Zlarin costumes and the surrounding area - comparisons and analyses«) offers a synchronic comparison with costumes in the immediate and more distant surrounding areas. The closing chapter (»Zlarin costumes in the context of the traditional culture«) shows how clothing may help to explain some other phenomena in the patterns of life and culture of a traditional community, such as that of Zlarin. Costumes are therefore discussed as articles of domestic manufacture, as items of consumption, as possible indicators of social structure, as individual status symbols, and finally as symbols of local culture and local identity