The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-25
HOW GREEK WOMEN DRESS.
They Long Since Abandoned Classic
Draperies.
New York Tribune.

New York Tribune
Byrons Maid of Athens" is described in
somebody's footnotes to the popular poem
as having been one of three beautiful sis
terS who had fine eyes and wore baggy
trousers. The Maid of Athens of this end
of the century doesn't answer to the de-
scrlpuon, either as to eyes or clothing. In
parentheses, she never rides bicycle
II you are looking for handsome women
in Greece don't light your lantern in
Athens, but save your oil for Megara, a
village on the road to Corinth, whose in
habitants the Athenans of classic times
used to compliment by saying of a block
head that he was as stupid a Megarean.
BY one of times little reVenges the Me
gareanS are now not only among the pureSt
blooded Greeks left in Greece, but wear
their birthright f1auntingly in the shape of
some few scarcely recognizable relics, the
only ones to be found in the country, of the
old classic draperies.
For the maid of Athens, tickle as those
of her city always have been reputed to
be, threw over her zoned and clasped robes
long before the coming of the Turks. She
threw over her MOslem trousers for
dress called national and has thrown over
this for something as French as the dis
tance from Paris allows. The sOcalled ma
tonal dress of the Greek woman is really
Albanian. Nothing about it is Greek in
any way. AS still worn to some extent by
the peasant girls about Athens, it consists
of skirt of heavy white cotton, or some
times of yellowish wool, with a deep border
of coarse but very effective embroidery in
red and green. Over this comes Il cloak
of the same material reaching almost TO
the knees. and made stiff, as are the
sleeves, with embroidered bands. The srron
is worked till its strong oOlOrs stare you
out of countenance. The head is wrapped
in a white scarf or veil. Bangles for the
head and neck, worn in the Eastern man.
ner are a part of the costume.
The veil is the first thing to be given up.
Bright yellow handkerchiefs. tied under the
chin, like those of the Italian peasants
have been substituted almost universally
English calico has all but driven the hand
woven peasant cloths off the field. The
lor,r-o folx .Ys,A IL
and the broad banderohs for the waist are
hardly known now. In fine, the maid of
Athens, when of high degree, has become
like any cosmopolitan woman of fashion,
and when of lower order is notable only
for her untidineSS
The picturesque national costumes of
Greece are disappearing so fast that in an
other generation they will be as nearly eX-
tinct off the stage as are those of Switzer-
land, which owe their last appearances to
the fads of travelling Americans on the
lookout for new clothes for their nurse
maids. The squirt of national feeling that
led to last springs little war brought about
q temporary revival of some of the old
forms of dress, and at charity entertain
ments in Athens for the relief of war suf-
fererS 1t has been one of the accepted ways
of exhibiting patriotism to appear i'm Greek
costume. Queen Olga has countenanced
this tendency by wearing in public on sew
eral occasions one of the statelier Athenian
gowns.
The dress thus taken into royal favor is
less characteristic of the country hu+ more
beautiful and dignified than some of the
other varieties of Greek dress. 1t is not in
the least reminiscent of classic draperies:
not one OF the costumes now received as
national is. In effect II is a ceremonial
princess robe of rich purple silk. en-
broidered up and down either side of the
'front.' with gold. With it is Worn a little
crimson and gold fez, an article of head
gear that long ago became as Thoroughly
acclimated in Greece as in Turkey A Iona.
scarf veil of India silk muslin is drape1
loosely about the head, the veil. like the
fez, being Thoroughly Greek though never
worn so as to hide the features In this
popularity.