Specific cultural phenomena
The national costumes are very specific cultural phenomena which evolved over long historical development. They have long been a determinant of Bulgarian folk culture which gives a visual idea of the ethnic specificity and ethnographic variety of the Bulgarian people. The traditional costumes are exclusively home made products, born out of the women’s taste and creativity. Men’s participation in this process was insignificant. The traditional materials for clothing textiles were: flax, hemp, wool, silk and cotton. Leather had comparatively small application, used for typical Bulgarian footwear caller tsurvouli (a kind of sandals), and furs were used for kalpatsi (men’s fur caps). The composition of the Bulgarian national costumes is a complex one. It depended on the specific labour conditions and way of living.

The Bulgarian national costumes - a cultural phenomenon
The Bulgarian national costumes together with the language and song tradition had a long historical development which has turned them into a cultural phenomenon. The national costumes materialise the ethnic specificity and ethnographic diversity of the Bulgarian people. The traditional costumes were created by women’s taste and imagination. Usually men did not take part in this process. The most widely used materials were flax, hemp, wool, silk and cotton. Leather was seldom used, mainly for making the typical Bulgarian footwear called tzurvouli (moccasins). Men’s caps called kalpatsi were made of furs.

Types of costumes
Depending on the combination of the different articles of clothing, both men’s and women’s costumes are divided into several types. Top garments which determine the outer shape of the costumes are taken by the Bulgarian ethnography as a basis for classification.

Women’s national costumes
Women’s national costumes are divided into four groups depending on their cut and the way of wearing the top garments: with two aprons, with one apron, of the soukman type and the sayana. Depending on their cut and the colour of the cloth men’s costumes are divided into two groups – white and black.