If this Thursday it must be postcards, 600

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cretan attire, Crete, Greece

 

This color postcard features a young woman spinning yarn and wearing a folk costume from the Greek island of Crete.  The card is unused and not dated but is probably from the 1960s.  No publisher or distributor is named, nor is the photograph credited.  The caption at the lower left on the reverse:  Cretan Attire, in four languages. 

 

Like many other folk costumes this one includes a kerchief, an apron with embroidery, a blouse. This one also has a long-sleeved velvet jacket, is embroidered around the neck, and has jewelry in the form of earrings and gold disk necklaces.  Although her feet are not fully visible in the picture on the card, the costume would also include flat boots or heeled shoes in black.  In some areas the costume might also include long trousers with a long over-shirt or tunic in place of the skirt and blouse.  The jewelry that can be worn on the head, chest, wrists, fingers, neck and waist is not just decoration but signifies the financial and social status of the woman.  The complete costume would have a small knife attached to the belt.  Each region would have slightly differing designs and colors. 

 

The young woman is demonstrating how to make yarn from wool fiber using a drop spindle.  Spinning wheels and drop spindles use the same principle of twisting fibers together for form strands of yarn or thread.  The drop spindle is a hand-held tool while the spinning wheel is a foot powered machine. 

 

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the 5^th largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.  Besides the large island there are a number of islands and islets in the surrounding area that comprise the Region of Crete.  It is a mostly mountainous island.  The Minoans lived here from 2700 to 1420 BC.  Later Crete was ruled by Rome then in succession by the Byzantine Empire, Andalusian Arabs, the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire.  In 1898 Crete achieved independence from the Ottomans.  The people of Crete had for a long time desired join the Greek state which formally happened in December 1913. 

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://www.crete.org.uk/traditional-crete-dress.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crete

https://www.alpacadirect.com/blogs/alpaca-direct-blog/top-6-reasons-you-should-start-spinning-on-a-drop-spindle