Amalia National Costume
Amalia was a Bavarian princess and the first queen of Greece (1836-1862) as wife of King Otto, (Bavarian prince who ruled as King of Greece from the establishment of the monarchy on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed on 23 October 1862)
With her beauty, charm, and strong personality, she introduced the concept of fashion in Greece and represented the spirit of progress by connecting Greece with the European perspective.
Queen Amalia created the so-called "Amalia outfit", a romantic folk court dress that went down in history as "Amalia" and became the national women's costume.
Queen Amalia...
born in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (modern Germany) and received a careful and strict education in foreign languages, music, dance, painting, horseback riding, and fencing.
In November 1836 she married Otto in the great hall of the Oldenburg Palace according to the Protestant and Catholic rites. The couple arrived in Athens on February 2, 1837.
On March 25, 1837, she was officially welcomed by the Greek people with glorious manifestations, when she appeared publicly at the King's side and this date was marked as a national anniversary by the king the following year, as it was associated with the beginning of the Greek revolution.
Queen Amalia had a charming appearance, she was beautiful, full of life, witty and at the same time unpretentious. She quickly conquered the Greeks thanks to her devotion to Otto and her kind behavior.
Queen Amalia presented an intense action of beautifying the city of Athens with the creation of gardens, rich tree planting as well as intense charitable action.
THE OUTFIT...
follows the European style of «Biedermeier», which emphasized the simple lines and minimal decoration, although because the bourgeoisie was constantly rising, there was an exaggeration in the richness of dresses and jewelry along the way.
The set included a dress made of precious fabric, often gold-plated, in a bright color, usually red or blue, with a bodice open to show the full-necked hem of the shirt and wide sleeves curved at the bottom and open at the inside.
On top they wore the short island cardigan, the “kontogouni”, velvet, usually in dark color, gold embroidered and very fitted, sometimes garnished with fur.
The fez or the cup is worn on the head. The fez, which was originally large, was worn by married women in many ways, mainly sideways. Of great importance was his tassel, the papazi, made of gold threads, braided plait and adorned with pearls or sequins. The cup was worn by unmarried women.
The jewelry was mostly European art.
Variations of the costume as it is worn today