Traditional CostumesUntil around 150 years ago, peasants wore the same style of clothes as worn during the Knights of St John. These contrasted

with the city dwellers, particularly well-off individuals, who followed closely

the fashion trends that flourished in European cities.

The local peasants’ outfit also differed from the attire of their counterparts in

other countries and is, thereby, referred to as the traditional costume of the people

of Malta and Gozo.

Local production Generally speaking, these costumes were made out of cotton, which was by then still cultivated extensively in our islands. After being harvested from the plant, it had to be cleaned from seeds, spun into yarn, dyed (if required), and eventually woven into rolls of fabric. Clothes were

then fashioned from this fabric.

Standard costume The only differences between the

costumes of individuals (children and adults) were the combination of the

colours and the designs of the fabric. The range of options was quite limited since the dyes were extracted from minerals, flowers, plants and fruit, whereas the

designs consisted only of straight lines. Did you know?

On a day-to-day basis, peasants were always barefooted, except for special

occasions. Likewise, they wore headgear all the time.

The għonnella (made out of black silk) was not part of the traditional costume worn

by peasants. They wore what is called ċulqana manufactured from coloured

cotton fabric.

Ċulqana

Maktur

Qmis

Sidrija

Geżwira

Dublett

Milsa

Sidrija

Qmis

Ħorġa

Terħa

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