Izšūtās vīriešu jostas (zīļu jostas) Latvijā un to sociālais konteksts

Historically, researchers in Latvia have mainly focused on traditional costumes worn by Latvian peasants up to the mid-19th century. Gathering evidence of traditional clothing was part of ethnographic expeditions during the national emancipation (late 19th to early 20th century) as well as in the interwar period (the 1920s–30s) and under the Soviet occupation (the 1940s–90s). The accumulated ethnographic material has laid the foundations of the Latvian National History Museum’s collection and forms a broad-ranging set of physical and written primary sources, which is valuable material for research in our days too. Analysis of embroidered belts also provides an insight into ideological shifts during each of the periods mentioned. In the late 19th century, expeditions of the Riga Latvian Society toured countryside regions to gather exhibits for the Latvian Ethnographic Exhibition (1896). Embroidered belts were not collected back then, as they were still worn and were seen as too contemporary. Evidence about the use of embroidered belts in the territory of Latvia chronologically coincides with the flourishing and Europe-wide popularity of Berlin wool work, reaching its peak in the mid-19th century and continuing up to the turn of the century. Embroidered belts feature a broad range of industrial materials and 19th century Romanticist aesthetics, including realistic natural elements – flowers, leaves, animals, etc. One can conclude that belts were worn almost everywhere in Latvia, except Latgale, from about the 1830s till the early 20th century. Analysis of local and Western theoretical frameworks reveals the interaction and influences of various cultures and regions, creating a diverse and mutually connected tradition of clothing. Evidence of embroidered belts indicate their spread not only horizontally among one social or national group but also vertically, from the wealthy parts of society to peasants’ and urban workers’ clothing. Conversely, the phenomenon of the national costume has developed from Latvian peasants’ clothing into an exclusive, festive costume and the Latvian national symbol.