1167 BULGARIA (Blagoevgrad) - A woman from Gotse Delchev with traditional headdress

I wrote here a little about the bulgarian traditional clothes, and about the main bulgarian ethnographic regions, so I don't insist for now. The woman in the postcard is from Gotse Delchev, in the south-west of the country. Prior to the 20th century, for weddings the hair was arranged in complex styles formed with multiple plaits; in the north and southwest, brides wore a specific headband made of decorative metal chains forming a crown. Married women covered their heads with scarves of colored silk or cotton (which could be square, triangular or rectangular, small or large), sometimes worn over a small hat. Bridal headdresses usually had a large square headscarf or scarf (mesal) 2m to 3m long and decorated with embroidery and long fringes on both ends. The headscarf was worn over cylinder or cone shape low hats. It were folded in the middle and placed on head, or could be worn over a pad, with the ends hanging loose at back. The style of jewelry worn with Bulgarian ethnic dress was strongly influenced by Ottoman fashions but with certain ancient elements, such as the over-the-ear pendants. During the period of national revival, workshops in the prosperous towns made earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings of silver filigree or cast copper or silver, often decorated with enamel.

About the stamp

This souvenir sheet, designed by Ralitsa Nikolova, was issued to commemorate XXX Summer Olympic Games London 2012, and features artistic gymnastics, probably the most spectacular and graceful Olympic sport.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps #181, run by Viridian from Viridian’s Postcard Blog. The theme of this week is: anything you wish. Click on the button to visit Viridian’s blog and all the other participants.

References
Bulgarian women's headwear - Eliznik Web Pages
Bulgaria Ethnic Dress: Women’s Belts, Headdwear, and Jewelry - Berg Fashion Library

Sender: Svetelina Vasileva Kiriakova (direct swap)
sent from Varna (Varna / Bulgaria), on 21.01.2014
photo: Kamen Zagorov