Apron

The apron for the Krzczonów women's festive costume was bought in Krzczonów. It is presented in the permanent exhibition Folk Art of the Lublin Region. It was made around 1920 from black wool and decorated with six colourful ribbons (green, orange, yellow, pink) sewn on at the bottom. Between them, in the middle, there is sewn a white lace, and a wider cotton lace sewn to the lower edge. The same form of decoration was applied to the skirt. These elements differed only in colouring. The described exhibit belongs to the second variety of the Krzczonów costume, created in the second half of the 19th century. It was distinguished from the earlier version by its fabric, already factory-made, and a large amount of haberdashery, as well as the fact that it is very short and wide for an apron. It is only 30 cm long, but over 2 m wide. It is heavily creased to the waist and fastened with a button. It wraps around the whole figure, thus depriving it of its primary function, that of protecting the front of the skirt from dirt. In the case of festive garments, it was not a problem, as it should be a decoration. It is puzzling why such a form of an apron was adopted in this type of attire found only in the region of Krzczonów and nowhere else in any costumes in our country or in neighbouring countries. Maybe such fashion was introduced by a dressmaker. At that time, the Krzczonów costume was undergoing significant changes and many of its elements were transformed, including the described apron. Unfortunately, the current state of our knowledge does not allow determining what it was modelled on.