Great joy abounded in a farmer’s cottage when his wife gave birth to a son. The baby boy’s first clothes were powijoki; wide strips of linen used to swaddle him. The baby would first be dressed in festive clothes at his baptism. A delicate white bonnet, called a dziecięco czopeczka, and decorated with lace and coloured ribbons, would adorn his head. The baptism quilt whose edges were expertly embroidered and edged with elaborate lace was covered, for greater effect, with a silk kerchief, the płachetka. Equally adorned was the short, white, lace shirt and the jakliczka, which the child was dressed in before being swaddled in the decorated crocheted powijoki, interwoven with coloured silk ribbon. Sometimes complete a set of children’s clothes, the prodełka, would be carefully preserved for many years, and successive members of the growing family would wear it for their baptism.
      During the first few years of the child’s life its clothing gave little away about the wealth of its parents, their regional origins or religion and did not even allow the child’s sex to be identified at first glance. This was because, up until their fourth year, both boys and girls were dressed in long shirts, tied around at the waist. Mothers made efforts not to over-dress their children, but tried to ensure that their clothes were clean and presentable. For this reason they were made from fabric resistant to frequent laundering. A four-year-old boy being taken to church would have been dressed in a linen shirt with long, narrow sleeves and a dress with braces, stiffened at the waist. When the little boy had almost grown out of his infant clothes, but before he had been given his first real trousers, he was dressed, particularly on special occasions, in zrośloki; simple trousers gathered at the waist, with an opening on the back called a lajbik. Children had to wait some years before receiving real winter clothes and robust footwear. For most of the year they would go barefoot, dressed only in a linen shirt. During the winter children wore thicker, warmer clothing made from their siblings’ cast-offs. They were also given woollen stockings and in wealthier houses even simple leather shoes, called trzewiki.
      A key moment in a boy’s life was being given his first trousers and boots, which usually coincided with starting at school. From that moment on the growing boy’s festive wardrobe was gradually put together. More care was taken about his ordinary clothes too. In the nineteenth century every detail in the clothes, even those which appeared insignificant, communicated a great deal of information about the owner’s social origin, financial status, marital status, religious affiliations and functions. This left little scope for the owner to develop their own aesthetic tastes.
      Tradition permitted teenage boys to go to church, take part in weddings and other special occasions in more modest clothing but somewhat resembling adult dress. If there were several sons in a family the younger ones received their older brothers’ cast-offs, sometimes with adjustments made using pieces from worn out adult clothes, which were then worn until they fell apart. Only occasionally were clothes repaired using material of good quality specially bought for the purpose.
      Until the moment that Cieszyn men’s folk costume disappeared, it was for a long time the ambition of every self-respecting man to possess his own. The amount of material used in particular elements of the costume, its quality, its aesthetic effect and the accessories all made it possible to draw conclusions about the financial status of its owner. Festive clothes were particularly well looked after and the more precious elements might be passed down from father to son through several generations. When comparing the everyday working clothes of poor peasants with wealthier ones few differences could be detected. Clothes for everyday wear were intended above all to be practical, for which reason they were not richly decorated, since these clothes were expected to wear out quickly.
      As the years passed the stripling grew into a young bachelor, and began to pay more attention to the uncommonly good looks of the Cieszyn girls. Young people who had begun to take serious interest in a particular member of the opposite sex took more care over their appearance. Not only the costume of young women but also of bachelors impressed by its dressiness. The choice of brighter, more flamboyant colours than those worn by married people was intended to attract the attention of the opposite sex. Tradition demanded that the żynich, i.e. the bride-groom, should dress for his wedding in a new, complete, traditional Cieszyn folk costume, made of good-quality fabric. The wedding guests would see in him a future man of means. The żynich could easily be distinguished from among the other guests, all dressed in their best finery, owing to a white silk kerchief given to him by his bride and the woniączka, a small bouquet of artificial flowers and white ribbons pinned onto his chest. In former times the bride groom’s hat was decorated with a chochołek, a small bouquet of white and green artificial flowers.
      The wedding costume of the young married man later became the clothes he would appear in for other important occasions and religious holidays except that it was supplemented by precisely defined accessories, as circumstances dictated. If he had good fortune and became wealthier, he would gradually exchange particular elements of the costume for ones made of better quality material, reflecting the most recent developments in fashion or he would buy silver jewellery emphasizing his wealth.
      A nineteenth-century wealthy man’s folk costume consisted of a kłobuk, shirt, bruclek, szpencer, coat, galaty, belt and boots called poloki.
      A kłobuk was a grey or black stiff, felt hat with a wide brim and a crown which gradually tapered upwards, decorated with a wide velvet ribbon with a metal buckle. The lining of kłobuk was crafted to create a kind of pocket where money, a pipe, tobacco and a handkerchief could be carried. Furriers made similar hats called kasturki out of hare skin. The size, cut and material of the hat completing the Cieszyn costume were susceptible to the whims of the prevailing fashion. Hairstyles were also subject to change. In former times men wore their hair long with a centre parting, some time later they took to brushing their hair down smoothly on the forehead.
      It may be of interest to learn that Cieszyn peasants did not wear underwear. Only wealthier men wore so-called podzuwki, similar to long johns. Ordinary shirts were worn to sleep in.
      A bright and conspicuous element of male clothing was a white linen shirt reaching to the knees with a narrow collar called an obujek, which was fastened with a white or red ribbon. Later a red kerchief was tied at the neck over the folded-over collar. For everyday wear a shirt of a kind of coarse linen called grubaczka was worn, while on special occasions finer and more thoroughly bleached linen was used, richly sewn with silk or woollen thread. The earliest shirts did not have cuffs and were sown from one piece of cloth with no seams on the shoulders.
       For everyday wear peasants usually wore linen trousers and on special occasions galaty made of shop-bought cloth. The blue or dark blue, usually narrow, trousers were held up by a leather belt, three-fingers wide, which would be wound around the waist several times (and taken off at home to restore order) worn tucked into boots. The fly, called a lacek, was positioned to one side, either the left or the right.
      Only wealthy men could afford sturdy, leather “Polish” boots, known as poloki, decorated with a bunch of leather tassels, called a czaprok. But men of more humble means also did their best to look elegant on high days and holidays. Even if they did not own real poloki they would put sztyblety, leather gaiters, over their low boots. The footwear worn universally in the villages around Cieszyn were workshoes called ciżmy or kyrpce, which older people preferred. These boots, worn over woollen or linen socks called kopyca, were made of one piece of pigskin or cow’s leather and attached to the feet by stout cords called nawłoki.
      A navy-blue, greyish-blue or black linen waistcoat, known in the Cieszyn region as a bruclek, was worn over a white shirt. The bruclek was decorated with a red trim, had a quilted collar and one or two rows of metal, silver or horn buttons. At one time it was the fashion to wear the bruclek unbuttoned at the neck. During the nineteenth century several different types of bruclek appeared. For bachelors the bruclek was the topmost garment of festive clothes and had to be made of the best fabric. Similar in design, decoration and function to the bruclek was the kamizol, reaching to the waist, worn on special occasions by less well-off married men, bachelors or as an everyday work garment.
      On colder days a navy blue or black cloth szpencer was put on over the bruclek. This was a short overcoat with a collar and lapels, lined with a checked woollen fabric, matching the colour scheme. Unlike the bruclek it had long sleeves, full at the shoulder and taken in at the wrists. Like the bruclek it had one or two rows of horn or metal buttons.
      Depending on the type of clothes worn over the shirt, a man who wore a kamizol was called a kamizolkorz, one who wore a szpencer was called a szpencerzysta, and one who wore a kabat, a kabaciarz.
      The płaszcz, a sumptuous, outer garment which gave a wealthy Cieszyn farmer an air of distinction, was a flowing, navy blue cloak without sleeves, with a warm, woollen lining, reaching down to the calves or even ankles. The fact that it would have been possible to make three suits from the amount of cloth needed to make such a cape, gives an idea of its ampleness and voluminousness. It was generally worn thrown over the shoulders. The plaszcz was only fastened on the coldest winter days, by means of a leather loop and a kneblik (wooden peg) on a strap sown to the collar. 
      Normally the burnus, a long, simple coat, kept the wearer warm. In winter a short or long sheepskin coat, dyed yellow, dark brown or black was usually worn. These coats were bought at markets. The most expensive sheepskin coats were white, covered with linen, with a black collar, the seams embroidered with coloured woollen thread. Winter attire was completed by leather or cloth gloves, and a woollen or sheepskin hat. Large flat or rounded, shining buttons made the whole costume more ostentatious, along with the buckle on the hat and the szpencer, sometimes a magnificent example of the tailor’s art.
      The costume of Cieszyn starzikowie, elderly men, was distinguished by darker tones and the lack of any influence of current fashion. They were laid in their coffins in their best clothes, although some of its elements were left as heirlooms. If a young bachelor died prematurely tradition dictated that he be buried in the wedding costume of a żynich.
      In comparison with Cieszyn female folk costume, the male equivalent did not evoke nearly so much interest amongst nineteenth-century ethnologists, for which reason its reconstruction requires the search among old descriptions and iconographic documentation. Up until the end of the nineteenth century the costume as described here was worn by people living in the central part of Cieszyn Silesia. The particularly splendid costume of wealthy Cieszyn farmers, even though not as wonderful as the women’s costume as far as colour and the cut of particular parts of it and accessories were concerned, was nevertheless distinguished by its own particular elegance. When at the close of the nineteenth century Cieszyn women’s folk costume was at the peak of its flowering, male costume, influenced more and more by urban fashion, was slowly disappearing. Today the examples of reconstructed Cieszyn male folk costume may be seen in museums.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Gustaw Fierla, Strój Cieszyński, ZG PZKO Ethnographic Society, Český Tĕąín 1977, p. 64;
• Idem., Stroje ludowe na Śląsku Cieszyńskim. In: Płyniesz Olzo..., Zarys kultury materialnej ludu cieszyńskiego, ed. Karol Daniel Kadłubiec, Profil, Ostrava 1972, pp. 203-223;
• Barbara Poloczkowa, Strój cieszyński w XIX wieku. In: „Polska Sztuka Ludowa”, 1972, no. 3-4, pp.153-170;
• Marian Dembiniok, Zarys kultury ludowej Śląska Cieszyńskiego, Museum of Cieszyn Silesia, Cieszyn 1995, p.19;
• Jadwiga Wronicz (ed.), Słownik gwarowy Śląska Cieszyńskiego, Towarzystwo Miłośników Wisły, Towarzystwo Miłośników Ustronia, Wisła, Ustroń 1995, p. 358