Vyshyvanka Day 2023
The third Thursday of May, and a shirt that has become one of the most widely recognised garments in Europe.
A good Vyshyvanka Day.
Something changed about this garment in recent years that nobody planned. It became internationally legible. A vyshyvanka worn in Berlin or Toronto or Istanbul is now recognised by people who could not have identified it a decade ago.
For a piece of regional folk dress, that is unusual. Most traditional clothing stays within its own context and is read as costume outside it. This one crossed over, and it did so as clothing rather than as costume — worn by people who mean it rather than performed by people demonstrating something.
I have worn mine in three countries this year and been asked about it in all of them.
Wear it today.
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