11-09-2025 MY WEEK: my heritage, my benkovac

 my two weeks of mediterranean meditation end this week, and i feel well rested, and as many locals say, vrag odnija prišu (translated to "the devil took away the pressure"). it was fun feeling like both tourist and local, and i feel like my personal style took a fun turn, not worrying about work dress codes, and my strict style guidelines that often border between minimalism and yawn.

boyfriend and i visited a store/museum concept croata showcasing ties with amazing prints and designs. fun fact: croatians invented the tie - the cravat.

with my mom, we visited our hometown heritage museum and got to see the history from prehistoric times to current updates. they had a section on local lifestyle and culture, and as a fashion blogger as well as a descendant of this culture, i'm excited and proud to share the excerpt on benkovac folk costume:

in the old days, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers made and weaved their own clothes and dyed them with natural colors obtained from the plants they found in their surroundings. what distinguished the costumes from one region to another were the details of embroidery that were unique to each weaver and her imagination and colors. the motifs and accompanying ornaments, the technique of making a colorful embroidery on the cloth revealed information about the local area, religious affiliation and national identity. 

the folk costume of northern dalmatia  is a dinaric type of costume. we distinguish between men's, women's and children's costumes. 

the women's costume consisted of a square scarf jašmak arranged in a triangle. it features colorful embroidery and tassels, or small corsages on the edges. under jašmak, two braids were worn intertwined in a circle, which was a hairstyle characteristic of women, and at the same they made the jašmak look higher and better. the most common motif on the jašmak is the embroidered floral cross, which is filled with floral motifs and crosses. the shirt is the basic female outfit of the dynamic type of costume. it is made of linen or cotton cloth. it is embroidered with colorful wool on the collar, on both sides of the chest opening and on the sleeves won which red cotton fabric is often sewn. we can notice the dominant red color symbolizing health, beauty and fertility, and it was believed to be effective against spells and evil forces. within the rural community, women were most subjected to social control, so their clothes emphasized their belonging to a certain social category and told us about the social status of a girl or woman. a long woven skirt, vuštan, was worn over the shirt and it was characterized by a decorative hem, of narrower stripes of red, green or blue cloth and wider stripes composed of squares or rhombuses embroidered with colorful wool, silk, or cotton. cloth was adorned by četverokuka embroidery. vuštan needs to fall down nicely, and be wide enough for the woman to be able to dance, it needs to be practical and rich, and with its beautiful embroidery it has completely managed to suppress the rough look of woolen clothes. around the waist, the women wore tkanica, a woven belt, and over the vuštan they wore a woven apron rich in colors, ornaments, and fringes on the side, which was later replaced by linen aprons. in both summer and winter, girls and women wear a sleeveless gown, a garment of of blue cloth, which is decorated at the edges with stripes of cloth. in addition to newer girls' and women's clothes, a short gown with sleeves, a women's koporan/kaparana is worn. women wore stockings on their feet from ankle to knee, girdles, gaiters, and vilare on their feet, black leather shoes with a firm sole that have replaced the former opanak.

men's costume was slightly simpler than women's. the man's head was covered with a round red cap. it had a low rim, decorated with embroidery made of black wool with black tassels, bouquets. the shirt is made from white linen and sometimes a red factory ribbon is applied to the shirt. a đilet was worn over the shirt, a circle of homemade cloth on which the codporan of the same material was worn, and on festive occasions it was embroidered with plant ornaments and decorated with bouquets and filigree. the lower part of clothes consists of trousers, benevreke. the thigh of the leg is decorated with lighter blue braids, braided ribbons, arranged in a spiky trefoil.

around the waist, men wore a wide cloth, a belt composed of ten or more knitted red braids. older shoes consisted of colorful stockings woven with colorful wool, over which cowhide or sheepskin opanci were worn. violate have been worn since the beginning of the 20th century. 

they had a supplement in the winter, especially the men who were taking cattle to graze, and it was called aljak, a firm, warm, and waterproof cloak. wool is very specific and grateful to wear, so it's not surprising that it was the basis of clothing in these parts.

girls, unlike older and married women, wore a single braid usually decorated with red ribbons. the girl's red cap is a conical red cap, and depending on the financial situation of each girl, the cap was decorated with coins, thalers. wealthier girls also wore a peacock feather whose eye was believed to protect against spells. the girls also wore a white shirt and a white vuštan with a red or colorful linen apron. girls rarely wore woven aprons. 

the boys wore hats. they are similar to the like hat with a black rim and a red flat part with fringes. children's men's clothing was the same as men's adult clothing, and consisted of a shirt, a krožeta, a benevrek, a wide cloth, a krožet, gaiters, and a vilar.

 alongside the traditional folklore costume, we also learned about the embroidery technique četverokuka (four hook type embroidery), briefly mentioned above:

četverokuka embroidery is not only an ornament on men's and women's costume and useful objects (bisages, bags, feedbags), it is a symbol of this area and a valuable cultural heritage that we need to preserve. the art of making a četverokuka is a knowledge and skill whose presence on clothing and useful objects, according to preserved ethnographic and other written sources as well as objects themselves, dates back to the 19th and 20th centuries.

the production of a decorative četverokuka embroidery in the area of the western part of the dinarides in croatia is a particularly valuable cultural heritage on that area. it is a knowledge and skill that is passed down through generations through practice of the bearer. it represents a unique way of decorating cloth in the western part of the dinarides (so-called dinaric ethnographic zones): sub-velebit villages like, then ravni kotari and bukovica (where the largest and most luxurious number and ornamentation have been preserved), velebit podgorje, a small part of the coast and part of dalmatinska zagora. četverokuka embroideries are connected by a chain stitch, small cubes 5x5, and it takes about 140 pieces for one shirt. the hand-embroidered pieces of cloth were arranged in the correct order, and this is how the material was created. the process of making četverokuka embroidery required several hours, patience, precision, and dexterity of a woman. inside četverokuka embroidery, a cross was tied as a symbol of hope and protection with four rounded hooks. it is decorated with all forms of ornamentation, loops, tendrils, circles, zigzag lines, rosettes, and spirals. yellow and white colors predominated, and the inside was bordered with different colors, such as green and red. it is basically always četverokuka (four-hook) that is shaped in all possible variations: from a double hook that has transformed into a four-hook, an eight-hook, all the way to thirty-six-hook embroidery. each embroidery represented the woman who made it and told the story of the woman's taste and power. četverokuka embroidery was most often found on women's blouse, except on the part where the apron came, so they decorated that part in blue, red, and green. četverokuka embroidery was not only a motif on clothing, it was often found carved on wooden objects (horseshoes and spindles, cradles, chests, tripods), folk instruments (flutes, pipes), and stone.

the art of making četverokuka embroidery is included in the list of intangible cultural assets of the republic of croatia.

here's a final haul of the week as i visited a local boutique carrying italian clothes, amadeus:

leather meets suede and metallic.
a nesting doll situation - hobo bag and a mini crossbody

asymmetrical top with padded shoulders

simple black knit polo - according to teen mag ok!, this is fall's new trend

leather maxi skirt

this week's looks

final week's looks going out with a bang. no style challenges, just pure vibes - trying to get as much out of my closet as possible. to conclude - i am very satisfied with the items here, whether or not outdated, one has possibilities galore!

monday i wore the new top from the band melewai, and this knit/tweed desigual skirt, paired with my mom's leather boots, a heavy-knit cardigan and trench coat - for coffee date with dad then later friend.

for evening walk and window shopping, i kept the tee, but casualified (not a word, i know) by changing into trousers, bomber jacket, and h&m walking sneakers

tuesday i wore the new black polo with another deisgual knit skirt - super funky design and red details. floral tights, chrome loafers and the metallic hobo bag.

another evening walk - i kept the polo, changed into leggings, bomber jacket and beanie.

wednesday for museum walk, i wore the brand new top with shoulder padding, grey skinny jeans from italy (with studded pockets - so tumblr 2010), startas sneakers, gold metallic hobo bag, and h&m trench coat

thursday for stroll around town i wore a light blue blouse, black maxi skirt, startas sneakers and the hobo bag again.

friday i wore my mom's t shirt from the 90s (my high school fave, and still is), wide leg grey jeans, splatter paint vans and zara faux leather jacket. bracelets and chanel earrings with my tortoise shell sunnies as accessories - a look for our final cafe run in the morning (until next time!), and afternoon lunch at a local restaurant.

saturday's airport fit: off the shoulder sweater from house, paired with sweatpants, uggs, and hobo bag (it was so sturdy - carried 3 fat magazines and other necessities), and trench coat. some mix between dressy and casual. very comfy fit for traveling. also: the compression socks do wonders! amazing investment for anyone interested

sunday's fit for running errands upon arrival - felt like i just threw on a bunch of stuff: green thrifted y2k top paired with mom's y2k low rise jeans, converse, grabbed a beret because it was the first thing i could find ( i didn't anticipate it being that cold), and columbia puffer jacket.

what am i looking forward to this week?

i already miss the nice weather, walkable areas, and eating junk food with my parents. but my birthday is coming up this week (friday!) and scheming new outfits sounds like fun, especially with all the inspiration gathered from europe.