An interesting costume and an interesting toponym.
I was reading this article in this blog dedicated to folk costumes:
http://folkcostume.blogspot.al/2012/...oy-france.html
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Costume of the Arvan valley, Savoy, France
Hello all,
This is going to be my last posting about Savoy, at least for a while. This is the most unusual and likely the most famous of all the costumes in Savoy. The Arvan valley is in the southwest corner of Maurienne, south of Villards and west of Valloise. The image above is of a print which I have hanging on my wall. The costume worn in this valley is distinctive, but there are three basic variants, which differ primarily in the coif used, but also in other details.
The first variant is found in the communities on the north side of the Arvan river, namely, Jarrier, St. Pancrace, Fontcouverte and Villarembert. There are subtle differences between the costumes of each community.
The second is found in the three communities at the head of the valley, along the two upper branches of the Arvan, St. Sorlin d'Arves, St. Jean d'Arves and Montrond. The print above is of the second variant, which is the best known.
The third variant is found in the communities on the south side of the river valley, Albiez the Old, and Albiez the Young.
Here is a schematic map of the Arvan valley, It is found in the southwest 'corner' of Maurienne, off the main river valley of the Arc.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mafSMk8tFa...van+valley.jpg
This costume is extremely colorful and quite unusual in several respects. The basic garment is a chemise, which seems to have a stand-up collar, and only shows around the neckline, but is important as a foundation garment. The skirt is separate from the bodice, or jacket, which has sleeves. The Jacket is closed either by lacing up, in the first variant, or by a line of hooks in variants 2 and 3. The skirt is heavy wool, with a unique construction, with one double band of blue cloth sewn onto the back, a little below the waist in variant 1, somewhat lower in St Jean, variant 2, and just above the knees in variant three. The front is flat, and has 25 pleats from one hip to the other in varians 1 and 2, and only 11 in variant 3. The cincture 'ceinture' is closed in front with homemade 'chainettes', it is about 20 cm wide in variants 1 and two, and considerably narrower in the Albiez's. A rich apron and embroidered shawl is worn in all three variants, and in color varies with the Liturgical season. The three styles of coif are very different.
1. The hair is gathered in a chignon on top of the head, covered with a small coif, and then a 'beguine' of fan or butterfly shaped lace mounted onto a small piece of linen is pinned to it. It varies slightly in shape from one community to another.
Jarrier
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gLSdx4ojsV...Jarrier+01.jpg
Saint Pancrace
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rHzAu5-btS...ancrace+02.jpg
Fontcourverte
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zn0SxCWzUi...ouverte+02.jpg
Villarembert
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9ntXje-y0b...llarembert.jpg
2. The coif is shaped somewhat like a bonnet without the front frill, it is set back somewhat on the head. The main part is cylindrical with a flat back. It is covered with red or rose colored cloth or ribbon. There is a ruched frill of lace attached halfway with the top slanting forward and the sides slanting back. In St. Sorlin the coif is covered with spangles and metallic braid behind the lace frill, and finished off with colored ribbon. In St. Jean the rear is covered with white gauze and finished off with a white ribbon.
Saint Sorlin
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A4lROsqM34...in+coif+03.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u4jGrjYkm_...orlin+coif.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BraCTNX-gi...+Sorlin+02.jpg
Saint Jean
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l9AQ3TCOZm...00/St+Jean.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odj1Ucp-07...St+Jean+02.jpg
3. In the two Albiez, the coif is a white bonnet which somewhat resembles the eskeuffia of Upper Maurienne, and combines features of the other two versions.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dUmMPzjZR8...0/Image41b.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wMNm3_n1Jx...me-20e8209.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U8ah9Jr-cx...40/Image42.jpg
In these last couple of photos, you can see that the jacket is trimmed with colorful woven ribbon, and is hooked closed up the front. This is visible because the Albiez sash is so much narrower than that of the other versions. Sometimes a hand-embroidered strip of cloth is used instead. The hooks are clearly visible, and in this case have been sewn on with green and yellow thread to match the embroidery. A cross on a ribbon is part of all three variants of the costume.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-92GagJsddm...40/Image45.jpg
continue
