{"id":538,"date":"2015-06-30T08:41:20","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T06:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.ambogdan.com\/romanian-ia-blouse-roumaine-love\/"},"modified":"2020-10-31T18:31:43","modified_gmt":"2020-10-31T16:31:43","slug":"romanian-ia-blouse-roumaine-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ambogdan.com\/romanian-ia-blouse-roumaine-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Falling in Love with My Romanian IA"},"content":{"rendered":"

To me the beautiful Romanian IA or La Blouse Roumaine<\/em>, as some of you may know it, it\u2019s not just a fashion icon<\/a>. For me, IA is a part of me! It\u2019s a way of being connected with the DNA of the Romanian people. Wearing it is one way of preserving the heritage left by those who came before me. IA mirrors all our life experiences \u2014 the history, the traditions and most profound beliefs, our entire history. My Romanian IA is who I am!<\/p>\n

My friends know how much I love my Romanian IA. I\u2019ve been wearing them for years, whether at a business meeting, social event, wedding or when going out with my friends.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure exactly when I fell in love with my Romanian IA or why. It might have happened the first time I laid my years of the old picture of my grandparents wearing their Romanian traditional costumes on their wedding day<\/a>. As well it might have happened during high-school years when I was reading Queen Marie of Romania’s memories. It’s not even important, I think.<\/p>\n

The Romanian IA<\/h2>\n

This traditional blouse represents the main element of the Romanian folk costume. Worn by women, originally the IA was made from a homespun material either white linen or cotton. Later on, the blouse was manufactured from different materials such as silk or “borangic”. The intricate details of the embroidery bear the weight of numerous popular Romanian motifs, patterns and mystic symbols. Nothing is at chance, at least not when it comes to truly authentic or vintage IAs<\/a>. They are directly linked with the traditions and specificity of the region the IAs were made. Therefore, the cut, the embroidery and even the colours on the IAs differ from one region of the country to another. Truth to be told, there are embroidery elements shared across different regions of the country. And from a cultural identity perspective, I would say, these common elements brings it all together. They unite us in one country.<\/p>\n

One might say the IA comprises the life and history of the people living in that region. Put together IAs tell the story of the Romanian people.<\/p>\n

Marie of Romania & a blouse fit for a Queen<\/h2>\n

Marie of Edinburgh (1885-1938)\u00a0or Missy, as her dear ones used to call her,\u00a0was the fifteenth granddaughter of Queen\u2019s Victoria, wife of kind Ferdinand of Romania, sister of Alexandra of Russian and one of the greatest ambassadors my country ever had.<\/p>\n

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I came to this country at very young age, yet I became one of you. Queen Marie of Romania<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Queen Marie, the 22th granddaughter of Queen Victoria, became at an\u00a0early age\u00a0a great\u00a0Ambassador of Romania.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Queen Marie brought the world\u2019s attention on the beautiful Romanian folk costumes not just by writing about it, but also wearing them and inspiring the same love she had for it to her children. Here are just some of the pictures she had taken of herself and her children wearing these awesome Romanian traditional costumes:<\/p>\n

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1. Queen Marie and King Ferdinand (left). 2. Queen Marie with her grandson, young King Michael of Romania (right).\u00a0\u00a03. Queen Marie (middle) with her daughters – Irene of Greece (Duchess of Aosta),\u00a0Princess\u00a0Ileana (Archduchess of Austria), Princess\u00a0Marioara (Queen of Yugoslavia) and\u00a0Princess Elena (Queen Elena of Romania).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Queen Mary – English by birth, Romanian by heart<\/h2>\n

Twenty-three years have I now spent in this country, each day bringing its joy or its sorrow, its light or its shade; with each year my interests widened, my understanding deepened; I knew where I was needed to help. (…)\u00a0I want only to speak of its soul, of its atmosphere, of its peasants and soldiers, of things that made me love this country, that made my heart beat with its heart. I have moved amongst the most humble. I have entered their cottages, asked them questions, taken their new-born in my arms. <\/em>Queen Mary of Romania<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are some of the opening lines from Queen Mary’s book called “My Country”<\/em>.\u00a0 Her thoughts reveal a woman who got to know now her Romanians in a way like no other. That’s who she was … the most loved queen by the Romanian army. It was a love that grew step by step not on the grounds of the official relationship between a sovereign and militaries, but on courageous deeds of war.\u00a0One could not help admire her taking care of the wounded soldiers, cholera<\/em> and typhoid<\/em> sick people. She did not care about the danger she exposed herself and risked her life without hesitation.<\/p>\n

Communist regime\u2019s historians did their best to diminish her role and influence in shaping Romania\u2019s future, and maybe for a while they succeeded, yet their victory did not last long.\u00a0Probably one of the reasons had to do with our grandparents who opposed the regime the way they knew best\u2026 by keeping alive the memory of the heroes and history as it happened,\u00a0although they had to whisper it to their children. Here’s a short British Pathe interview from 1934 with Romania’s most loved queen. As you’ll see, the Romanian IA is always there!<\/p>\n