Bulgarian men's folk costume can be divided into two main types according
to the colour of the trousers and outer garments; belodreshnik" or
"white dress", and chernodreshnik, literally meaning "black
dress", but in practice this is more often brown or blue. Belodreshnik
was the older form of dress which is considered to have Slavic origins. It was was made from thick white
homespun woollen cloth called aba and was originally worn throughout
Bulgaria, but was replaced by chernodreshnik in central, south and
north east Bulgaria by the early decades of the 19th century, during the
Bulgarian National Revival period. It continued to be worn in West Bulgaria
(Pirin and Shopluk) and west and central North Bulgaria until the early 20th
century when it was replaced by western style clothing.
Both types of costumes were worn with a white shirt (riza), a
wide, brightly coloured sash (pojas), a hat made of black lambskin (kalpak),
legwraps (navoi) or knitted socks, and leather peasant sandals (tsârvuli),
or more commonly today, shoes.
The two types of men costume represent two consecutive stages in the
development of men's clothing. The chernodreshnik costume
spread across Bulgaria from east to west during the National Revival period, with its spread being speeded up by
the desire of men to look like townsfolk, as part of the unification process
which took place in Bulgarian culture at this time. This style was strongly
influenced by Ottoman fashions. The trouser and over
garments which comprise this 'dark dress' were made from factory produced
brown, dark blue or black woollen cloth (shayak), which was woven in workshops in the
urban centres that developed during this period, and was made into garments
by urban based tailors. The style of costume worn by the more wealthy urban
dwellers (chorbadjis) in these town was very wide loose
trousers, silk waistbands and anteriyas (short jackets) with elaborate
decoration.
The men's costumes of Western Bulgaria, in the regions of Sofia, Samokov,
Stanke Dimitrov and Kustendil reflect a transitional phase between
belodreshnik and chernodreshnik. In these areas a dark blue or
black jacket or waistcoat is worn over white trousers. This dated from the
19th century and originated in urban settlements that were influenced by
European fashion, where this style out modelled chernodreshnik dress.
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