Discovering Alsace is often, for the tourist, going through the Summer holidays where the brilliant colours of our costumes abound. So,   what a disapointment not to find any more rosette or three-coloured bouquets.

        To think that the popular print, Hansi's sketches and the historic disturbances had well succeeded in presenting our costume under such   a caricatural aspect.

        So much then, for the groups of popular arts going against this leveling, climb the road of authenticity and variety. The Sundgauvia,   concerned and aware, also set to work: but it would be wrong to believe that it can represent on her own all the palette of costumes worn in our   province. So it tried hard to become attached first of all to its part of the country, the Sundgau, this south of Alsace, at the same moment was   withdrawn on its rural and religious tradition, and yet marked by different influences like Swiss, Burgundian and « French ».

        Armed with patience and time, the local clothing particularism dating to the beginning of the 19th century reconstituted itself like a   puzzle.

        Whether it's on Sunday, holiday in the village »Kelwa» of the regional fair « Johrmarket»the clothes of our farmers decorated with   stylishness for their worthiness.

                                                  So the young ladies wore a hat of brochet or re-embroidered of colourful threads, glitter, golden thread etc...

                                         fixed to a sub-headgear of lawn lined with fine lace.

                                                 Their costume consisted of a fine linen shirt top straightly cut, with a drawstring collar, lined with a lace                                         ruche, and with sleeves under a « casaquin » or small jacket the « kasaweck ».                                                   

                                                 This vest is made of cotton, illustrating the printings of Mulhouse, is bordered with colour, trimmed with                                         Basque in the back and its long sleeves are decorated with cuffs with small hollow folds reminding the « slashed                                         sleeves »in certain costumes of Burgundian court influence.

                                                 These jackets went over a skirt of variable materials: thick striped cotton or woolen cloth. This festive costume                                          complements itself with an apron of white linen, re-embroided with the same colour, in small folds or lace insert.

        But costumes and materials were dependent upon the seasons. In the Summer, the young lady replaced her « casaquin » by a small   corselet, always in Basque, tied up in front by some ribbons. The shirt had to be more decorated: a small round lace ruffle, vestige of the   strawberry of Burgundy, enhanced it. Around the neck, also went a silk ribbon.

        The appron also made simpler: the white linen was replaced by a striped cotton fabric.

        The men also anbandoned for the main occasions the velvet trousers and their jacket of twill.

        The festive masculine fashion consisted of elements of the 18th century, that is, of the French « culotte »,

  with bridge, velvet or wollen, of the linen shirt in the pleated and embroidered front and a collar fitted with a

  silk scarf, a silk waistcoat or velvet decorated with embroidered or printed designs, a frock coat for cool weather,

  white socks, shoes with bruckles, but also and especially a black, rather impressive three-corned hat called here

        The costume is connected by definition to the idea of a holiday, of ceremony and of rite.

        It's one of these rite, very alive even nowadays, when the young man marks the change from the world of the adolescence to that of the   adults, at the same time of the conscription.

        During a whole year, the conscripts repeat the gesture of their elders, whether it's at carnival in the different egg-races, at Saint John's fires

  or many other occasions still, but they don't, for all that, forget to laugh, to drink, to sing or to dance because the wars with hard campaigns

  await them.

        If nowadays, these troops of young people, wearing the most fanciful possible clothes, still get together in our villages, let's not forget that at   the time of our grandfathers their rig-out was more rigourous: white linen trousers and shirts were brightened by magnificient hats trimmed   with ribbons and decorated with flowers. These bouquets also put on the sling (in the colours of the homeland) worn over the shoulder were   often offered to their sweet hearts before the great departure. The few clothes described above don't represent the exclusivity of costumes worn   in   Higher-Alsace. Many variants exist and the others still remain underestimated. Our work thus is to pursue the research.

        But to heighten our performances, we thought we would do well to check and add some types of costumes worn in Lower-Alsace, all the better since the character of some of our dances lends itself to it. There also, there is a large range of choice.

        At first, we thus opted for the costume which is best known in Alsace (that of the country of Hanau) by avoiding, with a concern for authenticity and cultural contribution, all the aspects which led to its often caricatural touristic popularity.

        In this region, women and young girls wear on their raised braids the black « schlupfkapp » (big knot) on a velvet or silk hat, richly embroidered with gold or glitter.

        The linen shirt hidden under a ruffle of square yoke, decorated with beautiful lace.

        The red, green, purple, blue woollen skirts are furnished with a ribbon of flowery velvet.

        The corselet, adjacent to the skirt of brocarde velvet or flowery silk, holds the big front « stecker », small masterpiece with flower designs of tree of life... These fronts often contained small treasures, like poetry or even love letters...

        A striped silk apron, flowery or embroidered, covers the skirt.

        The men, in red waistcoat, with two rows of metal buttons are dressed in black trousers with bridge, a white shirt with the collar tied up by a small ribbon or by a black silk scarf. The head is covered by a black felt hat, with a narrow brim and flat top.

        Then for their sense of identity and their beauty, were added the feminine costumes:

                - Seebach: small town from the North of Alsace; there, the young ladies distinguish themselves by the elegance of their costume and especially by the small headgear of brocket decorated with a red knot (for the girls) or a black (for the married women). Other characteristic, the scarf of black silk embroidered in one side with white silk floral designs (for mourning or widowhood) and on the other side with coloured silk (for the holidays).

                - Westhoffen: village situated in the vineyard on the West of Strasbourg; a bourgeois dress protected by a silk apron and a small paded hat: here are the femine trump cards.

                - Meistratzheim: in the plain of alsace; the young ladies dressed in a silk dress, their heads covered by a hat of stiffened lace and fluted frill, ressembling to the sun.

                - Geispolsheim: in the South of Strasbourg; the catholic girls of this region wore a costume ressembling that of the country of Hanau, which differed from it however, especially by the long red skirt, with braided ribbon of black velvet, and the headgear with red ribbon tied up on a golden top.

        All these costumes worn by the members of the Sundgauvia aim to bring out of ignorance and neglect the colourful fresco of our beautiful Alsacian costumes.