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Neretva national costume
Male costume belongs also to the Dinaric type. Typical are trousers made of blue broadcloth, called also pincers trousers with a broad back area and long legs that are taken in towards the ankles. In the summer they wore another type of trousers made of blue linen and of the same cut. Above the linen shirt cut out of one piece of linen they wore three layers of broadcloths, 'kro˛et', an embroidered waistcoat and 'koparan'- a shorter coat with sleeves. Parade examples of those upper clothes were made of expensive homespun material and decorated with special embroidery, ribbons and buttons. The obligatory part of the male costume was a woolen red belt that was wrapped round the waist for a couple of times. On special occasions they wrapped a silk belt made of colored Levantine silk. Older and more respected men used to wear a leather belt that had a few compartments for weapons and the smoking kit. The footwear consisted of a few layers, just like in other Dinaric areas: white socks, overshoes and strapped soft soled footwear. On their heads they wore red caps- shallow caps with a conical part on the top of the head, decorated with embroidery and tuft. This kind of solemn costume ceased to be used in the middle of the 19th century because of the high cost of the materials used for it, and older samples were unfortunately not inherited because there was a custom of burying people in their most valuable costume. A somewhat simpler costume for which domestic materials were used was in use till the beginning of the twentieth century.
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The first descriptions of the
national costume in Neretva were given by the Italian travel writer,
abbot Alberto Fortis (1745-1803) in his work Travelling round
Dalmatia. Although the description was short it is also important
because of the copperplate-printing showing the Girl from Neretva
which is also the oldest picture of the costume. The girl is dressed in the
Dinaric type of clothes and the long peasant coat induced Fortis
to describe it as a caftan and to call it a Turkish costume. The same
copperplate-printing can be found in the work of Ivan Lovrić from
Senj who made a detailed description of the costume: “They
wear light white blouse with wide sleeves and silk seams, with a coat made
of soft fabric with silk lining and buttons. The leather belt is tied with a
metal clasp and the waistcoat is also tied with a wrought needle. They wear
on their head, above the red cap, a white cloth of thin fabric that is
pinned with a row of metal grains. On their ears they have rich earrings,
and round their neck a string of big grains and a couple of strings of small
pearls. They hold a kerchief with a brocade pattern and the apron is also
made of a brocade fabric.” 
Female costume is characterized
by a long white blouse, above which a tunic of blue fabric was worn, the
parade dresses were adorned with a black and red braiding and embroidery in
the shape of grains, berries or whisks. In winter a long waistcoat made of
home-made broadcloth was worn above the tunic. Typical for these costumes is
also an apron made of home-woven black and white wool with a geometrical
pattern. On solemn occasions it was adorned with a metal clasp round the
waist and wealthier women used to wear a necklace with pendants, medals and
a little cross made of filigreed mother-of pearl. The neck opening on the
blouse was fastened with a brooch or a decoration needle. In bigger places
like Metković and Opuzen men replaced the costumes with city
clothes and a new type of costume became popular in the country, with little
decoration and of a simple cut. Some parts changed color- waistcoat became
black, the short coat was made of dark brown fabric and the trousers were
much narrower and more similar to the trousers worn in the city. At the
beginning of the twentieth century some rare parts of the national costume
ceased to be worn. Today only some older women wear the long waistcoat in
the country. Generally the more simple clothes have been taken over, made of
factory fabrics just like in other coastal area. It consists of a long
pleated skirt and a blouse of a city cut. The male costume has been fully
abandoned and only some rare preserved samples were worn as a curiosity on
political meetings and parties in the thirties
