The Iconic Design of The Queen's Mary Coat

Blouse Roumaine Project srl
2025-09-20T15:29:03+03:00

Throughout history, the Romanian traditional ethnic items, particularly the folk costume, have been admired for their timeless elegance and distinction. These attributes are mainly provided by the thoughtful color composition, as well as the organic combination of plain sections with those enriched by embroidery. The 19th century comes to reinforce this perspective, offering a new proof of it: the Oltenian coat.

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The History of a Iconic Embroidery Design

The vision of Dincă Schileru - a legend of the Gorj region and the creator of the Oltenian coat (or ' schileresc' costume), an uneducated man, but having the millennial wisdom of the Romanian peasant - still manages to be relevant for the contemporary fashion. The famous Oltenian wool coats have impressed and inspired great names, commencing with Queen Marie of Romania in the 20th century, who tastefully integrated them into the attire of the Royal House, and continuing with big international fashion labels, from Valentino to Tory Burch. These coats were for a long time the subject of a complex public debate on ethical values in fashion, which encouraged the Romanian society to value more and capitalize on the potential of its artisanal art.

Traditionally, the coats from Oltenia are made of white 'dimie' (wool fibers condensed and pressed together to become a felted cloth) and decorated with black 'gîtane' (string made by twisting or braiding the wool threads, appearing as an embroidery), which is applied on the joining seams of fabric panels, with the purpose of hiding the seams and strengthening the hems.

The legacy left by Dincă Schileru is currently in the hands of the only artisan from Gorj who still knows how to practice this craft, Gheorghe Ciuncanu, the one whose creations can be found in our e-shop, where you will be able to read more details about them.

VALENTINO AND TORY BURCH DESIGN INSPIRED 1:1 OF THE TRADITIONAL PATTERN

The vision of Dincă Schileru - a legend of the Gorj region and the creator of the Oltenian coat (or ' schileresc' costume), an uneducated man, but having the millennial wisdom of the Romanian peasant - still manages to be relevant for the contemporary fashion. The famous Oltenian wool coats have impressed and inspired great names, commencing with Queen Marie of Romania in the 20th century, who tastefully integrated them into the attire of the Royal House, and continuing with big international fashion labels, from Valentino to Tory Burch. These coats were for a long time the subject of a complex public debate on ethical values in fashion, which encouraged the Romanian society to value more and capitalize on the potential of its artisanal art.