Australian National Costume

Posted by admin on Sep 17, 2012 in Others | 0 comments

As such when it comes to the Australian National Costume you could say that there are two types. There is the kind of costume that is worn by the country’s native people (aboriginals) and there is the kind of costume that is worn by those who came from other countries may decades ago and chose to make this amazing country their home.

As you will soon discover when you read through this article that the costumes worn by these people does differ quite a bit.

The costumes worn by the Australian Aboriginals tend to be of a design that enables them to connect their physical body with the spiritual world. The men tend to wear a loincloth, whereas the women tend to wear a skirt, which is made from bird feathers such as those from the emu.

Also as part of their costume they tend to wear a number of wrist and ankle bands that have been made from string woven together or from animal skin. Plus in order to help them connect further with the spiritual world they will also tend to wear a number of sacred objects or may even paint their bodies with various markings.

Generally the wearing of such a costume tends only to occur when their most important events are taking place such as the Corrobee. Most of what they wear at events such as this are so sacred to their people that they only will be worn at this time.

Certainly the indigenous people of Australia feel strongly about such things and often will not allow anyone they consider an outsider to witness such events. However in recent years to help us gain a better understanding of their culture sometimes they lay on special events where some of what takes place during a Corrobee can be viewed.

As for the costumes worn by those who are not indigenous to Australia theirs is based more on what is worn by wear they live.

Those who live in what is known as Bush Country (the outback) will tend to wear clothes similar to what their ancestors would have worn. For the men their Australian national costume is made up of a closed fronted shirt, a waistcoat, trousers made from moleskin and boots with elasticated sides. They also tend to wear a felt style hat known as an Akubra. This type of hat has quite a wide brim to it and is designed to help provide protection against the sun.

As for the women their costume tends to be a full-length cotton print dress. Again the aim is to help provide them with protection against the sun whilst also helping to keep them cool. You generally find that the patterns chosen are ones that are actually based on designs that the Aboriginal’s use themselves. Again although they may not be indigenous to Australia those who have made this country their home do respect the culture of those who are.