NIKOS  PLAKIDAS 

 We are only 20 klm away from Mesolonghi – the prefecture town of Etoloakarnanias.  We talk about the village near the river Acheloos where you can find one of the best workshops of National Costumes and jewellery in Greece.  It is the workshop, which belongs to Mr. Nikos Plakidas.

 Nikos Plakidas – the Greek tailor – was born in Katohi in 1965.  He is one of the seven tailors of Greek national costumes who still exist in Greece.  Greek tailors “ Elinoraftes” are called that tailor who continues to make the Greek national costumes in the same traditional way the old tailors used to.

 Since his early childhood Nikos Plakidas is showing a strange interest for the local tradition.  When he grew up this interest became part of his life.  He first started by copying the old stitches of the old traditional embroideries, collecting national costumes, studying the way they were sewn and the making them.  In this way he started making his own workshop.  The high quality of his job and the respect he has shown to the Greek national tradition from the very first moment soon made him well known widely.  He first made costumes for all the dancing groups of the country, but he didn’t stay here.  His name and reputation became known not only in Greece but also abroad in countries where there are people with Greek origin.

 Today he owns a big and modern workshop.  There is also an extra place where there is a number of costumes on display.  New modern machinery has taken the place of the old hand sewing-machines because of the great number of orders for national costumes from all over the world. 

This has nothing to do with commercialization.  Nikos continues the traditional technique and his costumes are just like the original ones.  He also has in his workshop a rich wardrobe with costumes from all over Greece.  Dancing groups from every part of the country trust him for their costumes.  The costumes, which are worn by members of dancing around the Greek community in Australia, are made by Nikos Plakidas.  The same happens in other parts of the world.  More over the activity of his workshop continues far beyond the creation of costumes.  With a team of experts he travels in every part of the country looking for genuine and authentic pieces of jewellery and costumes.  It is not an exaggeration to say that Nikos is the guardian of our tradition.  Every year hundreds of students visit his workshop to get in touch with the folk-lore.

George Koumzias                                        
Teacher, Dancing Teacher, Writer, Researcher, Folklore Specialist     

TYPICAL LOCAL COSTUMES

Local of regional costumes are called the costumes that were worn in our country after the fall of Constantinople.

These costumes date back to the Byzantine era and bear the influence they received from the foreign occupation (Turks, English, French, Venetians) and the contacts each region had with other parts of the country like islands or distant areas. The climate of each region, the views of the people, their occupations, financial status and elegance have also affected these costumes. Because of all these reason we have now a great variety of costumes especially for women since each region had its own costume. At first they made these costumes by using hand-woven materials embroidered in hand or in the loom and trimmed with hand-made laces, gaitania etc. In many other places they used ready-made braids, kerchiefs and belts but in flat areas and the islands they made their costumes by using material from abroad.

The main feature of all these costumes is that they not only try to show off the figure but they also try to impress with their trimming.

Nikos Plakidas                                  

Greek Costume Maker