Spanish flamenco dress- how it has changed

Spanish Flamenco Dress - How It Has Changed

THE SOUVENIR DOLL The Spanish flamenco dress has become for many outside Spain the symbol of Spanish nationality and tradition. You may have seen, (or you may have got one!) the typical Spanish souvenir doll, posing in a 'flamenco dancer' position, dressed in the long Spanish flamenco dress. The usual version of the dress is a long, often red, tight-fitting dress which begins to widen and spread out gradually around the hips. The lower part of the 'skirt' comprises of rings of frills or ruffles, which fall elegantly to the floor. The dolls are usually provided also with combs and fans.

There are literally hundreds of 'souvenir' shops in Spain which display dolls dressed in this typical attire and it has been this emblem of Spain which has been bought, packed into suitcases and travelled all over the globe back to the visitor's homeland, to be set on top of a bookcase or television set, as a memory of time spent in Spain.

ORIGINS OF THE FLAMENCO DRESS

However the dress itself had very humble origins.

It has been recorded that the dress has evolved slowly from the peasants of Andalusia in Spain and in particular from the gypsy women. These are the women who accompanied their men to the Seville cattle Market in the late nineteenth century and who traditionally wore frilled aprons or pinafores over their clothes as these were comfortable to work in.

Every year the family would have to transfer to Seville for the important fair The country women would brighten up their apparel for such an important social event. As the fair became more and more of a social event in Andalusian society in the early twentieth century, the ladies of the high society saw these gypsy folk in their interesting dresses and began to copy the style. This was an attractive style to them as fashion at the time was rather conservative and the bright colours and frills of the country folk was a refreshing change of style.

THE IBERO-AMERICAN WORLD FAIR IN SEVILLE... 1929 It was at the Ibero-American Fair of 1929 when the dress made its official dĂŠbut into Spanish society. From then on it became the iconic symbol of Spain and Spanish culture and tradition. After that, the birth of the Spanish flamenco doll was just a matter of time. During the tourism boom of the early nineteen fifties and sixties the Spanish flamenco doll travelled the world, becoming a kind of 'ambassador' of all things Spanish. The blend of fire, passion and exotism portrayed in the doll was hard to resist, and these were qualities that the authorities at the time wished to transmit.

More here: http://alcoso.es/ http://ezinearticles.com/?Spanish-FlamencoDress---How-It-Has-Changed&id=7832845