National Greek Uniform

This image is of one of the first Greek Canberra Hellenic Dance groups in Canberra. It was taken in the change rooms before they were about to perform. The male dancers are wearing the National Greek uniform, this uniform is only worn when dance groups are performing traditional dancers. Throughout my time at Greek school I learnt that these uniforms were mainly worn in the southern regions of Greece. The name of the uniform is "Tsolia". The Tsolia was worn by Greek fighters in the 1821 revolution, and today still worn by the Greece's Presidential Guards, who can be seen guarding the Tomb of the unknown soldiers in Athens. The skirt of the Tsolia consists of 400 pleats symbolising the years that Greece was under Ottoman rule. The remainder of the uniform is composed of a white shirt with wide flowing sleeves, a hat with a long tassel, an embroidered woolen vest, a sash worn around the waist and shoes with large pompons. The males in this photo are proud to be wearing such an important uniform as it holds a lot of history.