Stepping forward proudly, on the path of folk tradition

The Romanian blouse, the "Ie", the independence cry of the countryside garment, arising out of countless wars found in the room of great grandfathers, is now conquering the world. First was white, then black, and then a rainbow of colors spread across the traditional shirt.

Every area of the country has proposed and imposed its own colors. The same thing happened with the patterns. Geometry and poetry, straight lines with a clear target and curves without beginning and without end.

All of these things say something, they have a meaning and follow a direction.

Not even God says no to beautiful things, people say in Romania, so it's no surprise that the lesser "gods" of world fashion have been taken by storm by this discovery, which has been unfairly hidden for a few decades years in the women's wedding coffers, and which have they have begun to use as their inspiration, sometimes omitting to mention the source.

The shame is on them! When Yves Saint Laurent or Jean-Paul Gaultier have introduced the ie in their creations and have made it known all over the world, it was obvious that world celebrity was assured, along with the subsequent problems.

We have a certainty: the traditional garb is back in fashion, it has taken its place in the most demanding lockers, young people are no longer considered weird if they wear it, and the praise has gone from words to somewhat being felt in the form of profits. The "ie" has been rediscovered and along with it a number of traditions are returning to the daily life.

The ie can be worn on Sunday to church, as well as during the week to work or to the mall. There are very good signs, we are rediscovering our roots, the traditional garb enhances the beauty of the fundamental events of life. A solid, well preserved past, can help us step forward into the future.

Of course, the areas are mixed up, the traditions are slightly confused, but any serious road is often plagued by narrow paths which sometimes lead to nowhere; what matters is we don't miss the guiding red string. The "ie" has a story and like any story, it lives on as long as it is being transmitted from one generation to the next.

The torn string has been tied together again, what matters is to take care that it never breaks again.

A queen's "ie"

It needs to be said that the "ie" has been promoted by personalities from the dawn of the 20th century. The domestic "ie" became a staple in the fashion of the period between the two wars shortly after Queen Mary had her picture taken wearing it. All of a sudden, "the jet set" understood that those clothes could be warn by other folks than villagers, and that, carefully adapted and brought into context they could also be worn at high profile events. Besides, for the official meetings, queen Mary had to adopt the "ie". Queen Mary appeared in several photos wearing traditional "ii", in the first few years after her arrival, and several postcards were made using those images. The gesture, one that had several meanings, also helped the queen, who was thus more easily accepted in her new homeland.

Mary of Romania (born on October 29th, 1875, at Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent, England - deceased on July 18, 1938, at the Pelişor-Sinaia castle) was a crown princess and Romania's second queen, as wife of the crown prince, who later became King Ferdinand the 1st of Romania. She was the mother of Romanian king Charles the 2nd. Her parents were Alfred Ernest Albert de Saxa-Coburg and Gotha, duke of Edinburgh, and her mother, Maria Alexandrovna Romanova, great duchess of Russia, sole daughter of czar Alexander 2nd of Russia. She married the heir to the throne of Romania, Ferdinand the 1st on December 29th, 1892, and she successfully assimilated the nation she had adopted as a princess and starting with 1914, as a queen.

Granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, she loved the Romanian traditional vestments and she never ashamed to show it.