National costume in Serbia - an ethnological museum

The folk dress of the Dinaric zone covers a large area: from southwestern Serbia, the continental Montenegro, Herzegovina, through a major part of Bosnia, Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun and Banija, all the way to the hills of Gorski Kotar and Zumberak. In mountainous and cattleherding environments, garments were predominatly woollen. In the stiff from of woollen and broadcloth upper garments with geometrical and geometricized vegetal ornaments, traces of old Balkan and Ottoman, i.e. Oriental dress cultures can also be discerned. The basic element of both women's and man's dress, with numerous variants, was a hemp or linen chemise in the form of a long, sleeved tunic, usually lavishly ornamented with embroidery.

In women's dress ensembles, the indispensable garments worn over the chemise also included: a woven woollen belt and apron, a long waistcoat made of broadcloth; in winter, a long gown made of woollen broadcloth or a short jacket were worn. Young girls wore a red cap, while married women either covered it with a scarf folded and tied in various fashions or wore the scraf without the cap. Metal jewellery highlighted the impression of monumentality of the ensemble. The most striking pieces were the pafta - a belt-buckle, abundant strands of coins, and, in southeastern areas, a wide leather belt with carnelian semi-precious stones.

the typical feature of men's dress ensembles were wide woollen pants and baggy trousers that could have long or short legs, while on western areas, tight broadcloth trousers were traditionally used. Man wore sleeveless waistcoats with flat and overlapping flaps, as well as sleeved upper garments of various lengths. A belt was an indispensable element, just like the red cap, which was on some areas wrapped with woollen scarf. As far as man's jewellery is concerned, the most important were toke worn on the chest and consisting of silver plates or buttons. Together with them, as a symbol of heroism and tradition, men wore weapons tucked into their leather belts.