Object ID
2013.16.3
Object Name
Skirt, Foustanella
Material
Cotton
Object Entities
George Kremidas, Worn (owned by)
Apostle, James (is related to)
Apostle, Geraldine (is related to)
Kremidas, George (is related to)
Object Description
This white kilt has a tight waistband that expands quickly into a very pleated skirt. The kilt has a very high number of pleats (probably 400) at the very top so that skirt poofs out as it falls. The piece is held together by two hooks on the waistband and two snaps along the skirt. There are a couple of brown stains on the waistband and isolated drops on the skirt. The largest of these is somewhat hidden by the creases of the pleats on the side opposite from the hooks. There are a number of loose threads on the inside of the skirt.
Origin
This outfit was worn by Mr. Kremidas from the time he was twenty until he was quite old (approximately 1880-1960). The foustanella is a military kilt that traces it origins to the uniforms of the Klephts who fought the Ottman Turks in the War for Greek Indepedence. The 400 pleats represent the 400 years of Turkish occupation. While the kilt is no longer everyday wear for most Greeks it would have been common when George Kremidas was young.

George Kremidas and his wife Despina lived in the Greek village of Dessila, Greece. Dessila is a tiny village in the area of Messenia on the Peloponnese. Their daughter Angeliki, the third of five children, was the only member of the immediate family to emmigrate to America. While living in New England, she married Nicholas Apostolos and subsequently gave birth to two sons: George and James. The family moved to Michigan and both sons served in the military during World War II. Afterwards both sons earned degrees from Worsham College of Mortuary Scieince in Chicago and opened a mortuary in Muskegon, Michigan together. James married Geraldine Pavlis. In 1960 the two left to visit his family in Greece, however, on the day of their departure George Kremidas (James' grandfather) passed away at the age of 98. The personal artifacts included in this accession were given to the Apostles during this trip.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Skirt, Foustanella, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/9818. Accessed 04/17/24.