THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 2, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
Andrew Higgins


NextImg:How an Iconic Blouse Became the Center of a Political Tussle in Romania

The painter Henri Matisse and the designer Yves Saint-Laurent both took inspiration from it. The British singer Adele wore it for a Vogue fashion shoot. Louis Vuitton used it for one of the company’s seasonal “By the Pool” collections of luxury products.

More recently, the Romanian blouse — an embroidered top traditionally worn by villagers, particularly women — has acquired a new set of devotees: nationalist politicians in Romania besotted with folk couture as a badge of devotion to the nation and its traditions.

Diana Sosoaca, a far-right firebrand, has made the blouse — known in Romanian as “ie,” pronounced “ee-yeh” — a central part of her political brand. She rarely appears in public dressed in anything else. George Simion, a nationalist candidate who lost a presidential election on Sunday, is also a fan, as are many of his supporters.

Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist who won the first round of a subsequently canceled presidential vote last year, centered his campaign on TikTok videos that featured him dressed in the blouse riding a white horse, among other activities.

Image
Blouses sold at the National Village Museum in Bucharest.Credit...Andreea Campeanu for The New York Times
Image
Embroidering the intricate designs on a single top can take months.Credit...Andreea Campeanu for The New York Times
Image
Daniel Stanciu at his stall at the National Village Museum. He runs a small business with his wife that works with seamstresses in the countryside to make and sell embroidered blouses.Credit...Andreea Campeanu for The New York Times

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.


Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.