Romanian Blouse (Ie)
Traditional Romanian blouse, the ie, a linen or cotton chemise whose sleeves and shoulders carry dense geometric embroidery; the shoulder ornament, altița, marks the wearer's region and status. Worn in village dress through the 20th century, the ie entered art and fashion through painters such as Matisse; in 2022 UNESCO inscribed 'the traditional blouse with altița' on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The embroidery is worked in cross-stitch on the sleeves, collar and hem, with colours and motifs varying by region, and the altița, a wide band of stitching running fr