Credit: Elena Afemei; Raluca Caranfil; Roxana Mironescu

The local Romanian community is once again organising celebrations in Luxembourg on the occasion of the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse on 24 June 2019.

In keeping with tradition, launched globally by the online community "La Blouse Roumaine" in 2013, this year’s local celebrations will take place next Monday from 18:30 onwards in Place Clairefontaine in Luxembourg City.

The event organisers encourage women who have Romanian Blouses to wear them on the day, take selfies and upload them on the Facebook event page before heading to Place Clairefontaine in the evening to share stories about the blouses, meet new people and take pictures together.

Different from previous years, this year’s celebration will see the launch of storyteller stickers. The organisers believe that every Romanian Blouse has a story that is worth telling. The event thus invites people wearing the blouses to tell their stories.

The Romanian Peasant Blouse is a representative piece of Romanian folklore. With everything being done manually, from the fabric to the thread and embroidery, a single blouse was created during the Winter season. The structure of the Romanian blouse has remained unchanged over the centuries, although it has been the source of inspiration for several designers as well as the French painter Henri Matisse in 1940.

The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse was launched in 2013 by the La Blouse Roumaine Facebook community and soon became a global event, currently being celebrated in more than 50 countries, across six continents. The event has been held locally for seven consecutive years, thanks to the joint efforts and dedication of three Romanian friends: Elena Afemei, Raluca Caranfil and Roxana Mironescu.