This book should have been published years ago. When I was growing up and we had all these discussions about how the Latvian folk costume should be worn. Wonderfully illustrated by Linda Treija, this book is in Latvian and English, providing guidelines for all the pieces of a Latvian costume that should or should not be worn. I like the simple suggestions for clothing children - it is unnecessary to gear them up in full blown national costume. The folk costumes differ greatly in the different regions of Latvia and many of these regional differences are portrayed in the book. If someone decides to make a costume, they will still need to look at other reference materials, but if someone is looking to buy one, this gives enough guidelines on what is needed. A folk costume is a major invenstment, and usually you have one in your adult life. My mother made my mine in 8th grade. I have obviously grown out of it and have little opportunity to wear one, but I did some fantasizing this month about making a new costume for myself - kind of a 10 year project.
