Mindaugas and Ilona Tamošaičiai run an unusual business: their company, Rūta Žalioji, recreates traditional Lithuanian costumes worn in the 19th and 20th centuries. Their costumes are also finding buyers across the world, including customers in countries like Nigeria and Japan.
A traditional Lithuanian costume consists of five main parts: a shirt, waistcoat, apron, skirt and sash. The accessories can include different types of headwear, jewellery, petticoats, wrist warmers and shawls.
“Authenticity is very important to us. We travel to museums, take measurements and examine the details. It would be difficult to recreate a costume from photographs alone because you cannot see the proportions,” says Ilona Tamošaitienė.
The couple follow strict regional traditions. A skirt from the Žemaitija region, for example, cannot simply be paired with a shirt from the Dzūkija region.
“It is important to us to follow the requirements of our national heritage. We make them as they were made at the time,” says Mindaugas Tamošaitis.
