Rein Deaton is a young professional in the field of art, who has taken on a heartfelt mission: creating rahvariided (traditional clothing) for the Estonian-American community. The idea of having unique skirts and blouses to represent local communities sends shivers down the spine for many.
The project started with Rein noticing the gap between the traditional clothing in Estonia and not having anything like that overseas. “Our clothing is meant to represent who we are and where we are from, our culture, and represent us with pride,” explains Rein. “But our culture and our history here in the Estonian-American community includes us leaving Estonia and travelling to this new land and making a home for ourselves here. As of right now, it is not
something that we can represent in our clothing.”
Rein began the project a few years ago by contacting different Estonian folk dance groups in the United States to see what kind of stuff they would like to wear. More recently, he visited Estonia to research the chosen topic. He went to the Estonian Open Air museum, the Estonian National Museum, and lots of different bookstores to gather as much knowledge on history as possible.
During his trip to Estonia, Rein focused on getting information on nitty gritty details, like what stitches were used for these embroidery elements, how the hems of this blouse were sewn, and were the ends of this belt tucked in or left loose.
“Now I’m trying to break things down really-really small to understand all these little details that this clothing is made up of,” says Rein. “And also at the same time looking at these broader trends that are influencing these changes over time in clothing.” For example, with time, the shirts for women got shorter, and they started using undershirts. The older styles were more likely to be tucked into the skirt and belt. Usually, these kinds of trends move over time, starting from the North-West part of Estonia and moving on to the South-East.
Another big aspect of the project is the practicality of the clothing. A vest made out of very heavy wool for instance, can be way too impractical for the climate in the States. Same goes with making the skirts – if it needs to be hand-woven to get the stripes right, it is too complicated, time-consuming, and rather expensive for just an average person.
Currently, Rein is mostly looking at older styles to base his design on, because these are a little bit easier to make. “Which makes them a little bit more practical for the everyday person to make them,” he adds. The older styles don’t have so much of the technical complexity, and believe it or not, they are not as difficult to make as a lot of people would believe these are.
“Once I have gotten this design finalised, I’m planning on making and releasing a step-by-step tutorial for free on how to make it,” promises Rein. “So everybody knows and feels comfortable and confident in making their own clothing.” The idea is to make the designs super accessible for all the members of the Estonian-American community.
As of right now, Rein is looking for a lot of feedback from the rest of the society. The mission is to involve as many people as possible to make it representable for everyone. “I am really looking forward to working with other people as this goes on, doing more research and seeing how this develops!” Everyone can contact him through Google Forms with any comments, wishes, or questions (linked below).
Rein Deaton is a 2021 graduate of Gettysburg College with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Previously, he has designed a logo for the Washington Estonian Society as well. Rein was presenting his progress of creating rahvarõivad during the Estonian Cultural Days in New York.
You can learn more about the journey of the project from here:
https://reindeaton.substack.com/
You can leave your comments and notes to Rein here:
https://forms.gle/A9hhETKn25STpqxj9
Kristelle Michelson
Kristelle Michelson is a journalism student at Tallinn University who interned at the editorial office of the Estonian-language American newspaper Vaba Eesti Sõna in New York during March and April this year.
