Fringed Belts on Wide Hips

Why for Fertile Women?

Soft, thick wool yarn provided an absorbent portable seat cushion for a menstruating female. It provided comfort for her and protected other areas from staining. Any females who did not menstruate for reason of age or health did not need to wear this convenience. A woman wearing this prototype of the sanitary napkin was marked as fertile and therefore eligible for mating with the prospect of begetting children. Statues of fertility goddesses of the Stone Age in the Balkans portrayed them wearing such string aprons on their back sides. Over the millennia, the fringed belts with the apron on the back side became more elaborate.

Why Not a Modest Apron?

If the string aprons had been developed as a covering for the fertile woman, the fringes would probably have been worn on the front part of the body. As humanity adopted the custom of wearing clothing for reasons of modesty; shirts, skirts and/or tunics provided their basic costumes. Centuries later, when utility aprons were created to protect the working woman's good tunic, she naturally wore such a garment covering the front part of her clothing. Both kinds of aprons are still a part of the folk costumes of the Balkans. For the past several centuries, the fertility aprons have been woven into fabric instead of just being strings tied together; sometimes the apron part is embroidered or edged with lace. Essentially they appear to be a smaller version of the utility apron, curiously misplaced on the woman wearing the apron, as the vestigial fertility aprons are still worn over the sit-down area of the wearer, even when her costume includes a front apron as well.

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