“Díszmagyar” (Hungarian Ceremonial) Attire as a Constitutional Symbol

The paper works with a hypothesis that the Hungarian ceremonial (decorative or "gala") attire of the 19th and early 20th century was a special expression of the national, political, legal and constitutional ideology of the Hungarian noble elite of these centuries. It served as a symbol of the legitimacy of Hungary’s quest for independence within the Habsburg Empire, as well as of the nationalist idea of the dominance of Magyars in the Kingdom of Hungary itself. In order to emphasise the specificity of Magyars and of the Hungarian Kingdom, the designers of both the clothing as well as of its jewellery accessories drew on historical sources, but also on oriental sources. In the 19th century, this symbolic meaning, together with economic goals – especially the achievement of self-sufficiency in textile production and the clothing industry – cumulatively contributed to the heyday of the “díszmagyar” fashion.