Antique Postcard Fayal Costume from Azores Portugal Woman 1910\'s Unposted For Sale

The postcard is a great piece of history. The woman wore these hoods that were handed down from there Mother\'s and family.
Seller\'s SKU: (PCM60)
The Azorean hood (in Portuguese, ‘capote e capelo’) is a traditional Azorean garment worn up until the 1930s. A large cape that covered a woman’s figure, allowing only a glimpse of her face, the origin of the ‘capote-e-capelo’ is controversial. Some say that it came from Flanders and others state that it is an adaptation of mantles and cowls that were fashionable in Portugal in the 17th and 18th centuries. Regardless, for centuries the ‘capote-e-capelo’ was a typically Azorean woman’s garment used in Faial.Varying from island to island in the cut of the cape and the arrangement of the cowl, Faial had the extravagant shape of a wedge resting on the shoulders and which jutted out in front for over a palm. The common characteristic of the ‘capote-e-capelo’ was that it was made of a strong, heavy electric-blue cloth that lasted for generations and was handed down from mothers to daughters.People from Flanders settled in the Azores beginning in 1450. By 1490, there were 2,000 Flemings living in the islands of Terceira, Pico, Faial, Sao Jorge, and Flores and because there was such a large Flemish settlement, the Azores became known as the Flemish Islands or the Isles of Flanders. The settlement extended over the 15th and 16th centuries with Flemish, Genovese, British and French joining the people of Portugal mainland in the Azores islands.
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