Click here to book a hotel in Arles. In Arles a highly sophisticated dress style evolved in the 18th century, inspired by the fashions of Paris and using sumptuous, jewel-coloured satin fabrics. It is highly traditional. But it would be a bit misleading to describe it as a "folk costume". Unlike many other regions, it rarely includes a peasant apron. Instead, women sport white parasols, fans, jewels and other stylish accessories. But the most distinctive feature is the hair, a complex double chignon wrapped around a tiny headdress of ribbon or lace.
This elaborate updo and headdress have numerous variations for different occasons. It can take up to ten lessons to learn how to achieve it. Younger girls, known as mireietos wear a different, simpler costume until the age of around It's all very different from the severe white bonnet of the costume comtadin , pictured below , the dress that dominates in the area to the east and north of Arles, around Marseille, Aix and Avignon.
In that part of Provence, you don't often see younger women wearing this much less flattering attire. So, in , he created a festival called the Festo Vierginenco especially to promote it. At it, a mireieto swaps her young girl's dress for the adult one for the first time. Guided by "costume godparents", this is referred to as " prendre le ruban " taking the ribbon and is viewed as a key rite of passage into adulthood.
Initially the response to Mistral's idea was sparse. Just 18 teenagers took part in the first edition. But the following year the numbers swelled to Today this festival continues and is a major highlight in Saintes Maries de la Mer , in the Camargue, each year in late July. Over in Arles, there is a similar ceremony called the Prise de Coiffe in early December. It's part of a longer event, the Festiv'Arles , which also includes a pegoulado torchlight procession and, every three years, the coronation of the Reine d'Arles Queen of Arles.
The sheer number of people taking part is quite an impressive sight. The men get dressed up too, though there are fewer of them. The gardians ranchers or cowboys on their white Camargue horses wear their classic attire: beige moleskin trousers, a white or bright indiennes print shirt, a black velour jacket and a dashing broad-brimmed black felt hat.
