The clothing, apart from its primary significance, the covering of the body, in all cultures constitutes a particularly important system of symbolic communication, as it sets semantic boundaries and incorporates basic social values. It becomes a fundamental criterion for forming an image of the wearer.

The transition from the protection of the body to its adornment is part of an organized, regulatory, and established by society, which uses it, clothing system. It thus becomes a relatively standardized image of collective behaviors. Both in the long historical duration and in the modern era, it reflects the place, the time in which the wearer is located, the profession, the space, public or private. It declares gender, nationality, social position, economic status.

In Greek traditional society, which incorporates ancient Greek origins and Christian perceptions of clothing, clothing is certainly a function of climatic conditions, local production of textile materials, and communication and trade relations. It follows a long historical evolution with many and varied influences and constitutes a carrier of historical memory, established perceptions of the body and life, and of course aesthetics. The publication of the painted costumes, with accuracy in detail, with a variety of colors and decorative designs by the sketch artist Mr. Gisis Papageorgiou, led to a wonderful result. But the whole work was achieved thanks to the scientific care of the director of the Folklore Center of the Academy of Athens, Mrs. Aik. Polymerou-Kamilaki, who offers, especially to the younger generations, in an understandable way the best acquaintance with the now abandoned traditional clothing.

(from the preface by Konstantinos Svolopoulos, President of the Academy of Athens)