Fustanella

The Fustanella [in Albanian Fustan/Fustani and Fustanellë/Fustanella "rock" from ital. "fustagni" (Pl). lat. fūstāneum „ hard material ]“is a pleated skirt which is carried above all in the south of Albania (Toskëria),but also in Greece, traditionally by men.The fustanella is thought by some researchers to have evolved from the Roman toga. Many statues of Roman emperors depict them wearing knee-length pleated kilts. In colder regions, more folds were added to provide greater warmth.Fustanella is thought to have been originally a southern Albanian outfit of Tosks, which was introduced in Greece, during the Ottoman Occupation that began after the 15th century.The use of the garment was spread by Albanian bands via Epirus into Greece during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The following indications speak for an Albanian origin:

One in Maribor, Slovenia, found sculpture from the 5-th B.C. century shows a human form with Fustanella. The sculpture is of illyrian origin, and therefore an artifact which was taken over of the later Albanians in the course of the centuries.

A Terrakotta-Statue found in Durrës shows a man with Fustanella. The man comes from the region of Epidamnos (today Durrës, Albania), thus from the area of illyrian Taulantier.