Vestige as a sign of social status

Traditional dress rendered a complicated system to signal social information in the peasant world: social or marital status, age group, territorial location, etc.

Men's costume conveyed no information on their marital status, but difference appeared in facial hair: married men would wear a beard.

Married women wore distinct signs in contrast to unmarried girls. Girls held their hair together only with a headband or chaplet, and could go bareheaded even in winter cold. A married woman had to cover her head, there were different headgear to mark bridal or widowed status. On islands and partly in the north brides wore a special chaplet, in South Estonia they had a special winter cap. The change of headgear was a special ritual at the traditional wedding ceremony (linutamine or tanutamine). In some regions young married women wore a particular hat until their first baby was born. A pregnant unmarried woman put on a married woman's headgear, but some elements had to be left out (ribbons or lace decorations).

An important sign to convey the status of being married was an apron (põll), at least on the mainland. A married woman was required to wear her apron and cover her hair at all times. The front cloth, apron was considered to render fertility magic, and it was worn also by pregnant girls. On the islands, and even in the southeastern region, however, also girls wore an apron.

Age difference was manifested less distinctly: elderly women usually preferred darker colours in fabric, or wore smaller jewellery (in Setomaa sõlg, the large brooch was part of the dress only during the fertile age).