Dresses of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin of Rocío

Dresses of the Virgin Mary

Any religious image of the Virgin , any processional figure of Our Mother Mary is usually linked to a series of dresses and mantles for religious images that make it look more beautiful and more dignified if possible.

There are innumerable types of dresses for each piece of religious imagery. Each of these types of dresses are usually used on specific dates: festivities, processions, etc...

We will focus on the dresses of the image of the Virgen de Rocío . Figure of the Virgin Mary widely known and with devotees in all parts of the world.

In Spain, it is one of the most beloved Marian images along with the images of the Virgen del Carmen , the images of the Virgen del Pilar , the images of the Immaculate Conception , etc...

The Virgen del Rocío has basically two types of dresses: Pastora dresses and Queen dresses.

Dresses of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin of Rocío dresses as a Shepherdess

The Virgen del Rocío uses the Pastora dresses in two fundamental moments. The first of them is when he travels from the Aldea del Rocío to the town of Almonte . The second moment in which the Virgin Mary dresses as a Shepherdess is when she retraces her path and travels from Almonte to the Aldea del Rocío. This round trip, nowadays, takes place every seven years. Through this visit of the image of the Virgin Mary, the remarkable favors that the White Dove granted to the town of Almonte are commemorated.

Despite the fact that the costumes of the Queen of the Marshes continually evolve, the dress that the Virgen del Rocío usually wears when she dresses as a Shepherdess is made up of a mantle , made of silk brocaded in gold; a bell-shaped skirt , made of silk with gold brocade; a slave girl ; a wide-brimmed hat , made in natural panama with gold lace, leaves, natural flowers and silk ribbons.

The Child Jesus that the Virgin Mary carries in her hands is also dressed as a "Divino Pastorcito" . The Child's dress made of tissue and decorated with gold embroidery. He wears a rabbit fur vest and a hat to match his Mother's.

While the Virgen del Rocío wears her Pastora dress, she does not wear a crown, halo, scepter or crescent. Nor does he carry his rostrillo.

The rocieros and devotees of the figure of the Virgen del Rocío know this costume as the Pastora dress . But to be exact, the image of the Virgin Mary is not dressed as a shepherdess properly speaking, but more closely resembles the clothing worn by Andalusian ladies of the 17th century when they undertook a journey.

Dresses of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin of Rocío dresses as a Queen

The image of the Virgen del Rocío is normally with her Queen dresses . The White Dove spends most of the year dressed in her noblest outfits. Over the years, the Virgen del Rocío has gathered a wide trousseau of dresses and mantles.

The dresses of the Queen of the Virgen del Rocío have undergone an evolution over the centuries, changing with the aesthetic criteria of the time. Despite this, the costumes have very similar characteristics and retain the essence of their baroque origins. Our Lady the Virgin of Rocío, in her characterization as Queen, uses rich costumes that are based on the clothing worn by women of the nobility and the queen in Spain during the baroque (late 16th century and early 17th century).

The wealthy women of that time dressed elegantly but simply. The most prominent baroque female garment was the flared skirt (also known as saya, basquiña or low body ), generally made of brocaded fabric, totally rigid, without any type of wrinkle. To keep the skirt fully stretched, a wooden structure formed with concentric hoops with a conical shape (known in some places as verdugado ) was created. This structure ended up being one of the distinctive features of the basquiña. To this day, most of the Queen's dresses that are made for the image of the Virgin Mary use this structure to give firmness to the skirt.

The embroidery of the skirt of the dress of the Virgen del Rocío has been the part of the clothing that has evolved the most. In the early years of the 17th century it was made with simple embroidery in keeping with the ideals of the Spanish Baroque. Over the years this simplicity has become more complex. Numerous embroideries with gold threads have been introduced.

The bust of the Virgen del Rocío is covered with a bodice, or doublet . This garment is normally decorated with embroidery and precious stones, as well as silk bows. The sleeves of the doublet of the dresses of the Queen of the Virgen del Rocío are decorated with trimmings and lace ruffles.

During the late 16th century the bodice included a high collar, known at the time as a ruff . This garment was used by women to cover the neck and neckline. The gorgotera evolved over the years to give rise to what is now known as the rostrillo. The rostrillo of the Virgen del Rocío is one of the identifying elements of the Queen of the White Dove's wardrobe. The rostrillo was originally a garment, usually made of silk and gold, that completely surrounded the head of the Virgin Mary. For many years this type of skewer was used, but at the beginning of the 20th century a gold skewer was made.

Most of the elements that have been added to the dress of the Queen of the Virgen del Rocío have a profound religious significance. In this way, all the attributes, all the goldsmith pieces that decorate the image of the White Dove.

In the book of Revelation 12:1 we can read:

"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head." In this passage we can understand the meaning of the main pieces of jewelry that the Virgen del Rocío carries while wearing her Queen's dress.

A woman dressed in the sun

It is this phrase that we can find the explanation for most of the elements that shine on the image of the Virgen del Rocío. The gold rostrillo, the scepter and the bursts of rays or gold rounds “dress” the figure of the Virgin Mary with the sun.

With the moon under her feet

The image of the Virgen del Rocío carries a silver crescent at her feet.

A crown of twelve stars on his head

A crown that proclaims her queen of heaven. A crown with twelve stars as a representation of the twelve Tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles.

Dresses of the Virgin Mary in Religious Articles Brabander

In today's post we have made a brief introduction to the dresses that the Virgen del Rocío usually wears. All the suits that Blanca Paloma wears are made of the best fabrics and with gold embroidery.

We must recognize that the image of the Virgin Mary is beautiful with both her Queen dress and her Shepherdess dress. We would all like the images that are on the altars of our parishes to be able to wear the dresses of the Virgen del Rocío. Sometimes, for economic reasons, we cannot afford to buy dresses like those of the Virgen del Rocío . We have to settle for adorning our figures of the Virgin Mary with clothes made with more humble but also very beautiful fabrics.

For this reason, in Religious Articles Brabander we have prepared a catalog of dresses for images of the Virgin Mary suitable for all budgets. From dresses made of brocade fabric decorated with simple braids to velvet dresses with complex gold thread embroidery.

All the dresses for sale in our online store can be adapted to the measurements of the images of the Virgin Mary. That is, if you want to donate a dress to the Virgin Mary of your parish, simply indicating the measurements of the figure we can make a custom dress.

In addition to dresses and mantles of the Virgin Mary, on our website you can buy many other Marian religious items decorated with the image of the Virgin Mary.