The Evzone Tailors

Maria Korachai | December 16th, 2015

Master Evzone tailor Vangelis Lazos

© Dimitris Vlaikos

Meet the experts that dress the Evzones head to toe in their ornate uniforms.

“You need the patience of a donkey to do this job,” says Vangelis Lazos, the master Evzone tailor, as he embroiders a fermeli (waistcoat), the most challenging part of the unit’s uniform. He learned the craft from his father and now teaches younger generations. The felt is so densely embroidered that its “good side” doesn’t show at all and its reverse is full of needle holes.

“You can tell a man’s character from the reverse. You’ll spot a nervous type from the stitching,” he says.

An Evzone’s costume weighs roughly 10kg while a pair of tsarouchia (red leather clogs with black pompons) weighs an additional 3.5kg.

A pair of tsarouchia (red leather clogs with black pompons) weighs 3.5kg.

© Dimitris Vlaikos

Giorgos Dermatas grabs a pair of scissors and starts grooming a pompon.

© Dimitris Vlaikos

The inimitable master of the legendary tsarouchia – a trademark of Greece around the world – Giorgos Dermatas is just starting to construct a new pair, using nothing but his hands, two small awls and two lasts.

“We get goose bumps when we see the Evzones on their way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We check their tsarouchia to see if anything needs to be fixed,” he says.

The smallest size they come in is a Greek 44 (9.5 in the UK or 10.5 in the US) and the largest a 53. The process begins with the cutting of the leather, which is then soaked in water to make stitching easier. The soles are made of cowhide though they look like mahogany. The parts are then sewn together with a waxed cord, also handmade using natural beeswax. Each pair requires more than 600 stitches and 100-120 nails are hammered into the soles. After the tsarouchia are painted and polished, the pompon is attached.