Folk costume is traditionally worn to represent and preserve ethnic heritage. Large numbers of Czechs emigrated to America from the 1870s to 1920s, but eventually, a generation was born that had little contact with their immigrant ancestors. The purpose of our research was to examine what role folk costume plays in the negotiation of Czech ethnic identity and how meaning is constructed and communicated through Czech folk costumes for modern-day wearers. We conducted 11 indepth, semi-structured interviews with descendants of Czech immigrants in a previously unexplored Czech population of the Midwest. We identified four major themes: feelings of connectedness; sense of pride and joy; importance of perceived authenticity; and variation, nuance, and meaning of costume construction and style. Through our work, we contribute to the preservation and documentation of modern-day Czech traditions, ongoing discussions surrounding defining cultural traditions, and business practices of retailers.

传统上穿着民间服装是为了代表和保护民族遗产。从 1870 年代到 1920 年代，大量捷克人移民到美国，但最终出生的一代人与他们的移民祖先几乎没有接触。我们研究的目的是研究民间服饰在捷克民族认同谈判中的作用，以及现代穿着者如何通过捷克民间服饰构建和传达意义。我们对捷克移民的后代进行了 11 次深入、半结构化的访谈，这些访谈涉及以前未曾探索过的中西部捷克人口。我们确定了四个主要主题：联系感；自豪感和喜悦感；感知真实性的重要性；以及服装结构和风格的变化、细微差别和意义。通过我们的工作，