National clothes are part of the culture of the people. It is formed depending on the characteristics of the climate, worldview and type of activity of people. Every nation should know its past and its traditions. In many countries, national clothes are used for holidays and at home, and in Russia very few people know how our ancestors dressed. When talking about traditional clothing, most people represent a woman in an embroidered shirt, kokoshnik and sundress. And most of them are familiar only with photos. Folk costumes were actually very diverse. On them it was possible to judge the social status of the owner, his age, marital status and occupation. Folk costumes of Russia were different depending on the geographical location. For example, only in the north wore sundresses, and in the southern regions a poneva was worn over the shirt.
History of Russian national clothing
Mostly studied folk costumes of Russia from the 18th century. A lot of clothes have been preserved in museums, private collections and in ordinary village houses. From works of art you can also find out how folk costumes of Russia looked. Pictures from old books give an idea of the traditions and culture of the people. About the same as our ancestors dressed earlier, we learn from fragmentary information from chronicles, from archaeological excavations or from fairy tales. Archeologists bit by bit restore not only the style and colors of the clothes of people from burials, but also the composition of the fabric and
even embroidery and decoration. Scientists found that before the 18th century, both peasants and boyars dressed equally, the differences were only in the richness of fabrics and finishes. Peter the First forbade the boyars to wear folk clothes, and from that time on she remained only among ordinary people. In the villages, the traditional
Russian costume was distributed as early as the beginning of the 20th century, although it was dressed up only on holidays.
What made clothes in Russia?
Since ancient times in Russia, natural fabrics were used to make costumes: cotton, linen, hemp cloth or lamb wool. They painted them with natural paints. In most regions of Russia, the most common was red. In wealthier families, clothes were sewn from expensive imported fabrics, such as silk. In addition to fabrics, furs, sheepskin and leather were used. For warm clothing, wool from goat and goat wool was also used. The folk costume of Russia was very richly decorated. Drawing on fabric and embroidery could be done with gold or silver thread, trimmed with beads, precious stones or metal lace.
Features of national clothes in Russia
1. The outfit was multi-layered, especially in women. On a shirt they put on a spare ponev, from above a "zapon" or an apron, then an apron.
2. All clothing was loose fit. For convenience and freedom of movement, it was supplemented by rectangular or oblique inserts.
3. All costumes of the Russian people had a common mandatory element - a belt. This
a piece of clothing was used not only to decorate or hold clothing. Ornaments on the belts served as a talisman.
4. All clothing, even casual and work, was decorated with embroidery. It was sacred to our ancestors and served as a defense against evil spirits. By embroidery, one could learn a lot about a person: his social status, age, and belonging to a particular genus.
5. Folk costumes of Russia were sewn of bright fabrics and richly decorated with braid, beads, embroidery, sparkles or patterned inserts.
6. A mandatory element of both men's and women's clothing was a hat. In some areas, married women had it layered and weighed about 5 kilograms.
7. Each person had special ceremonial clothing that was more richly decorated and embroidered. They tried not to wash it and put it on several times a year.
Suit features in different areas
Russia is a huge country, so in different regions people's clothing was different, often even significantly. This can be well seen in the ethnographic museum or in the photo. Folk costumes of the southern regions are more ancient. Their formation was influenced by Ukrainian and Belarusian traditions. And, despite the common features, in different areas they could differ in the color of embroidery, the style of the skirt or the features of the headgear.
The folk women's costume in the south of Russia consisted of their canvas shirt, on which the poneva was worn - a swing skirt. In some areas, instead of ponewas, they wore an andoracic skirt - wide, gathered in a belt for braid or elastic. They put on a high apron and zapon. Mandatory was a wide belt. The headdress consisted of high kiki and magpie. Clothing was richly decorated with embroidery and patterned inserts. The brightest colors were used in costumes of the Ryazan province, and Voronezh craftswomen embroidered their shirts with black patterns.
Folk women's clothing in other regions of Russia
Women's Russian costume in the middle lane and in the North consisted of a shirt, sundress and apron. For sewing clothes, expensive overseas fabrics, such as silk, satin or brocade, were more often used there. The shirts were richly decorated with bright embroidery or patterned inserts. Sundresses could be sewn from slanting wedges, with a seam in front or from one cloth. They were on wide straps or with a shoulder strap. They were decorated with braid, lace, hanging buttons.
The headdress for women in these areas consisted of a kokoshnik and a scarf. Often they were decorated with pearls or embroidered with beads. In the North, short chunks and long fur coats made of natural fur were also common. In various areas, the craftswomen were famous for some kind of needlework. For example, in the Arkhangelsk province luxurious embroidery and lace were known, the Tver province was famous for gold embroidery art, and the Simbirsk outfits featured a large, beautifully decorated kokoshnik.
Men's Russian costume
It was less diverse and almost did not differ among residents of different regions. Its basis was a long shirt, often to the knees. Its distinctive feature was a neckline at the left edge, sometimes located obliquely. These shirts are called "kosovorotka". But in many southern provinces the notch was
direct.
Pants were often narrow, sewed them with a gusset for ease of movement. They did not have pockets and fasteners, held with a braid called a “hookman”. Most often, they were from simple canvas plain fabric or from thin wool into a narrow strip. In some areas, for example, among the Don Cossacks, wide harem pants of red or blue color were widespread.
A mandatory element of the men's suit was a wide belt, which, in addition to protective value, also had practical application: various necessary little things were tied to it. In central Russia and in the North, vests worn over a shirt were also common. Men wore a soft cloth hat on their heads, and at a later time - a cap.
Folk shirt
This is the main element of clothing of all Russian people, regardless of gender, age or social status. The differences were mainly in the fabric from which it was sewn, and in the richness of jewelry. For example, a children's shirt was made most often from the old
clothes of parents and had a minimum of embroidery. In many areas, children under 12 did not wear anything besides her. All folk costumes of Russia necessarily included this item of clothing in their composition.
Features of a national shirt
1. Her cut was simple, free, and it consisted of direct details. For convenience, a gusset was inserted under the armpits.
2. The sleeves of the shirt were always long, often such that they covered the fingers. Sometimes they were also too wide. In such cases, special bracelets were put on the wrists to support them.
3. All the shirts were long. In men, they often reached the knee and were worn over pants, while in women they could be up to the floor.
4. Often, women's shirts were sewn in two parts. The upper one was made of more expensive fabric, richly decorated, and the lower one was simple and made of cheap homespun fabric. This was necessary so that it could be torn off and washed or replaced with another, as this part wore out more.
5. Shirts are always richly decorated with embroidery. And this was done not only for decoration, these patterns protected a person from evil spirits and the evil eye. Therefore, the embroidery was located most often on the hem, collar and cuffs. The breast part of the shirt was also covered with ornament.
6. A person had a lot of shirts, for all occasions. The most elegant - ceremonial - were worn only several times a year.
Sundress
This is the most common women's clothing in the middle lane and in the north of Russia. They were worn until the 18th century in all classes, and after the Petrine reforms, he remained only among the peasants. But in the village until the middle of the 20th century, a sundress was the only elegant clothes.
It is believed that this item of clothing in Russia began to be worn in the 14th century. At first, the sundress looked like a sleeveless dress, worn over the head. Later they became
more diverse. And in some areas, sarafans were called a wide gathered skirt worn under the chest. They were sewn not only from homespun canvas, but also from brocade, satin or silk. Sundresses were trimmed with strips of colored fabric, braid and satin ribbon. Sometimes they were embroidered with embroidery or decorated with applique.
Types of sundresses
1. Tunic-shaped deaf kosoklinny sundress. It was sewn from one piece of cloth folded in half. The neckline was cut along the fold, and several wedges were inserted from the sides. They were simple not only in cut: they sewed them from homespun fabric - canvas, fine cloth or wool. They were decorated along the hem, collar and armhole with pieces of bright kumach.
2. Swing Kosoklinny sundress appeared later and became more common. He sewed their 3-4 cloths and was decorated with patterned inserts, satin ribbons and embroidery.
3. In recent centuries, a direct swing sundress has become popular. It was sewn from several direct canvases of light matter. It looked like a skirt gathered on the chest with two narrow straps.
4. A less common type of sundress is a type of straight, but sewn from two parts: a skirt and bodice.
What else did women wear in Russia?
In the southern regions of Russia, instead of a sarafan, they wore a poneva over a shirt. This is a skirt made of three panels of woolen fabric. Weaved matter at home, alternating woolen and hemp thread. This created a pattern of cells on the fabric. Ponevs decorated with fringe, tassels, sparkles, and the younger the woman, the brighter her skirt was decorated. It was worn only by married women, and the figure in it seemed not as slender as in a sundress, since often a shirt was let out to the waist, which hid the waist line.
Apron, which was called a "curtain" or "zapon", was put on top of the garment. It was sewn from a straight canvas of fabric bent in half with a hole for the head cut through a fold. The apron was beautifully decorated, decorating with stripes of patterned fabric or braid.
In the cold season they wore quilted chambers made of brocade or satin with a cotton lining and often trimmed with fur. In addition to fur coats, they wore a "little thing" - warm clothes made of cloth.
Embroidery on folk clothes
The people were very strong faith in the power of Nature, in gods and spirits. Therefore, for protection, all things were decorated with embroidery. She was especially important on ceremonial festive clothing. But the usual folk costume of Russia also had a lot of embroidery. Her pattern was located most often along the hem, collar and cuffs. The embroidery also covered the seams of clothes, sleeves and the chest part. Most often used geometric shapes, solar symbols, signs of the earth, fertility, birds and animals. Most of the embroidery was on women's clothing. Moreover, it was located in tiers: along the hem there were symbols of the earth, seeds and plants, most often black, and the top of the clothes was decorated with images of birds, animals, the sun and stars, made with red threads.
Recently, more and more began to talk about the revival of native traditions and Russian culture. And many people are interested in folk costumes of Russia. Photos on the network increasingly capture modern people in national clothes.