The old women's headdress, like all the clothes of those times, reflected the customs and worldview of the Russian people, as well as its attitude to nature and the whole world. In the old days, some elements of clothing were borrowed from other peoples, although to a greater extent Russian costumes had their own, special style.
How women dressed in Russia
The main component of women's clothing was a shirt or shirt. The first was a kind of underwear and was made exclusively of thick and coarse fabric. The second was always made of thin and light materials. Shirts were mostly worn by wealthy women, and the rest were always wearing shirts.
Along with this, the girls wore canvas clothes called "zapony". It looked like a half-bent piece of fabric with a small neckline for the head. Zapona was worn over a shirt and girdled.
In the cold season, the inhabitants of Russia wore fur covers. In honor of various celebrations, they put on long sleeves - special shirts. Around the hips, women wrapped a fabric of wool, grabbing it at the waist with a belt. This part of the clothing was called "Poneva." Most often, it was made into a cage. Ponev colors were different in different tribes.
Vintage women's hats in Russia
In the time of Ancient Russia, men always wore the same hats, but women's hats were classified as girls' and intended for married ladies. Each girl had to strictly observe the style and rules of wearing clothes. All types of vintage women's hats are listed and described below.
Dressings and ribbons
The traditional girl’s headdress was not intended to close the crown of the owner. He left a fairly large part of the hair open. From the earliest years, girls in Russia wore ordinary ribbons made of matter.
At an older age, they had to wear another girl’s headdress - a bandage (dressing). In some areas, it was often referred to as slack. This element completely covered the forehead and was fixed on the back of the head with the help of a knot. As a rule, such dressings were created from birch bark, silk ribbons, as well as brocade. Their owners decorated their hats with glass beads, embroidery, precious stones and gold.
In the census of the property of the daughter of one of the Russian tsars, Alexei Mikhailovich, the “dressing lowered by pearls” was mentioned. Often there were dressings, the frontal part of which was distinguished by a special decoration, made in the form of any figure or patterned knot.
Whisk
Another variety of an old female headdress is a crown (nimbus). It came from a wreath made up of different colors. According to the beliefs of ancestors, this garment was protected from evil spirits.
They made corollas from a thin metal tape, the width of which did not exceed 2.5 centimeters. Also, bronze and silver were used for this. In appearance, such a headdress looked like a bandage, but the only difference was the hooks for the tape or lace to tightly tie a whisk on the back of the head.
Often, the crown was decorated with patterns with notches at the top. For great holidays, the girls wore clothes decorated with strands of pearls hanging along their cheeks - the so-called ryasochniki. This decoration was at the wedding of Tsarina Evdokia Lopukhina.
Warm hat
In the cold season, on the girls' heads one could see hats, which in those days were called columns. Of these, a long girl’s braid fell on her back, decorated, in turn, with a red ribbon.
Harvest after marriage
Ancient women's hats performed not only an aesthetic function - they served as a peculiar indicator of both the status and the marital status of the beauty. As soon as the girl got married, this element of the outfit immediately changed. This happened for the reason that after marriage, all the beauty of the wife belonged only to her husband. The foreigners who visited the Russian lands described the wedding custom as follows: during the celebration, a man threw a scarf over the head of his beloved and thereby demonstrated that from now on he became her legal husband.
Scarf, or ubrus
This old female headdress was especially liked by girls. In different regions it was called differently. Among the most common items: fly, towel, hem, basting, bridal veil and so on. This shawl consisted of a fairly thin rectangular-shaped cloth, the length of which reached a couple of meters and a width of about 50 centimeters.
One of the ends of the ubruz was always decorated with embroidery with silk threads, silver, gold. He dangled over his shoulder and never hid under clothes. The second end was intended to tie his head and cleave below the chin. In the 10-11 centuries it was customary to place a beautiful set of jewelry trifles - hanging rings and all kinds of jewelry on top of such a scarf.
Some time later, the ubrus began to be made triangular in shape. In this case, both ends were chipped under the chin or tied at the crown with a curly knot, but this required a special skill that not every Russian woman owned. Also, the ends could go down on the shoulders or back and were richly embroidered. Such a fashion for wearing scarves came to Russia only in the 18-19 centuries from Germany. Earlier, the scarf simply wrapped around the girl’s neck, and the knot was located at the very top of the crown and tightened quite tight. This method was called the "head". One of the contemporaries of the 18th century wrote that the expressiveness of the scarf was necessary in order to “exalt the beauty and give even more color” to the faces of women.
How to hide your hair
When drawing up their own headgear on ordinary days, women used a henpecker, or a scallop (warrior). It was a small mesh cap made of thin material. This piece of clothing consisted of a bottom, as well as a small circle in which lacing was provided around the head - especially so that the cap would be tied as tight as possible. The traveler, as a rule, was decorated with a variety of stones and pearls, which women sewed on the forehead zone on their own. This patch was unique and special, as each craftswoman took care of her and passed it on to her daughter, attaching it to her headdress already.
The main purpose of the undercoat was to hide female hair from the eyes of strangers. There were also women who were too zealous, pulling off their clothes so that they could hardly blink. In winter, a hat or scarf was always worn on top of the povoynik. Since the 18th century, these hats began to change and eventually acquired the shape of a bonnet. Sometimes it was worn with a garment, put on top of it. It depended mainly on the beauty and degree of decoration of this element. Each woman treated her clothes and headgear with trepidation, because it was they who spoke of her as a mistress and faithful wife.
What married women wore: what is brocade
After the woman got married, together with a scarf and a warrior, she needed to wear a special headdress - a kiku. Now few people know what brocade is, but in those days it was a real privilege for married ladies. It is for this reason that the historian Zabelin called this garment the "crown of marriage."
Kik could be easily recognized by the horns or scapula, which stuck directly above the forehead and were directed straight up. The horns had some connection with beliefs in protective power, because through their women they likened a cow, which, as you know, was a sacred animal to our ancestors. The main function of the horny kitty was to protect the newly made wife and her child, and she also contributed to fertility and procreation.
The headgear was worn over the warrior and consisted of a hoop that did not close at the back and was trimmed with fabric. This hoop looked like a horseshoe or crescent. The height of the horns attached to the device reached 30 centimeters, and they were made exclusively from a tightly twisted canvas. In addition to the front, the rear was of great importance. It was made of fur or expensive matter and was called the head of the head. Decorated this element is always elegant, because it replaced a long girl’s braid. This included a rather rich embroidery, as well as a wide decorative pendant, on which long chains of plaques were attached. A special cover-coverlet, which in the old days was called magpie, was attached on top of the kitty.
It was in such vestments that a married woman should walk. At the same time, she should keep her head held high, and take steps beautifully and gently. Thanks to this, the expression “boast” appeared, which meant “to exalt oneself above the rest of the people”.
A koruna was created by the type of kiki. It was a headdress for the people of the royal and princely families. The main difference of the coruna was its shape. It was an ornate crown that needed to be worn on top of the ubruz. As a rule, various ornaments in the form of cassocks, colts, pearl lowering were added to the dress, and special fabrics saturated with various smells were put inside.
Kokoshnik
Many people are interested in the name of an old Russian female headdress, which can be seen on modern girls. Despite the fact that wearing it is quite difficult due to weight, our ancestors (women) to keep such jewelry on their heads every day was only a joy.
Russian folk kokoshnik got its name from the ancient Slavic word "kokosh", which translated means "chicken", "rooster", "brood hen". Its distinguishing feature was the front part - the crest. The entire Russian folk kokoshnik was made on a solid basis, which allowed him to better stay on his head. The crest rose high above the forehead and was visible from a fairly large distance. At the back, a Russian folk hat was fixed with ribbons and pulled on with fabric.
Despite the fact that initially Kokoshnik was the prerogative of only married women, after some time young girls began to wear it. But their top was already open.
Such a Russian folk hat was covered in cloth or leather. It could be decorated with metal thread, beads, pearls, as well as bugles. A special cover made of expensive patterned fabric was attached to the garment. From above, as a rule, a veil or shawl was worn, always folded into a triangle.
In ordinary people, the kokoshnik became widespread in the 16-17th centuries. It has become a great substitute for a kiche. Representatives of the clergy fought against the "horned", categorically forbidden to attend church in it. They welcomed a more convenient, safe and beautiful option.
Hats
Since the end of the 16th century, during the transition from winter to spring, women, "going out into the people", put on a hat over the garment. It was created from felt of different colors and was quite similar to the one that Orthodox people wear for a walk.
Fur hats
The old winter women's hats also include velvet hats trimmed with fur. From above they were made of fabric or glued paper. The cap itself was cone-shaped, round or cylindrical in shape. She was distinguished from men's hats by the presence of jewelry - pearls, sewing, stones.
Since the caps were high enough, light fur or satin was placed inside them to keep warm. Women treated their clothes very carefully. From some sources it is known that at the end of the season the tsar’s daughters must have handed over their hats to a special Workshop. There they were placed on blocks and covered with covers.
Winter hats were made of different fur - fox, beaver, sable. For young girls, the squirrel or hare option was considered the ideal option. One of the few similarities with men's clothing was the name. Women's hats were also called "throaty", so they were worn in several layers at once.
Treuh
Another magnificent headdress that women were able to successfully adopt from men is treuh. Its top was covered with tissue, and part of the frontal area was pubescent, as a rule, by sable. These hats were decorated with lace or pearls.
Kaptur
No less interesting winter hat called "kaptur" was especially popular among widows. She protected her owner’s head from a cold, because she looked like a cylinder with fur that covered both the head and face on both sides. A beaver cap was sewn, but the poorest had to wear sheepskin garments. From above it was necessary to put on a bandage.