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 on holidays and at home, and in Russia very few people know how our ancestors dressed. When talking about traditional clothing, most people imagine a woman in an embroidered shirt, kokoshnik and sundress. And most of them are familiar only from the photo. Folk costumes, in fact, were very diverse. According to them, it was possible to judge the social status of the owner, his age, marital status and occupation. The folk costumes of Russia were different depending on the geographical location. For example, only in the north they wore sundresses, and in the southern regions a poneva was worn over a shirt.
History of national Russian clothes
Folk costumes of Russia from the 18th century are mostly studied. Many clothes have been preserved in museums, privatecollections and in ordinary village houses. From the works of art, you can also find out what the folk costumes of Russia looked like. Pictures from old books give an idea of the traditions and culture of the people. About the same way our ancestors dressed before, we learn from fragmentary information from the annals, from archaeological excavations or from fairy tales. Bit by bit, archaeologists are restoring not only the style and colors of clothes of people from burials, but also the composition of the fabric and
even embroidery and decorations. Scientists have found that until the 18th century, both peasants and boyars dressed the same, the differences were only in the richness of fabrics and decorations. Peter the Great forbade the boyars to wear folk clothes, and since that time it has remained only among ordinary people. In the villages, the traditional Russian costume was common at the beginning of the 20th century, although they dressed up in it only on holidays.
What clothes were made in Russia?
For a long time in Russia, natural fabrics were used to make costumes: cotton, linen, hemp linen or sheep wool cloth. They were painted with natural dyes. In most regions of Russia, the most common color was red. In richer families, clothes were sewn from expensive imported fabrics, such as silk. In addition to fabrics, furs, sheepskin and leather were used. Woolen thread made from sheep and goat wool was also used for warm clothes. The folk costume of Russia was very richly decorated. Drawing on fabric and embroidery could be done with gold or silver thread, the outfit was trimmed with beads, precious stones or metallace.
Features of national clothes in Russia
1. The outfit was layered, especially for women. They put on a poneva on a shirt, on top of a "zapon" or an apron, then an apron.
2. All clothing was loose fitting. For convenience and freedom of movement, it was supplemented with rectangular or oblique inserts.
3. All costumes of the Russian people had a common obligatory element - a belt. This
A piece of clothing was used for more than just decorating or holding clothes. The ornaments on the belts served as a talisman.
4. All clothes, even everyday and work clothes, were embroidered. It carried a sacred meaning for our ancestors and served as protection from evil spirits. From embroidery, one could learn a lot about a person: his social status, age and belonging to a certain genus.
5. Russian folk costumes were made of bright fabrics and richly decorated with braid, beads, embroidery, sequins or patterned inserts.
6. A mandatory element of both men's and women's clothing was a headdress. In some areas, for married women, it was layered and weighed about 5 kilograms.
7. Each person had special ceremonial clothes, which were more richly decorated and embroidered. They tried not to wash it and wore it several times a year.
Features of the costume in different areas
Russia is a huge country, so in different regions people's clothes differed, often even significantly. This can be seen well in the ethnographic museum or in the photo. Folkthe costumes of the southern regions are more ancient. Their formation was influenced by Ukrainian and Belarusian traditions. And, despite the similarities, in different areas they could differ in the color of embroidery, the style of the skirt or the features of the headdress.
Folk women's costume in the south of Russia consisted of a canvas shirt, which was worn with a poneva - a swinging skirt. In some areas, instead of a poneva, they wore an andorak skirt - wide, gathered in a belt with braid or elastic. From above they put on a high apron and a zapon. A wide belt was required. The headdress consisted of a high kick and a magpie. The clothes were richly decorated with embroidery and patterned inserts. The brightest colors were used in the costumes of the Ryazan province, and the Voronezh craftswomen embroidered their shirts with black patterns.
Folk women's clothing from other regions of Russia
Women's Russian costume in the middle lane and in the North consisted of a shirt, a sundress and an apron. For sewing clothes, expensive overseas fabrics, such as silk, satin or brocade, were more often used there. Shirts were richly decorated with bright embroidery or patterned inserts. Sundresses could be sewn from oblique wedges, with a seam in front, or from a single fabric. They were on wide straps or with a shoulder. Decorated with braid, lace, hanging buttons.
The headdress of women in these regions consisted of a kokoshnik and a scarf. Often they were decorated with pearls or embroidered with beads. In the North, short shower jackets and long fur coats made of naturalfur. In different areas, 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 its gold-embroidered art, and the Simbirsk outfits were distinguished by a large, beautifully decorated kokoshnik.
Men's Russian suit
It was less diverse and almost did not differ among residents of different regions. Its basis was a long, often knee-length shirt. Its distinguishing feature was a neckline cutout on the left edge, sometimes obliquely located. Such shirts are called "kosovorotka". But in many southern provinces, the cutout was
straight.
Pants were most often narrow, they were sewn with a gusset for ease of movement. They did not have pockets and fasteners, they were held with the help of a braid called "gashnik". Most often they were made of plain canvas fabric or fine wool with narrow stripes. In some areas, for example, among the Don Cossacks, wide trousers of red or blue color were common.
A mandatory element of the men's suit was a wide belt, which, in addition to its protective value, also had a 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. On their heads, the men wore a soft cloth hat, and at a later time - a cap.
People's shirt
This is the main element of clothing for 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 the decorations. For example, a children's shirt was most often made from old
parents' clothes and had a minimum of embroidery. In many areas, children under 12 did not wear anything other than her. All Russian folk costumes necessarily included this piece of clothing.
Features of folk shirt
1. Its cut was simple, free, and it consisted of straight details. For convenience, a gusset was inserted under the arms.
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 worn to support them.
3. All shirts were long. For men, they often reached the knee and were worn over trousers, while for women they could reach to the floor.
4. Often women's shirts were sewn from 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 one, since this part wore out more.
5. Shirts were 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, embroidery was most often located along the hem, collar and cuffs. The breast part of the shirt was also covered with an ornament.
6. The man had a lot of shirts, for all occasions. The most elegant -ceremonial - worn only a few 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 smart clothing.
It is believed that this piece 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. They later became
more varied. And in some areas, sundresses were called a wide shirred skirt worn under the chest. They were sewn not only from homespun canvas, but also from brocade, satin or silk. Sundresses were sheathed with stripes of colored fabric, braid and satin ribbon. Sometimes they were embroidered or decorated with appliqué.
Types of sundresses
1. Tunic-shaped deaf oblique wedge sundress. It was sewn from one panel of fabric folded in half. The neck was cut along the fold, and several wedges were inserted from the sides. They were simple not only in cut: they were sewn from homespun fabric - canvas, fine cloth or wool. They were decorated along the hem, collar and armhole with pieces of bright red calico.
2. Swinging skew-wedge sundress appeared later and became more common. It was sewn from 3-4 fabrics and decorated with patterned inserts, satin ribbons and embroidery.
3. In recent centuries, a straight swing sundress has become popular. It was sewn from several straight canvases of light matter. Looked like a skirt gathered at the chest with twonarrow straps.
4. A less common type of sundress is a straight version, but sewn from two parts: a skirt and a bodice.
What else did women wear in Russia?
In the southern regions of Russia, instead of a sundress, they wore a poneva over a shirt. This is a skirt made of three layers of woolen fabric. They wove the fabric at home, alternating woolen and hemp threads. This created a pattern of cells on the fabric. The ponevs were decorated with fringe, tassels, sequins, and the younger the woman was, the brighter her skirt was decorated. It was worn only by married women, and the figure in it seemed not as slim as in a sundress, as a shirt was often put on the belt, which hid the waistline.
Atop the poneva they put on an apron, which was called a "curtain" or "zapon". It was sewn from a straight piece of fabric, folded in half with a hole cut along the fold for the head. The apron was beautifully decorated with stripes of patterned fabric or braid.
In the cold season, they wore quilted shower jackets made of brocade or satin with a wadded lining and often trimmed with fur. In addition to fur coats, they wore "ponitok" - warm clothes made of cloth.
Embroidery on folk clothes
The people had a very strong faith in the power of Nature, in gods and spirits. Therefore, for protection, all things were decorated with embroidery. It was especially important for ritual festive clothes. But the usual folk costume of Russia also had a lot of embroidery. Her drawing was located most often along the hem, collar andcuffs. Embroidery also covered the seams of the garment, the sleeves, and the chest. Most often, geometric figures, solar symbols, signs of the earth, fertility, birds and animals were used. Most of the embroidery was on women's clothing. Moreover, it was located in tiers: along the hem, 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 people 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 net are increasingly depicting modern people in national clothes.
