Georgian national costume: traditional men's and women's clothing, headwear, wedding dress

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Why do we need a national costume? First of all, it reflects the history of mankind, reveals the artistic worldview and ethnic portrait of the people. For example, Georgian clothing reproduces the traditions and moral values of the people. Especially for women: layered sleeves, long hem, headpiece - each element is a reflection of chastity.

Georgian national costume is also fashion (more conservative), a kind of anti-urban style.

Folk costumes were squeezed out of culture over time, now only folklore ensembles, dancers perform in them, sometimes they are worn at a wedding.

Briefly about the main things

Georgian is distinguished from other costumes by special smartness. National women's clothing was a fitted long dress, where the bodice was decorated with ribbon and stones. A lot of attention was paid to the belt. A luxurious attribute was sewn from velvet and decorated with embroidery or pearls.

The men wore a cotton (calico) shirt, bottom and top pants. They wore arkhaluk or chokha over it, which favorably emphasized the stately figure and broad shoulders of the Georgian.

Let's considerin more detail the question of how Georgian clothes, headdresses and national attributes of a traditional costume are called.

He who loves chokha loves his country

It is the chokhu that is considered to be the best example of a folk costume that combines the folklore and traditions of Georgia. This is not only a men's suit, there is also a women's version.

Chokha first appeared at the end of the 9th century in villages in the south of the Caucasus. The name appeared under the influence of Persian expansion. Chokha is translated as "matter for clothes". But more often it was called "talavari".

For the past few years, chokha has been worn not only as a wedding dress, but also for formal and ceremonial receptions.

Georgian national costume: description

Initially, chokha was made from camel, sheep wool. Now the outfit is a fitted outerwear made of cotton or artificial fabric with a free flowing hem.

The suit fastens from the top to the waist. There are decorative inserts in the form of gazyrs on the chest. The outfit is completed with a leather belt, from which Damascus steel damask damask hangs, and silver accessories.

Sleeves in a suit cover men's arms to the back of the hand and play more of a decorative function. If necessary, they can be rolled up to the shoulders, then you get a kind of scarf characteristic of the attire.

Georgian national costume chokha is available in 6 shades. Tourists prefer to buypurple outfit, locals choose the classics - black and white. Also available in grey, burgundy and blue chokha.

Where to buy

To revive the national costume and remind Georgians of their traditions and culture, in 2010 a chokhi workshop was opened in Tbilisi. The idea belongs to two friends: Levan Vasadze and Luarsab Togonidze.

The clientele of the atelier are people who honor the traditions of their people, and tourists who want to buy a Georgian costume as a souvenir.

Daily sales rate is 5-6 chokhs per day. Agree, not bad, considering that the atelier is located on the busiest metropolitan street, where fashion stores and boutiques with branded clothing compete in the neighborhood.

From hat to bondage

Each region has its own headdress. Each of them differs in size, color palette, ornament and even purpose. List of the most common headdresses worn and worn in Georgia:

1. Khevsurian cap (got its name from the region of the same name). Differs in brightness, elegance and a way of furnish. It is knitted from semi-woolen soft yarn. The presence of crosses is obligatory in the ornament.



2. Svan hat. Georgian headdress made of felt and decorated with ribbon. They wear a hat in the mountainous part of the country (Svaneti). In the summer season, it protects from the hot sun, in winter it warms the head.



3. Kakhuri, or Kakhetian hat. It comes in two colors: black and white. It looks like a Svan hat.



4. Kabalahi is a cone-shaped Megrelian headdress made of fine woolen fabric. Has long ends and a tassel on the hood.
5. Papakha is not a headdress, but the pride and honor of any Caucasian. The hat is made from astrakhan or sheep wool.



6. Chichtikopi. Women's beaded headband with veil.



7. Papanaki. Imeretian original headdress. Quadrangular or round small hat, sewn from cloth, embroidered with braid, having a garter under the rim.

Georgian women's national costume

The variety of traditional outfits was united by one thing: similar features. Severity prevails in the men's suit, grace and elegance prevail in the women's suit.

Girls from we althy families wore kartuli (long dress) made of satin and silk. They were mostly red, green, white and blue. As for the katibi (outerwear), it was sewn exclusively from velvet, with a cotton or fur lining underneath.

A common headdress - lechaki - consisted of a veil of white tulle and a headband. A baghdadi (dark scarf) was put on top, which hid the face of a Georgian woman. married women alsothey put on lechaks, but one end had to cover their neck.

The shoes of the rich girls were of a special model. They did not have a back, they were mostly on heels and with curved noses. Georgians of the lower classes could not afford such luxury and wore leather bast shoes.

Ajarian costume

A brief about their traditional costume: no frills. Indeed, look at the photo and you will understand everything. Everything looks beautiful, and most importantly - rational.

Men's suit consists of a shirt and trousers cut in a special way made of wool or black satin. The spacious top and narrow bottom of the pants did not hamper the movements of the horseman. A vest was worn over the shirt to match the bloomers. The most recognizable and at the same time expensive part of the men's suit was considered to be a chokha with a stand-up collar and sleeves up to the middle of the elbow. They girded the chokha with a leather belt or a bright sash. The bandolier, dagger and guns completed the image of the horseman.

Incredibly beautiful and functional women's suit. It consisted of a long, ankle-length, blue or red shirt and trousers. Over the top, the Adjarian wore a swing dress made of orange chintz. A woolen apron complemented the national costume. The Georgian woman's head was decorated with a cotton scarf, the corner of which was necessarily thrown over the shoulder, covering the neck. Another scarf was put on top, hiding most of the face. From the age of 12, Adjarian girls wore a white veil to cover their faces.

Men's national wedding suit

It is now the newlyweds choose to marryEuropean version of the outfit, but each region had its own wedding Georgian national costume.

Men's costume consisted of three elements: a shirt, trousers and a Circassian. The shirt was sewn from white linen, the Circassian coat was made from wool, instrument cloth, and the pants were made from cashmere, double satin. On her feet were black high boots made of soft leather. An oil can and a dagger ring with an ivory hilt hung from a richly silvered black belt.

A cloak embroidered with gold was worn over a white shirt with a stand-up collar. His sleeves were necessarily cut for ease of movement in the dance.

Women's outfit

A Georgian woman's wedding outfit consists of a headdress with a veil and a dress. The first is sewn from silk or satin. The color should be the most delicate: from pink to light blue. A wedding dress must have double sleeves, and a richly embroidered belt adorns the Georgian waist. Sometimes it is decorated with a pattern. But he must be in tune with the outfit.

The lower sleeve and the chest area are embroidered with gold tinsel, silks or beads. The cuffs and waistband usually consist of a different material - heavier. The open sleeve, chest, belt blades are decorated with silver tinsel. Sometimes a wedding dress is decorated with eyelets and ball buttons.

A ribbon is applied to the headdress and covered with a light cloth. The rim was embroidered especially richly: with small pearls, beads, gold, silk. The light fabric that served as a veil was embroidered with a pattern of tulle. The edgesframed with lace or cut out in a zigzag. The bride's hair was braided. Often it was decorated with small pearls.

The only thing that has remained unchanged after so many centuries - shoes. The Georgian bride wore white high-heeled shoes.

National clothes are a kind of mirror that reflects the history of the people. After all, studying traditional outfits, they learn culture, customs and traditions. Even from one piece of cloth, it was possible to determine from which region a person came.

As you can see, the Georgian people at all times strove to look tasteful and elegant, looking at photographs of national costumes, it is easy to determine that the sons of the Caucasus are distinguished by strictness and masculinity, and Georgian women - by grace and austerity.