Russian ceremonial national women's costume. Collections of the Russian Museum

From the first decades of its existence, the Old Russian state was distinguished by the existence of stable everyday traditions and customs. The wooden Russian hut has not changed its appearance for many centuries and retained certain functional and design features. This indicated that the inhabitants of the eastern part of Europe from ancient times were able to find the best combinations of natural elements provided by the environment.

Most of the dwellings of that time were above-ground or half-dugout huts with wooden or earthen floors. Quite often, basements were built in them - lower rooms used for livestock and storage of various things.

Wealthy people of noble origin owned houses made of several log buildings with porches, stairs and passages. Depending on the financial situation of the family, the situation in the house could be different. People with less income were content with wooden benches, tables and benches located along the walls, while the rich could also boast of stools covered with paintings and carvings, and small stools intended for feet. The huts were illuminated by rays inserted into a metal light or stove crevices. Wealthy people had wooden or metal candlesticks with tallow candles in their homes.

Merchants, boyars and princes dressed in long clothes with embroideries and precious stones, and the poor wore simple shirts with belts made of homespun cloth. In the winter months, ordinary people wore bear coats and bast bast shoes, while the rich wore casings and coats made of expensive furs, opash and single-row furs. Noble women also purchased fur coats and opashins and wore letniki, cortels and padded warmers, made of velvet, expensive foreign cloth, decorated with pearls, sables and stones. Monks could also afford expensive clothes.

The poor people made dishes from wood and clay; only a few objects were created from copper and iron. Wealthy members of society used metal and sometimes gold or silver utensils. In ordinary homes, bread was baked from rye flour. Here they consumed products grown on their own. Also, ordinary people were engaged in the production of various drinks - bread kvass, beer and honey. However, more varied and plentiful dishes appeared on the table of the rich. Old Russian life had significant differences in different layers of society, which was reflected in all spheres of life.

HOW WE DRESSED IN THE OLD TIMES

The ancient clothing of the Russian nobility in its cut was generally similar to the clothing of people of the lower class, although it differed greatly in the quality of material and decoration. The body was fitted with a wide shirt that did not reach the knees, made of simple canvas or silk, depending on the wealth of the owner. An elegant shirt, usually red, had the edges and chest embroidered with gold and silk, and a richly decorated collar was fastened at the top with silver or gold buttons (it was called a “necklace”). In simple, cheap shirts, the buttons were copper or replaced with cufflinks with loops. The shirt was worn over the underwear. Short ports or trousers were worn on the legs without a cut, but with a knot that made it possible to tighten or expand them in the belt at will, and with pockets (zep). Pants were made from taffeta, silk, cloth, as well as from coarse woolen fabric or canvas.

Over the shirt and pants, a narrow sleeveless zipun made of silk, taffeta or dyed cloth was worn, with a narrow small collar fastened at the bottom. The zipun reached to the knees and usually served as home clothing.

An ordinary and widespread type of outerwear worn over a zipun was a caftan with sleeves reaching to the toes, which were gathered into folds, so that the ends of the sleeves could replace gloves, and in winter serve as a muff. On the front of the caftan, along the slit on both sides, stripes were made with ties for fastening. The material for the caftan was velvet, satin, damask, taffeta, mukhoyar (Bukhara paper fabric) or simple dyeing. In elegant caftans, a pearl necklace was sometimes attached behind the standing collar, and a “wrist” decorated with gold embroidery and pearls was fastened to the edges of the sleeves; the floors were trimmed with braid and lace embroidered with silver or gold. “Turkish” caftans without a collar, which had fasteners only on the left side and at the neck, differed in their cut from “stanovoy” caftans with an interception in the middle and with button fastenings. Among the caftans, they were distinguished by their purpose: dining, riding, rain, “smirnaya” (mourning). Winter caftans made with fur were called “caftans”.

Sometimes a “feryaz” (ferez) was worn over the zipun, which was an outer garment without a collar, reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves tapering towards the wrist; it was fastened in front with buttons or ties. Winter feryazis were made with fur, and summer ones with a simple lining. In winter, sleeveless fairies were sometimes worn under the caftan. Elegant fairies were made of velvet, satin, taffeta, damask, cloth and decorated with silver lace.

Cover-up clothing that was worn when leaving the house included odnoryadka, okhaben, opashen, yapancha, fur coat, etc. Odnoryadka - wide, long-skirted clothing without a collar, with long sleeves, with stripes and buttons or ties - was usually made from cloth and other woolen fabrics; in the fall and in bad weather it was worn both in sleeves and saddled. The okhaben was similar to the one-row shirt, but it had a turn-down collar that went down the back, and the long sleeves folded back and there were holes under them for the arms, just like in the one-row shirt. A simple okhaben was made of cloth, mukhoyar, and an elegant one was made of velvet, obyari, damask, brocade, decorated with stripes and fastened with buttons. The cut of the opashen was slightly longer at the back than at the front, and the sleeves tapered towards the wrist. Opashni were made of velvet, satin, obyari, damask, decorated with lace, stripes, and fastened with buttons and loops with tassels. Opashen was worn without a belt (“on opash”) and saddled. The sleeveless yapancha (epancha) was a cloak worn in bad weather. The traveling yapancha made of coarse cloth or camel hair differed from the elegant yapancha made of good fabric, lined with fur.

A fur coat was considered the most elegant clothing. Not only was it worn when going out into the cold, but the custom allowed the owners to sit in fur coats even while receiving guests. Simple fur coats were made from sheepskin or hare fur; martens and squirrels were higher in quality; noble and rich people had coats made of sable, fox, beaver or ermine. Fur coats were covered with cloth, taffeta, satin, velvet, obyarya or simple dyeing, decorated with pearls, stripes and fastened with buttons with loops or long laces with tassels at the end. “Russian” fur coats had a turn-down fur collar. “Polish” fur coats were made with a narrow collar, with fur cuffs and were fastened at the neck only with a cufflink (double metal button).

Foreign imported fabrics were often used to sew men's clothing, and bright colors were preferred, especially “wormy” (crimson). Colored clothing, worn on special occasions, was considered the most elegant. Only boyars and duma people could wear clothes embroidered with gold. The stripes were always made from a material of a different color than the clothing itself, and for rich people they were decorated with pearls and precious stones. Simple clothes were usually fastened with tin or silk buttons. Walking without a belt was considered indecent; The nobility's belts were richly decorated and sometimes reached several arshins in length.

As for shoes, the cheapest were bast shoes made of birch bark or bast and shoes woven from wicker twigs; To wrap the legs, they used onuchi made from a piece of canvas or other fabric. In a wealthy environment, shoes were shoes, chobots and ichetigs (ichegi) made of yuft or morocco, most often in red and yellow.

Chobots looked like a deep shoe with a high heel and a pointed toe turned up. Elegant shoes and boots were made of satin and velvet of different colors, decorated with embroidery made of silk and gold and silver threads, and trimmed with pearls. Dressy boots were the footwear of the nobility, made from colored leather and morocco, and later from velvet and satin; the soles were padded with silver nails, and the high heels with silver horseshoes. Ichetygs were soft morocco boots.

When wearing elegant shoes, woolen or silk stockings were worn on the feet.

Russian hats were varied, and their shape had its own meaning in everyday life. The top of the head was covered with tafya, a small cap made of morocco, satin, velvet or brocade, sometimes richly decorated. A common headdress was a cap with a longitudinal slit in the front and back. Less wealthy people wore cloth and felt caps; in winter they were lined with cheap fur. Decorative caps were usually made of white satin. Boyars, nobles and clerks on ordinary days wore low, quadrangular-shaped hats with a “rim” around the cap made of black-brown fox, sable or beaver fur; In winter, such hats were lined with fur. Only princes and boyars had the right to wear high “gorlat” hats made of expensive furs (taken from the throat of a fur-bearing animal) with a cloth top; in their shape they expanded somewhat upward. On ceremonial occasions, the boyars put on a tafya, a cap, and a gorlat hat. It was customary to keep a handkerchief in a hat, which was held in the hands while visiting.

In the winter cold, hands were warmed with fur mittens, which were covered with plain leather, morocco, cloth, satin, and velvet. “Cold” mittens were knitted from wool or silk. The wrists of the elegant mittens were embroidered with silk, gold, and trimmed with pearls and precious stones.

As decoration, noble and rich people wore an earring in their ear, a silver or gold chain with a cross on their neck, and rings with diamonds, yachts, and emeralds on their fingers; Personal seals were made on some rings.

Only nobles and military men were allowed to carry weapons; This was prohibited for townspeople and peasants. According to custom, all men, regardless of their social status, left the house with a staff in their hands.

Some women's clothing was similar to men's. Women wore a long shirt, white or red, with long sleeves, embroidered and decorated at the wrists. Over the shirt they put on a letnik - a light garment that reached to the toes with long and very wide sleeves (“caps”), which were decorated with embroidery and pearls. Letniki were sewn from damask, satin, obyari, taffeta of various colors, but worm-shaped ones were especially valued; a slit was made in the front, which was fastened all the way to the neck.

A necklace in the form of a braid, usually black, embroidered with gold and pearls, was fastened to the pilot's collar.

The outer clothing for women was a long cloth opashen, which had a long row of buttons from top to bottom - tin, silver or gold. Under the long sleeves of the opashny, slits were made under the arms for the arms, and a wide round fur collar was fastened around the neck, covering the chest and shoulders. The hem and armholes of the opashnya were decorated with embroidered braid. A long sundress with sleeves or sleeveless, with armholes, was widespread; The front slit was fastened from top to bottom with buttons. A quilted jacket was worn over the sundress, with the sleeves tapering towards the wrist; These clothes were made from satin, taffeta, obyari, altabas (gold or silver fabric), and baiberek (twisted silk). Warm quilted jackets were lined with marten or sable fur.

Various furs were used for women's fur coats: marten, sable, fox, ermine and cheaper ones - squirrel, hare. Fur coats were covered with cloth or silk fabrics of different colors. In the 16th century, it was customary to sew women's fur coats in white, but in the 17th century they began to be covered with colored fabrics. A slit made in the front, with stripes on the sides, was fastened with buttons and bordered with an embroidered pattern. The collar (necklace) lying around the neck was made from a different type of fur than the fur coat; for example, with a marten coat - from a black-brown fox. The decorations on the sleeves could be removed and were kept in the family as an inherited value.

On ceremonial occasions, noble women wore a privolok on their clothes, that is, a sleeveless worm-colored cape made of gold, silver woven or silk fabric, richly decorated with pearls and precious stones.

Married women wore “hair caps” on their heads in the form of a small cap, which for rich women was made of gold or silk material with decorations on it. To remove a hair lock and “unhair” a woman, according to the concepts of the 16th-17th centuries, meant causing great dishonor to a woman. Above the hairline, the head was covered with a white scarf (ubrus), the ends of which, decorated with pearls, were tied under the chin. When leaving home, married women put on a “kika”, which surrounded their head in the form of a wide ribbon, the ends of which were connected at the back of the head; the top was covered with colored fabric; the front part - the necklace - was richly decorated with pearls and precious stones; The headband could be separated or attached to another headdress, depending on need. At the front of the kick were pearl threads (lower) hanging down to the shoulders, four or six on each side. When leaving home, women put on a brimmed hat with falling red cords or a black velvet hat with a fur trim over the ubrus.

The kokoshnik served as a headdress for both women and girls. It looked like a fan or fan attached to a hairline. The headband of the kokoshnik was embroidered with gold, pearls or multi-colored silk and beads.

The girls wore crowns on their heads, to which pearl or bead pendants (robes) with precious stones were attached. The maiden crown always left the hair open, which was a symbol of girlhood. By winter, girls from wealthy families were sewn with tall sable or beaver hats (“columns”) with a silk top, from under which loose hair or a braid with red ribbons woven into it flowed down the back. Girls from poor families wore headbands that tapered at the back and fell down their backs with long ends.

Women and girls of all segments of the population decorated themselves with earrings, which were varied: copper, silver, gold, with yachts, emeralds, “sparks” (small stones). Earrings made from a single gemstone were rare. Bracelets with pearls and stones served as decoration for the hands, and rings and rings, gold and silver, with small pearls, on the fingers.

The rich neck decoration of women and girls was a monisto, consisting of precious stones, gold and silver plaques, pearls, and garnets; In the old days, a row of small crosses was hung from the monist.

Moscow women loved jewelry and were famous for their pleasant appearance, but in order to be considered beautiful, in the opinion of Moscow people of the 16th-17th centuries, one had to be a portly, curvy woman, rouged and made up. The slender figure and grace of a young girl were of little value in the eyes of beauty lovers of that time.

According to Olearius’ description, Russian women were of average height, slender build, and had a gentle face; city ​​dwellers all blushed, tinted their eyebrows and eyelashes with black or brown paint. This custom was so ingrained that when the wife of the Moscow nobleman Prince, Ivan Borisovich Cherkasov, a beauty in her own right, did not want to blush, the wives of other boyars convinced her not to neglect the custom of her native land, not to disgrace other women, and they achieved that this naturally beautiful woman I was forced to give in and apply blush.

Although, in comparison with rich noble people, the clothes of the “black” townspeople and peasants were simpler and less elegant, nevertheless, in this environment there were rich outfits that accumulated from generation to generation. Clothes were usually made at home. And the very cut of ancient clothing - without a waist, in the form of a robe - made it suitable for many.

HOME EQUIPMENT AND Utensils

The interior decoration in the houses of the nobility and large merchants was very different in its richness from the simple furnishings in the simple huts of the “black” townspeople.

The floor in the rooms was usually covered with matting or felt, and in rich houses - with carpets. Along the walls, tightly attached to them, there were wooden benches, upholstered with wicker matting or fabric; in wealthy houses, the shops were covered on top with cloth or silk “shelves” that hung all the way to the floor. The room furniture was complemented by special benches, up to two arshins wide, which had a raised platform (headrest) at one end, so that one could rest more comfortably on the benches after lunch. Quadrangular stools (columns) were used for seating. The long narrow tables standing in front of the shops, most often made of oak, were often decorated with artistic carvings; Small tables decorated with colored stones were also found in rich rooms. Custom required that tables be covered with tablecloths, on which, during meals, more tablecloths were laid: cloth or velvet, embroidered with gold and silver. “Black” townspeople used rough linen tablecloths or did without them at all.

An integral part of each room were icons hanging on the wall. The edges of the icon were often enclosed in a silver or gold frame, and it was placed in an icon case. The material for icons was most often wood, less often stone or white bone; Metal folding doors were also made with doors that had images on the inside and outside. Icons with lamps and wax candles in front of them were placed in the front corner of the room and could be covered with a curtain called a “dungeon.” In wealthy houses there was a special “cross” room, all filled with icons, where home prayer took place.

Wall mirrors, even in rich mansions, were then a great rarity, and small foreign mirrors were widespread. As for wall paintings, they appeared on sale in Moscow towards the end of the 17th century.

As a bed, they used a bench that stood against the wall, to which they moved another, wide one, and laid out a bed, which in rich houses consisted of feather beds, a headboard, pillows in elegant pillowcases, linen or silk sheets and a satin blanket lined with expensive fur. However, luxuriously decorated beds were only in the houses of the nobility and the rich. For the majority of the population, felt served as a bed, or they slept on a stove, blankets, or wooden benches, with a fur coat or other clothing underneath.

Household items were stored in chests and hideaways, that is, chests of drawers. Women's jewelry was preserved in artistically decorated caskets and passed on by inheritance as family jewelry. Pocket watches were very rare, but wall clocks were often brought to us from abroad. It is known that Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was a great lover and collector of watches. According to the descriptions of foreigners, in the house of the boyar Artamon Sergeevich Matveev, in one of the chambers, which had a wooden floor made of square floorboards, there was a large tiled stove, a chandelier hung from the ceiling, and parrots and other beautiful birds sat in cages hanging around; along with wall paintings, a large mirror and a table of artistic work, there were clocks of different designs: on some the hands showed the time from noon - the astronomical day, on others - from sunset, on others - from sunrise, on the fourth the day began at midnight, like this was accepted in the Latin Church. However, in home life, the so-called “fighting clock” was more common, where the dial rotated, not the hand.

Wax candles were used for lighting, and tallow candles were used in low-income homes; They also used a dry splinter from birch or spruce. Candles were inserted into “wall” candlesticks or into “standing” candlesticks, small in size, which could be rearranged according to need. If in the evening it was necessary to go to the stable or barn, then they used a mica lantern for lighting.

Household supplies were stored in barrels, tubs and baskets standing in cages. Kitchen utensils were meager and primitive; fried in iron and tinned copper frying pans; the dough was kneaded in wooden vats and troughs.

Washstands used for washing were made of copper, tin and even silver. When it was necessary to cook food for a large number of people, the cooks used copper or iron “food” boilers with a capacity of several buckets. Beer and wine boilers had a significant capacity - up to 50 buckets.

The tableware for liquid food was wooden, tin or silver bowls, and for roast dishes - wooden, clay, tin, tinned copper or silver dishes. The plates were rarely used and even less frequently washed; Instead of plates, flat cakes or slices of bread were usually used. Even less common were knives and forks (at that time they were two-pronged). For lack of napkins, while sitting at the table, they wiped their hands with the edge of the tablecloth or a towel. The vessels in which all kinds of drinks were brought to the table were varied: valley, bucket, quarter, brother, etc. The valley, which was often used, had a capacity of one or several buckets. The quarter was shaped like a soup cup and in its full measure was a quarter of a bucket (quart), but in reality it was made in different sizes. Bratina, intended for a friendly treat, was like a pot with a tire; Wine was scooped from the bratina using ladles or scoops.

The vessels from which the hosts and guests drank had the following names: mugs, bowls, goblets, crusts, ladles, cups. The mugs usually had a cylindrical shape, somewhat narrowed at the top, but there were tetrahedral and octagonal mugs. A full measure mug was one eighth of a bucket. Round, wide vessels with handles or brackets were called “bowls.” Cups were round vessels with a lid and a stand. Unlike ladles with their oval bottom, the crusts had a flat bottom. Small round glasses with a flat bottom sometimes had legs and a cover. According to ancient custom, horns set in silver were also used for drinking wine.

In the houses of noble and wealthy people, precious silver and gilded vessels were placed as decoration in the shelves that occupied the middle of the front room. Inscriptions were usually made on such vessels, containing a saying or dedication to the person to whom the vessel was presented as a gift.

Women's urban costume in folk style: jacket, apron
Russia. Late 19th century
Cotton, linen threads; weaving, cross stitch, multi-pair weaving.

Peasant woman's outerwear
Tula province. Early 20th century
Wool fabric; dl. 90 cm

Peasant woman's outerwear: "fur coat"

Cloth, chintz; machine stitching. Dl. 115 cm

Women's outerwear "Odezhina"
Nizhny Novgorod province. 19th century

Women's folk costume. Sundress, shirt, apron
Nizhny Novgorod province. 19th century
Burgundy satin, red silk and striped satin;

Women's costume: paneva, shirt, apron, "magpie" headdress, necklace, belt

Woolen fabric, linen, chintz, braid, wool, silk and metal threads, beads; weaving, embroidery, weaving.

Women's costume: paneva, shirt, apron, scarf
Oryol province. Second half of the 19th century.
Woolen fabric and thread, braid, linen, cotton thread, satin, silk; woven weaving, embroidery, patterned weaving.

Women's costume: paneva, shirt, shushpan, chain, apron, "magpie" headdress
Ryazan province. Second half of the 19th century.
Woolen fabric, linen, cotton fabric, metal, cotton threads, beads; weaving, embroidery, weaving.

Women's costume: sundress, belt, shirt, headband, necklace

Printed canvas, calico, linen, silk ribbon, colored thread, galloon, amber; sewing, printing, cutting.

Festive Cossack costume: sundress, sleeves, belt, headscarf
Ural, Uralsk. Late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Satin, silk, calico, galloon, gilded thread, beat, crystal, silver, silver thread; embroidery.

Peasant woman's costume, urban type: sundress, jacket, kokoshnik, scarf
Arkhangelsk province. Early 20th century
Silk, satin, calico, galloon, fringe, braid, artificial pearls, metal thread; embroidery

Peasant woman costume: sundress, apron, belt, shirt, scarf
Kursk province. Late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Woolen, linen, silk fabric, galloon, velvet, brocade, calico, braid; weaving

Peasant woman costume: sundress, shirt, apron, headdress “collection”
Vologda province. Late 19th century
Cotton fabric, canvas, silk ribbons, lace; weaving, embroidery, weaving

Peasant woman costume: sundress, shirt, belt
Smolensk province. Late 19th century
Broadcloth, chintz, cotton fabric, wool, cotton threads; embroidery, weaving.

Belts for folk costume
Russia. Late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Woolen, linen, silk threads; weaving, knitting, weaving. 272x3.2 cm, 200x3.6 cm

Girl's costume: paneva, shirt, "top", belt, gaitan, "bundle"
Tula province. Late 19th - early 20th century.
Woolen, linen fabric, linen, calico, chintz, galloon, fringe, woolen thread; weaving, embroidery, weaving.

Chest decoration: chain
Southern provinces. Second half of the 19th century. Beads, linen thread; weaving.

Girls' festive costume: sundress, shirt
Northern provinces. Early 19th century
Taffeta, muslin, silver, metal thread; embroidery.

"Mother" costume: sundress, warmer, beads
Saint Petersburg. Late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Silk, metal thread, fringe, agramant, artificial pearls;

Girls' festive costume: sundress, sleeves, headband, necklace
Upper Volga region. Second half of the 18th century.
Damask, chintz, brocade, mother of pearl, pearls, braid, woven lace; embroidery, threading.

Women's festive costume: sundress, shirt, kokoshnik, scarf
Upper Volga region. 19th century
Silk, brocade, muslin, metal and cotton threads, galloon, beads; weaving, embroidery.

Women's festive costume: sundress, padded warmer, kokoshnik "head", scarf
Tver province Second half of the 19th century.
Damask, silk, brocade, velvet, fringe, metal thread, mother-of-pearl, beads; weaving, embroidery

Girl's headdress: crown
Arkhangelsk province. Second half of the 19th century.
Canvas, glass beads, beads, braid, cord, metal; embroidery. 35x24 cm

Girl's headdress "Lenka"
Russia. 19th century Fabric, gold thread;; embroidery.

Girl's headdress: crown
Kostroma province Beginning of the 19th century.
Canvas, cord, copper, foil, mother-of-pearl, glass, sparkles, linen thread; weaving, embroidery. 28x33 cm

Girl's headdress: crown
Northwestern region. First half of the 19th century
Canvas, cord, rhinestones, freshwater pearls; embroidery. 13x52 cm

Girl's headdress: koruna
Vologda province. Second half of the 19th century.
Canvas, braid, cord, foil, beads, gimp, satin, calico, heel; embroidery. 36x15 cm

Arkhangelsk province. Second half of the 19th century.
Galun, calico, silver thread, fringe, artificial pearls; embroidery. 92x21.5 cm

Girl's headdress: headband
Upper Volga region. First half of the 19th century
Brocade, foil, pearls, turquoise, glass; embroidery, threading. 28x97.5 cm

Upper Volga region. 19th century.
Velvet, chintz, braid, metal thread; embroidery. 14x24 cm

Women's headdress: kokoshnik
Central provinces. 19th century
Brocade, galloon, mother-of-pearl, artificial pearls, glass; embroidery. 40x40 cm

Women's headdress: kokoshnik
Kostroma province. Late 18th - early 19th century.
Velvet, canvas, cotton fabric, braid, pearls, glass, metal thread; embroidery. 32x17x12 cm

Women's headdress: kokoshnik
Pskov province. Second half of the 19th century.
Brocade, white beads, canvas; embroidery. 27x26 cm

Women's headdress: kokoshnik "head"
Tver province. 19th century
Velvet, mother of pearl, beads, metal thread; weaving, embroidery. 15x20 cm

Women's headdress: warrior
Ryazan province. Early 20th century
Chintz, canvas, metallic sequins, beads; embroidery. 20x22 cm

Women's headdress: back of the head
Southern provinces. 19th century
Kumach, canvas, cotton fabric, metal thread, beads, threads; embroidery, threading. 31.5x52 cm

Women's headdress: collection
Northern provinces. Second half of the 19th century.
Canvas, calico, chintz, gilded metal thread, glass, beads; embroidery. 23x17.7 cm

Women's headdress: magpie
Voronezh province. Late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Canvas, velvet, satin, chintz, wool, metallic threads, sequins, galloon; embroidery.

Silk, metal thread, beat; embroidery. 160x77 cm

Head scarf
Nizhny Novgorod province. Second half of the 19th century.
Taffeta, metallic thread, cotton fabric; embroidery. 133x66 cm

Wallet. Late 18th century
Silk, metal thread, printed material; embroidery. 11x8 cm

Wallet in the shape of a jug
Russia. Second third of the 19th century.
Silk, cotton thread, beads, copper; Crochet. 12x6.7 cm

Necklace
Russia. Second half of the 19th century.
Beads, glass beads, linen thread, silk braid; weaving. 52x2 cm

Earrings. Russia. Second half of the 19th century.
Pearls, glass, copper, horsehair; weaving, cutting, stamping. 7.8x4.1 cm

Earrings and necklace. Russia. Late 18th - early 19th centuries.
Linen thread, mother of pearl, glass beads, pearls, copper; weaving

Chest decoration: "mushroom"
Voronezh province. Late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Woolen, metallic threads, sequins, glass beads; lowering Dl. 130 cm

Apron for women's holiday costume
Tula province. Second half of the 19th century.
Linen, lace, linen and cotton threads; embroidery, weaving. 121x105 cm

Head scarf
Russia. Second half of the 19th century. Silk thread; weaving. 100x100 cm

Head scarf Russia. 19th century Chintz; seal. 131x123 cm

Shawl Moscow province Russia. 1860 -1880s
Silk; weaving. 170x170 cm

Traditional men's and women's clothing were similar; men's and women's suits differed only in details, some elements of cut, and size. The clothes were casual and festive - richly decorated with embroidery, patterned weaving, ornamental compositions made of braid, galloon, sequins and other materials. However, in the Russian village, not all clothes were richly decorated, but only festive and ritual ones. The most beautiful, annual one, was worn only three or four times a year, on special days. They took care of it, tried not to wash it, and passed it on by inheritance.

During the warm period of the year, the main clothing for women and men was a tunic-like shirt. The men's shirt was knee-length or slightly longer, and was worn over the pants, the women's shirt was almost to the toes, and it was sewn in two parts: the lower part was made of coarser fabric, it was called stanina, and the top was made of thinner fabric. A shirt without a collar was usually worn on weekdays, and with a collar on holidays, the collar was low, in the form of a stand, and they called it an ostebka, a slit on the shirt for fastening was made on the side, rarely at the very shoulder, it went vertically down, less often obliquely, from shoulder to the middle of the chest. The shirt was fastened with buttons or tied at the collar with a ribbon; such a shirt was called a kosovorotka.

Women's shirts were usually cut to the floor (according to some authors, this is where the "hem" comes from). They were also necessarily belted, with the lower edge most often ending up in the middle of the calf. Sometimes, while working, shirts were pulled up to the knees. The shirt, which is directly adjacent to the body, was sewn with endless magical precautions, because it was supposed to not only warm, but also ward off the forces of evil, and keep the soul in the body. According to the ancients, it was necessary to “secure” all the necessary openings in finished clothing: collars, hem, sleeves. Embroidery, which contained all kinds of sacred images and magical symbols, served as a talisman here. The pagan meaning of folk embroidery can be very clearly traced from the most ancient examples to completely modern works; it is not without reason that scientists consider embroidery an important source in the study of ancient religion.

Only Russian men wore pants; in the old days, boys did not wear pants until they were 15 years old, and often until their wedding.

Slavic trousers were not made too wide: in surviving images they outline the leg. They were cut from straight panels, and a gusset was inserted between the legs (“in walking”) for ease of walking: if this detail was neglected, one would have to mince rather than walk. The pants were made approximately ankle-length and tucked into onuchi at the shins.

The trousers had no slit, and were held on the hips with the help of a lace - a “gashnik”, which was inserted under the folded and sewn top edge. The ancient Slavs first called the legs themselves, then the skin from the hind legs of the animal, and then the pants, “Gachami” or “Gaschami”. “Gacha” in the sense of “trouser leg” has survived in some places to this day. Now it’s done, the meaning of the modern expression “kept in a cache” is clear, that is, in the most secluded hiding place. Indeed, what was hidden behind the drawstring for the pants was covered not only with outer clothing, but also with a shirt, which was not tucked into the pants. Another name for leg clothing is “trousers”. They were made from canvas or cloth; elegant Russian trousers were made from black plush. In the Kama region, ports were sewn from striped motley fabric.

The national costume of Russian women was the sundress. Until the beginning of the 18th century. Representatives of the upper classes also wore it, and in later times they were preserved mainly only in the rural environment. "Sarafan is a collective term that refers to long, swinging or closed maid's clothing on hangers or sewn-on straps. Presumably the word "sarafan" comes from the Iranian "sarapa" - dressed from head to toe. The first mentions of this type of clothing in Russian sources refer approximately to 1376, where the sarafan is spoken of as a men's shoulder-length, narrow-cut garment with long sleeves."

As a women's (girl's) clothing, the sundress became universally known in Russia starting from the 17th century. Then it was a one-piece, blind dress with sleeves or sleeveless, worn over the head. The sundress with straps became known only after the 17th century. Since the 19th century. and until the 20s of the twentieth century. The sundress served as festive, everyday, work clothes for the peasantry. Festive sundresses were made from more expensive fabrics, while everyday sundresses were made mainly from homespun.

A huge variety of types of sundresses is known, and several varieties could exist simultaneously in each province. All types can be divided into four large groups according to design (cut), starting with the most ancient.

A blind oblique sundress, known in different provinces under the names Sayan, Feryaz, Capercaillie, Sukman, Dubas. Initially, this type of sundress had a tunic-like cut, in which the front and back of the sundress were formed from one piece of fabric, folded in half. A round or rectangular neckline was cut along the fold, sometimes complemented by a small chest slit in the front center. Numerous longitudinal wedges were placed on the sides. Such sundresses were mainly made from homespun fabric - red cloth, homemade black and blue wool - as well as white and blue canvas. Such sundresses were decorated with linings of calico or painted canvas on the neckline, armholes and hem.

Gradually, the tunic-shaped cut practically ceased to be used, and the swinging oblique sundress, made up of three straight panels of fabric - two at the front and one at the back, became very popular. Golovevy sarafan, kitaeshnik, chinese, kletovnik from 4-6 straight panels of checkered homespun, klinnik, krasik, circular, kumashnik. Sundresses of this type were made from a variety of fabrics: home-produced canvas and wool of different colors, calico print, taffeta, damask silk, brocade, nanka, Chinese, and other cotton fabrics. The decorations of such sundresses were also very diverse: lace, red cord, beads, damask, braided, satin stripes located along the lower edge of the hem or along the fastener on the straps.

The most common type, widely used in almost the entire territory of Russian residence, was the round (straight) sundress - satin, asian, dolnik, inflate, rytnik. It was made up of 4-8 straight panels of fabric (mostly factory-made) and was a high, wide skirt, gathered at the chest, with a small fastener in the center in the front or under the left side strap. This sundress had narrow sewn straps. It was very easy to sew, the fabric was light compared to canvas, so it quickly became popular and replaced the slanted sundress. Everyday sundresses of this type were made from checkered homespun motley or factory fabric in dark colors, while festive ones were made from printed material, bright chintz or satin, calico, silk, brocade and other materials. Round sundresses were decorated along the hem and chest with braided stripes, fringe, silk ribbons, braid, and even appliqués.

Less common, which was a unique version of a round sundress, was a sundress with a bodice, consisting of two parts. The first is a fluffy gathered skirt made of several straight panels, the second is a bodice with narrow straps, tightly fitting the chest, it was sewn (partially or completely) to the fluffy skirt.

In addition, in some regions a high skirt (under the chest) without straps was also called a sundress.

Having briefly described the main types of sundresses that existed on the territory of our country by the end of the 19th century, let us consider what existed in the Kama region.

Several varieties of sundress have been noted in the Kama region. The earliest type of sundress should be considered a “blank” sundress, in the early versions - a tunic cut. In the XVIII - XIX centuries. The most common type of sundress was the side-sloping sundress.

In addition to the sundress, in the Kama region almost everywhere the word dubas was used to designate this type of clothing. This term mainly referred to older types of sundresses, most often slanted or made of homespun canvas. “Written documents report that until the 17th century, sundresses and dubass differed only in material; dubassas were made from dyed canvas, and sundresses from purchased fabrics. The festive sundress was trimmed with ribbons and lace and worn with a shirt made of very thin canvas, and those who had the opportunity , - from purchased fabrics. The earliest among the peoples of the Kama region was a blind sundress - dubas. Old dubass were sewn slanted, with a full-length front seam and wide armholes. To this day, dubas has been preserved only by the Old Believers as part of a prayer costume, and they are now sewn from dark satin"

Outerwear

In winter and summer, men and women wore single-breasted caftans; women had a clasp on the right side, and men had a clasp on the left; they were called ponitkas, shaburs, Siberians, Armenians or Azys; despite their typological similarity, they differed in cut details. Ponitki were sewn from homemade cloth - ponitochina, with a straight front and back at the waist, sometimes with gathers or wedges on the sides. A thread covered with canvas or factory fabric was called a gunya, sometimes for greater warmth they were quilted with a tow; gunis were used as festive and everyday clothing. Weekend gunis were covered with painted canvas, and workers, from rough canvas, called sermyaks or shaburs, sewed them from blue canvas for everyday wear and from factory fabrics for holidays. They had a cut-off waist, at first wide pleats - plastic, later fluffy gathers. The front of the shabura was straight, the flaps were fastened with hooks, and it was sewn on a canvas lining, which was sewn only on the chest.

Sheepskin clothing has long been common in the Urals; people wore covered and naked fur coats. Fur coats were covered with canvas, cloth, and rich people covered them with imported expensive material. They were sewn in the old-fashioned way - at the waist and with gathers. Women's fur coats, covered with silk and with collars made of squirrel or sable fur, looked especially elegant.

Travel clothes were sheepskin coats and zipuns. Zipuns were sewn from canvas or gray cloth, they were worn over a thread or a fur coat.

Russian peasants also had clothes specially designed for work and household chores. Men hunters and fishermen wore luzans; Russians borrowed this type of clothing from the Komi-Permyaks and Mansi. A specially woven cross-striped fabric was folded in half and a hole was cut along the fold for the head, the lower ends were secured with ropes at the waist. Canvas was hemmed under the panels at the front and back, and the resulting bags were used to store and carry accessories and loot. For household work in the field and at home, men and women wore blind cuffs of a tunic-like cut with long sleeves over their clothes; the linen of canvas went down to the knees in front, and to the waist in the back.

Belts were an obligatory part of men's and women's costumes; in the northern regions they were also called hemlines or girdles. “Religious beliefs prohibited wearing clothes without a belt, hence the expression “without a cross and a belt,” “unbelted,” meaning that a person’s behavior does not correspond to generally accepted norms of behavior.” Underwear, sundress and outerwear must be belted. Women typically wore a woven or cloth belt, while men wore a leather belt. The woven belts for girdling the shirt were narrow - gazniks, and outer clothing was tied with wide sashes. There were two ways to tie a belt: high under the chest or low under the stomach (“under the belly”). Women tied the belt on the left side, and the man on the right. The belts were decorated with geometric patterns - in addition to decoration, this served as a talisman.

Hats

Russian headdresses varied in shape. The main material was fur (usually sheepskin), wool in the form of felt and cloth, and less often other fabrics; they were shaped like a cone, cylinder or hemisphere. Felted hats were called hats, or horse hats. Semicircular headdresses also include the triukh - a fur hat with earmuffs. Later, caps with visors on the band became widespread.

Women's headdresses were more varied, but all their diversity comes down to several types: a scarf, a hat, a cap and a maiden's crown. Religious beliefs required a married woman to carefully hide her hair from prying eyes. It was considered a great sin and disgrace to “expose” even a strand of hair. “They punished with general contempt those who “fouled” a woman or tried to do so; Northern Russian residents used to even have trials of those who “cossified” a woman by tearing off her cap from her head.”

Married women wore their hair around their heads, and their headdress was a kokoshnik, which was decorated with gold embroidery, pearls or beads. At the same time as kokoshniks, there were also warriors, shamshurs, collections - all these are varieties of caps. The warriors sewed from thin fabric in the form of caps with a chintz lining, and shamshurs had a quilted top on a canvas base. The back of the warrior was decorated with lush floral patterns. Married women always wore a scarf or shawl over small headdresses that hid their hair.

The headscarf worn by Russian women is the result of the development of the oriental veil. The manner of tying a scarf under the chin came to Rus' in the 16th-17th centuries, and they learned it from the Germans.

Animal skins, tanned leather, less often fur, tree bark, and hemp rope were used as materials for making shoes. The oldest among Russians should be considered leather shoes, which were not sewn, but wrinkled - they tied a piece of leather with ropes so that folds formed on the sides and tied it to the foot with a long rope. Such shoes are considered a direct continuation of ancient shoes, when the skin of a small animal was tied to the foot. These shoes were called pistons.

Leather shoes similar to pistons, but not wrinkled, but sewn, with a hemmed sole, are called cats; they were worn by both women and men both on weekdays and on holidays. Their name comes from the word “roll”, since they were originally rolled from wool.

The Russians first sewed leather shoes with high tops - boots (chebots) - without heels, which were replaced by a small iron shoe on the heel; they also wore shoe covers - the sole was sewn to them from the inside, they were wide and awkward.

All the types of shoes described above were worn by both men and women. Special women's shoes include shoes - slippers - with a low top.

The most common shoes can be considered bast shoes, which are known everywhere in the region. These are shoes woven from tree bast, like sandals, which were tied to the foot with long cords (supports); for warmth, an edge was sewn or tied to the bast shoes - a strip of canvas fabric. In rainy weather, a small plank was tied to the bast shoes - the sole. With bast shoes and other low shoes they wore onuchi - long narrow strips of fabric made of wool or hemp. This fabric was wrapped around the foot and shin up to the knee, and on top of it they wrapped the leg crosswise with long laces - extinguishers. Onuchi was made from white canvas of average quality. Bast was prepared in the summer and stored in reels, and on long winter evenings the head of the family wove bast shoes for the whole family, using a tool called kochedyk. On average, one pair of bast shoes wore out in three to four days.

Felted shoes appeared among the Russians at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries. Wool was used to roll boots, felt boots, and chuni; leather soles were often sewn onto these shoes for strength.

Baby suit

The very first diaper for a newborn was most often the shirt of the father (boy) or mother (girl). Subsequently, they tried to cut children's clothes not from newly woven fabric, but from the old clothes of their parents. They did this not out of stinginess, not out of poverty, and not even because the soft, washed material does not irritate the baby’s delicate skin. The whole secret, according to the beliefs of our ancestors, is in the sacred power, or, in today’s terms, in the biofield of the parents, which can protect their child from damage and the evil eye.

Children's clothing of the ancient Slavs was the same for girls and boys and consisted of one long, toe-length, linen shirt. Children received the right to “adult” clothes only after initiation rites.

This tradition lasted for an exceptionally long time in the Slavic environment, especially in the villages, which were little exposed to fashion trends. Over the centuries, the ancient ritual of transition from the category of “children” to the category of “youth” was lost; many of its elements became part of the wedding ceremony. So, back in the 19th century, in some regions of Russia, fully grown boys and girls sometimes wore children’s clothing before their wedding - a shirt held with a belt. In a number of other places, the child’s clothing was an ordinary peasant costume, only in miniature. Loving mothers always tried to decorate children's clothes - the collars, sleeves and hem of the shirt were covered with abundant embroidery. This is understandable, since in ancient times it had a protective meaning. “A girl under 15 years old, and more often before marriage, wore a belted shirt, and on holidays they put an apron with sleeves on top - shushpan.”

Girls put on a sundress only after getting married; there was a whole ritual of unbraiding their hair and changing into a sundress.

A girl's headdress differed from a woman's one in that girls did not need to cover their hair, they did not hide their braids; uncovered hair was considered an indicator of the girl’s “purity.” Girls wore a bandage, a crown or a headband, poor girls wore a bandage made of motley hair, and richer girls wore a silk bandage decorated with embroidery or beads. Bandages and ribbons only framed the head, and only wedding headdresses - crowns - completely covered the head.

Men's clothing

Shirt-blouse

The basis of men's clothing was the shirt or undershirt. The first known Russian men's shirts (XVI-XVII centuries) had square gussets under the arms and triangular gussets on the sides of the belt. Shirts were made from linen and cotton fabrics, as well as silk. The wrist sleeves are narrow. The length of the sleeve probably depended on the purpose of the shirt. The collar was either absent (just a round neck), or in the form of a stand, round or quadrangular (“square”), with a base in the form of leather or birch bark, 2.5-4 cm high; fastened with a button. The presence of a collar implied a cut in the middle of the chest or on the left (kosovorotka), with buttons or ties.

In folk costume, the shirt was the outer garment, and in the costume of the nobility it was the underwear. At home the boyars wore maid shirt- it was always silk.

The colors of the shirts are different: most often white, blue and red. They were worn untucked and girded with a narrow belt. A lining was sewn onto the back and chest of the shirt, which was called background.

Zep is a type of pocket.

They were tucked into boots or onuchi with bast shoes. There's a diamond-shaped gusset in the step. A belt-gashnik is threaded into the upper part (from here cache- a bag behind the belt), a cord or rope for tying.

Outerwear

Zipun. Front and back view

Ports. Front and back view

Andrey Ryabushkin “Granted a fur coat from the royal shoulder.” 1902.

Over the shirt, men wore a zipun made from homemade cloth. Rich people wore a caftan over their zipun. Over the caftan, boyars and nobles wore a feryaz, or okhaben. In the summer, a single-row jacket was worn over the caftan. The peasant outerwear was the armyak.

Two main types of Russian women's costume - sarafan (northern) and ponyovny (southern) complexes:

• Zapona
• Privoloka is a sleeveless cape.

Outerwear

Women's outerwear was not belted and was buttoned from top to bottom. Women's outerwear was a long cloth opashen, with frequent buttons, decorated at the edges with silk or gold embroidery, and the long sleeves of the opashen hung, and the arms were threaded through special slits; all this was covered with soul warmers or padded warmers and fur coats. Telogreys, if worn over the head, were called overhead ones.

Noble women loved to wear fur coats- a female type of fur coat. The fur coat was similar to the summer coat, but differed from it in the shape of the sleeves. The decorative sleeves of the fur coat were long and folding. The arms were threaded through special slots under the sleeves. If a fur coat was worn in sleeves, then the sleeves were gathered into transverse gathers. A round fur collar was attached to the fur coat.

Women wore boots and shoes. Shoes were made from velvet, brocade, leather, initially with soft soles, and from the 16th century - with heels. The heel on women's shoes could reach 10 cm.

Fabrics

The main fabrics were: horse and linen, cloth, silk and velvet. Kindyak - lining fabric.

The clothes of the nobility were made from expensive imported fabrics: taffeta, damask (kufter), brocade (altabas and aksamite), velvet (regular, dug, gold), roads, obyar (moiré with gold or silver pattern), satin, konovat, kurshit, kutnya (Bukhara half-wool fabric). Cotton fabrics (Chinese, calico), satin (later satin), calico. Motley is a fabric made of multi-colored threads (semi-silk or canvas).

Clothes colors

Fabrics of bright colors were used: green, crimson, lilac, blue, pink and variegated. Most often: white, blue and red.

Other colors found in the inventories of the Armory: scarlet, white, white grape, crimson, lingonberry, cornflower blue, cherry, clove, smoky, erebel, hot, yellow, grass, cinnamon, nettle, red-cherry, brick, azure, lemon, lemon Moscow paint, poppy, aspen, fiery, sand, praselen, ore yellow, sugar, gray, straw, light green, light brick, light gray, gray-hot, light tsenin, tausin (dark purple) , dark clove, dark gray, worm-like, saffron, valuable, forelock, dark lemon, dark nettle, dark purple.

Later black fabrics appeared. Since the end of the 17th century, black began to be considered a mourning color.

Decorations

Andrey Ryabushkin. A merchant's family in the 17th century. 1896
Large buttons on women's clothing; on men's clothing there are patches with two button sockets. Lace at the hem.

The cut of the clothing remains unchanged. The clothes of rich people are distinguished by a wealth of fabrics, embroidery, and decorations. They sewed along the edges of the clothes and along the hem lace- wide border made of colored fabric with embroidery.

The following decorations are used: buttons, stripes, removable necklace collars, sleeves, cufflinks. Cufflinks - buckle, clasp, forged plaque with precious stones. Arms, wrists - cuffs, a kind of bracelet.

All this was called an outfit, or the shell of a dress. Without decorations, clothes were called clean.

Buttons

Buttons were made from different materials, different shapes and sizes. The wooden (or other) base of the button was trimmed with taffeta, entwined, covered with gold thread, spun gold or silver, and trimmed with small pearls. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, diamond buttons appeared.

Metal buttons were decorated with enamel, precious stones, and gold. Shapes of metal buttons: round, four- and octagonal, slotted, half-shaped, senchaty, twisted, pear-shaped, in the form of a cone, a lion's head, crucian carp, and others.

Klyapyshi is a type of button in the form of a bar or stick.

Patches

Stripes are transverse stripes according to the number of buttons, sometimes with ties in the form of tassels. Each patch had a buttonhole, so later the patches came to be called buttonholes. Until the 17th century, stripes were called patterns.

The patches were made from braid three inches long and half or up to one inch wide. They were sewn on both sides of the clothing. The rich outfit has stripes made of gold fabrics. The braid of the stripes was decorated with patterns in the form of herbs, flowers, etc.

The stripes were placed on the chest to the waist. In some suits, stripes were placed along the entire length of the cut - to the hem, and along the holes - on the side cutouts. The stripes were placed at equal distances from each other or in groups.

Patches could be made in the form of knots - a special weaving of cord in the form of knots at the ends.

In the 17th century, Kyzylbash stripes were very popular. Kyzylbash masters lived in Moscow: master of patchwork Mamadaley Anatov, master of silk and weaving master Sheban Ivanov with 6 comrades. Having trained Russian masters, Mamadaley Anatov left Moscow in May 1662.

Necklace

Necklace - an elegant collar in clothes made of satin, velvet, brocade embroidered with pearls or stones, fastened to a caftan, fur coat, etc. The collar is stand-up or turn-down.

Other decorations

Accessories

The men's costume of the nobility was complemented by mittens with gauntlets. Mittens could have rich embroidery. Gloves (pepper sleeves) appeared in Rus' in the 16th century. A wicket bag was hung from the belt. On ceremonial occasions, a staff was held in the hand. The clothes were belted with a wide sash or belt. In the 17th century they began to often wear trump- high stand-up collar.

Flasks (flasks) were worn on a sling. The flask could contain a watch. The baldric is a gold chain sewn to a satin stripe.

Women wore fly- a scarf cut across the entire width of the fabric, sleeves (fur muffs) and a large amount of jewelry.

see also

Notes

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Russian weight buttons - classification, history, material, drawings and their magical meaning.
• Materials on the history of Russian clothing and the environment of folk life: in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg: Type. Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1881-1885. on the Runiverse website

Literature

1. Ancient clothing of the peoples of Eastern Europe. M., 1996
2. Pushkareva N. L. Women of ancient Rus'. M., “Thought”, I999
3. Ancient Rus'. Life and culture. Archeology. M.,"Science", 1997
4. Kud L.N. Costume and jewelry of an ancient Russian woman. Kiev, 1994
5. Braichevskaya E. A. Chronicle data about ancient Russian men's costume of the X-XIII centuries // In the book. Lands of Southern Rus' in the IX-XIV centuries. Kyiv, “Naukova Dumka”, 1995
6. Gilyarovskaya N. Russian historical costume for the stage. M.,-L., “Art”, 1945
7. On the routes from the Perm Land to Siberia: essays on the ethnography of the North Ural peasantry of the 17th-20th centuries. M.: Nauka, 1989. ISBN 5020099554
8. Ethnography of the Russian peasantry of Siberia. XVII-mid XIX century. M.: Nauka, 1981.
9. Ivan Zabelin."Home life of Russian tsars in the 16th and 17th centuries." Publishing house Transitbook. Moscow. 2005

The national costume of every nation is an amazing phenomenon that reflects the peculiarities of the culture of the people, their history. It helps to better understand the essence of the mentality of the indigenous people. In the end, it is always very beautiful and educational.

One of the most interesting and unusual national costumes is Russian folk costume. At the mere mention of him, an association immediately arises: a luxurious Russian beauty with a braid to the waist, in a kokoshnik embroidered with precious stones, in a patterned sundress and a young man with light brown hair, in a shirt, in bast shoes. Beauty!

But, to everyone’s shame, few people know the history of the origin of Russian folk costume. Well, let's correct this fact?

History of Russian costume

Russian costume is a very complex, multifaceted phenomenon. It expressed the Russian man’s desire for beauty and for improving his life. This is an object of material culture. When creating it, a variety of applied arts and crafts, developed in Rus', were used:

weaving craft;

the art of embroidery;

knitting craft, the art of making lace;

jewelry art (many elements of costumes were decorated, for example, with carved buttons made of silver and gold, kokoshniks with precious stones, etc.).

That's how many connections the Russian national costume has! And these are just the main ones. The art of sewing, drawing (sketches were used to sew the costumes of the nobility) and much more are not mentioned.

Traditionally, the Russian costume had several distinctive features:

all clothing was divided into swing (that is, fastened with buttons or special hooks) and cape (it was worn, like today's T-shirts, over the head);

Russian folk costume is characterized by a large number of outerwear - various capes, epanchas, fur coats, etc.;

there is a well-known theory: “Moscow is the third Rome”; It is not surprising because of this that many items of clothing, individual elements, jewelry, and methods of making costumes came from the Byzantine Empire and, of course, from Poland, close to Rus' - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The formation of the Russian national costume ended around the 17th century. After this, changes began related to the reforms of Emperor Peter I. As is known, this sovereign was very keen to “open a window to Europe”, and in connection with this he reformed not only the traditional way of life, but also even encroached on the “holy of holies” - on national Russian costume. Thus, with Peter’s rise to power, traditional Russian clothing could only be worn by certain classes, mostly of low status:

peasants;

monasticism;

clergy.

Interesting! Before Peter’s reform, there was even a decree “On the Protection of National Identity” of 1675. According to him, for example, Moscow nobles did not have the right to wear clothes of foreign origin. Their servants, stewards, and many others did not have the right to this.

With the arrival of Peter I, serious changes began. A fashion appeared that did not exist before: there was only ceremonial, elegant, inherited clothing, and there was everyday clothing. Its styles did not change for decades, or changed so little that it was not even noticeable.

With the reform, the following national European costumes began to replace each other:

Hungarian;

French;

German - it lasted the longest in the history of Russian fashion and was able to almost completely supplant the national costume.

By the way, for entering cities in Russian clothes (as well as with a beard), a tax was imposed - up to 2 rubles, if the person entering was on horseback.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian national costume became mostly peasant clothing. Today, the national costume is used more often at thematic events and is not worn “in everyday life.” This is a negative trend, because in Asian countries, for example, in Japan, almost all brides still get married in a traditional white kimono; yukata - a summer version of a simple cotton kimono - is also worn in everyday life, for example, instead of a bathrobe at hot springs, in hotels, on vacation. You can go out into the city in a yukata and it will look completely natural. In Russia, unfortunately, such national identity has been preserved to a much lesser extent.

Women's Russian folk costume

Women's Russian folk costume was distinguished by its amazing beauty, greater brightness and aesthetics, and luxurious decoration than men's. And this is not surprising, because a woman in Rus' has always been the personification of grace, tenderness, she was the keeper of the hearth, a source of inspiration and admiration. Therefore, even the clothes of commoners were richly decorated with embroidery, remaining bright and beautiful.

Traditionally, the sundress costume tradition has been more popular and interesting. As you can understand, the basis of the costume was a sundress - women's clothing that resembles a dress, but without sleeves. The following cut options for Russian women's national sundresses have been preserved:

tunic-shaped (the simplest and “straightest” version of the sundress);

oblique - with a wide fluffy skirt;

straight - a sundress, the skirt of which was a piece of fabric sewn along the side seam with straps and without a bodice;

straight with bodice;

straight with a bodice on a yoke - a very beautiful, elegant sundress, which was even called a “half-dress”, it was so spectacular.

Cotton, linen, chintz, and, less commonly, wool were popular for sewing sundresses. The nobility could afford luxurious fabrics such as brocade or silk. Sundresses were richly decorated with embroidery, lace, and buttons. Very beautiful and spectacular elegant sundresses can be seen in the “” section.

A shirt was always worn under the sundress - the main clothing of a woman, which was worn whenever, but not in front of guests. The nobility could afford “maids,” that is, homemade, richly decorated shirts that were worn only in the upper room.

Both peasant women and nobles wore fur coats, soul warmers, letniks and other outerwear. The nobility could afford a fur coat - a lightweight women's version of a fur coat with a beautiful fur collar.

Clothes were mainly made from white and black, brown, yellow, brown and other fabrics. The most popular festive and elegant color was, of course, red - even wedding dresses were most often made from red “fine” fabrics. And everyday clothes were carefully embroidered and decorated. Ceremonial outfits could be decorated with gold and silver threads, pearls and other jewelry.

A distinctive feature of women's folk costume was a wide variety of headdresses. For example, in addition to the famous kokoshnik, there was a magpie, a kichka, an ochipok (wedding headdress) and a horned “kichka” cap, or kika, which could only be worn by married women on holidays. Kika completely covered her hair and was therefore very richly decorated.

Men's Russian folk costume

The men's national costume in Rus' was much less impressive than the women's. Its basis was a shirt, which peasants wore as outerwear, but nobles wore as underwear.

They sewed shirts with or without a collar (kosovorotki) from different fabrics. The most popular were:

Interesting! Like rich women, noble men had maid shirts that were made only from silk.

Shirts could be simple, without decoration, but most often they were richly embroidered with bright threads. You can look at these in the “” section, where the best examples of traditional embroidery on men’s national clothing are collected.

In addition to the blouse, in everyday life men wore portas, trousers or gachas, onuchi, boots and bast shoes, and belted their shirts with a narrow belt.

There was a great variety of outerwear and hats. Some of them, for example, a small cap like a skullcap, tafya, were not even taken off in church.

Children's Russian folk costume

The basis of children's Russian folk costume was also a shirt. Moreover, it was believed that a boy’s first shirt should be his father’s worn shirt, and a girl’s should be her mother’s. Visually, children's clothing was no different: they were shirts with embroidery.

Features and significance of the details of the Russian costume

The Russian national costume is a truly colorful outfit, where every detail had its own meaning.

The costume was never worn just like that, it was symbolic. Here are just the most basic meanings of its main details:

Embroidery served as a kind of amulet against evil forces, so even everyday and mourning clothes were always beautifully embroidered. Only the widow's shirts and sundresses were not embroidered.

It is interesting that the image of a rhombus has always dominated in embroidery - the Russians associated it with the sun and happiness. Embroidery has always had a sacred meaning.

Headdresses for married ladies and unmarried girls were very different - for example, girls decorated their hair with ribbons, hoops, scarves, while married ladies always completely covered their hair on the street. Kokoshnik could only be worn by married women on holiday.

A festive outfit could include up to 20 items of clothing (for women), while a casual outfit could include up to 7.

This video can introduce you in more detail to the features of Russian costume: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_mkyZVpSGE.

Features of Russian clothing by region

Russian national costume varied greatly depending on the region. There were two main traditions of Russian costume:

Northern. These are traditional Russian sundresses, kokoshniks, kosovorotkas, luxurious fur coats and padded jackets. This is the most famous “version” of the Russian national costume.

Southern. This is perhaps the traditional Cossack culture. For example, women here did not wear sundresses, but ponevs - these are special skirts made of cloth, cotton, linen or silk, which the girl could wear only when she reached the age of the bride and underwent a special ritual of “jumping into the poneva.”

Interestingly, men's costume in the north and south of Russia was quite similar, while women's costume was almost completely different.

Interesting facts about Russian costume:

Russian flavor of world fashion

Today the “Russian trace” is very significant in world fashion. He inspires famous designers to create luxurious masterpieces of high fashion and revive elements of the national Russian costume.

So, over the years, elements of the Russian style were addressed:

Pierre Cardin;

• Karl Lagerfeld (he dressed the models in traditional kokoshniks, like those that can be found in the “” section);

John Galliano (for Dior; he created the Russian Ballet collection, where he presented a kimono made in the traditional Russian style), etc.

Russian cultural heritage, in particular, the national costume, inspires Western couturiers, and modern Russian designers, through the prism of changing fashion, are increasingly seeking to rethink the difficult history of their homeland.