Russian folk costume: history and modernity. Russian folk costume for men, women and children. Russian folk Russian costume Cats in Russian costume

For many centuries, Russian national clothing has preserved the cultural values ​​of our people. The costume conveys the traditions and customs of the ancestors. Spacious cut, simple style, but beautifully and lovingly decorated details of the clothing convey the breadth of soul and flavor of the Russian land. It is not for nothing that the revival of Russian origins can now be seen in modern fashion collections.

The clothing of the ancient Slavs is the national dress of the population of Rus' until the reign of Peter I. The style, decoration, and image of the costume were formed under the influence of:

• The main activity of the population (farming, cattle breeding);
• Natural conditions;
• Geographical location;
• Relations with Byzantium and Western Europe.

The clothes of the Slavs were made from natural fibers (cotton, wool, linen), had a simple cut and length to the toes. The nobles wore bright colors (green, crimson, scarlet, azure), and the decorations were the most luxurious:

• Silk embroidery;
• Russian embroidery with gold and silver thread;
• Decoration with stones, beads, pearls;
• Fur decoration.

The image of clothing of Ancient Rus' began to emerge in ancient times, in the 14th century. It was worn by the tsar, boyars, and peasants until the 17th century.

Period 15-17 centuries. The Russian national costume retains its originality and acquires a more intricate cut. Under the influence of Polish culture, swinging and fitted clothing appeared among the Eastern Slavs. Velvet and silk fabrics are used. The noble princely and boyar classes had more expensive and multi-layered outfits.

Late 17th century. Peter I issues decrees prohibiting the wearing of national costumes by the nobility. These decrees did not apply only to priests and peasants. The decree prohibited sewing and selling Russian costumes, for which fines and even confiscation of property were provided. They were published by the Russian monarch in order to adopt European culture and strengthen relations with Europe. This measure of instilling someone else's taste had a negative impact on national development.

Second half of the 18th century. Catherine II tried to return Russian originality to the costumes of the European-style nobility. This was manifested in the fabrics and splendor of the outfits.

Patriotic War of the 19th century. The patriotic spirit of the population is rising, which has returned interest in the national clothing of the Russian people. Noble young ladies began to wear sundresses and kokoshniks. The outfits were made from brocade and muslin.

20th century. Due to strained relations with suppliers from Europe, there was a return to the clothing style of Ancient Rus'. This manifested itself in fashion trends with elements of Russian style.

Kinds

Ancient Russian national clothing was very diverse and was divided into festive and everyday attire. It also varied depending on the region, social class of the owner, age, marital status and type of activity. But some features of the costume distinguished it from the clothing of other nationalities.

Features of Russian national clothing:

1. Multi-layered, especially among the nobility and women;
2. Loose fit. For convenience, they were supplemented with fabric inserts;
3. A belt was tied to decorate and hold clothing. The ornament embroidered on it was a talisman;
4. Clothes made in Rus' were all decorated with embroidery and carried a sacred meaning, protecting them from the evil eye;
5. By the pattern one could find out about the owner's age, gender, nobility;
6. Festive outfits were made from bright fabrics and richly decorated with trim;
7. There was always a headdress on the head, sometimes in several layers (for married women);
8. Each Slav had a set of ritual clothing, which was richer and more colorfully decorated. They wore it several times a year and tried not to wash it.

The decoration of Russian clothing contains information about the clan, family, customs, and occupations. The more expensive the fabrics and decoration of the suit, the more noble and rich the owner was considered.

Noble

The outfits of the princely and boyar classes maintained the Russian style in clothing until the end of the 17th century. Traditionally, it was distinguished by luxury and layering. Even the growth of territories and turbulent international relations did not change the national identity of ancient Russian clothing. And the boyars and nobles themselves stubbornly did not accept European fashion trends.

During the period of the 16th and early 17th centuries, the costume of the nobility became more diverse, which cannot be said about peasant clothing, which did not change for many centuries. The more layers there were in the outfit, the richer and more noble the owner was considered. The weight of the dress sometimes reached 15 kg or more. Even the heat did not cancel this rule. They wore long, wide clothes, sometimes open with a slit in the front. The outfits that emphasized the waist were beautiful. Ancient Russian women's clothing reached a mass of 15-20 kg, which made women move smoothly and majestically. This kind of gait was the female ideal.

Old Russian clothing of princes and boyars was made from expensive fabrics imported from Italy, England, Holland, Turkey, Iran, and Byzantium. Rich materials - velvet, satin, taffeta, brocade, calico, satin - were in bright colors. They were decorated with sewing, embroidery, precious stones, and pearls.

Peasant

Clothing of ancient Rus' is one of the ancient types of folk art. Through decorative and applied arts, craftswomen passed on the traditions and origins of Russian culture. The clothing of Russian peasants, although simple, created a harmonious image, complemented by jewelry, shoes, and headdress.

The main materials for sewing were homespun canvas or woolen fabrics of simple weaving. Since the mid-19th century, factory-made fabrics with bright colored patterns (silk, satin, calico, satin, chintz) have appeared.

Peasant clothing was highly valued; it was taken care of, altered and worn almost to the point of disrepair. Festive clothes were kept in chests and passed from parents to children. She wore it rarely, 3-4 times a year, and they tried not to wash it.

After long days of work in the field or with livestock, the long-awaited holiday came. On this day, the peasants put on their best clothes. Beautifully decorated, it could tell about the owner, his marital status, the area where he came from. The embroidery depicted the sun, stars, birds, animals, and people. The ornament not only decorated, but also protected from evil spirits. Russian patterns on clothes were embroidered on the edges of the product: neck or collar, cuffs, hem.

All costumes differed from each other in color, style and decoration. And they conveyed the natural features of their native land.

Military

The Russian professional army did not always have uniform uniforms. In ancient Rus', warriors did not have a single uniform. Protective equipment was selected depending on financial capabilities and methods of combat. Therefore, even in small squads, the clothes and armor of Russian heroes were different.

In ancient times, under protective gear, men wore a cotton or linen shirt, belted at the waist. On the legs were canvas harem pants (ports), which were gathered not only at the waist, but also at the ankles and under the knees. They wore boots made from a single piece of leather. Later, nagovitsa appeared - iron stockings to protect the legs in battle, and for the hands - bracers (metal gloves).

The main armor until the 17th century was chain mail made of metal rings. It resembled a long-skirted shirt with short sleeves. Her weight was 6-12 kg. Afterwards, other types of body protection appeared:

• Baidana (larger, thinner rings) weighing up to 6 kg;
• “Plate armor” - metal plates 3 mm thick were attached to a leather or fabric base;
• “Scaly armor” was also attached to the base, but resembled fish scales.

The armor of the warriors was supplemented on the head with a metal helmet with a spire. It could be supplemented with a half mask and aventail (chain mail mesh that protected the neck and shoulders). In Rus' in the 16th century, tegilai (quilted shell) appeared. This is an elongated quilted caftan with a thick layer of cotton wool or hemp. It had short sleeves, a stand-up collar, and metal plates sewn onto the chest. It was more often worn by poor wars. Such protective armor of Russian warriors existed until the 17th century.

Details and their meaning in clothing

Across the vast Russian territory, national clothing varied, sometimes even significantly. This can be seen in photographs and in museums. The depiction of people in Russian attire in the paintings conveys all the versatility and originality of ancient Rus'. The skillfully made jewelry of the craftswomen amazes with the complexity of the work.

Each region was famous for its decorative arts. If the nobility tried to have rich and original clothes that were not repeated by anyone, then the peasants decorated them with embroidery of natural motifs and invested their love for mother earth.

Male

The basis of ancient Russian men's clothing was a shirt and trousers. All men wore them. The nobility made them from expensive material with rich embroidery. The peasants had them made from homespun material.

Until the 17th century, trousers were wide, but later they became narrower and tied with a cord at the waist and ankles. The pants were tucked into the shoes. The nobility wore 2 pairs of trousers. The upper ones were often made of silk or cloth. In winter they were covered with fur.

Shirt

Another obligatory clothing of ancient Rus' for men was a shirt. For rich people it was an underwear item, and peasants wore it when going out without outer clothing (caftan, zipun). The shirt had a slit at the neck in the front or side, usually on the left (kosovorotka). The trim on the neck and cuffs was usually made of expensive fabric, embroidered or decorated with braid. Bright designs on the braid were in the form of plant patterns. The shirt was tied with silk or woolen cord, sometimes with tassels, and worn for graduation. Young people on the belt, older people - lower, making an overlap above the waist. He played the role of a pocket. Shirts were made from linen, silk, and satin fabric.

Zipun

A zipun was worn over the shirt. It was knee-length, with a belt and buttoned end-to-end. The narrow sleeves were fastened at the cuffs with buttons. A beautifully decorated collar was attached to the neckline. Zipun was most often worn at home, but young people sometimes wore it outside.

Kaftan

The nobles wore a caftan when going out. There were many styles, the common length being below the knees.

• More often the caftan was long, not fitted, with long sleeves. Butt fastened with 6-8 buttons. This ancient Russian clothing was decorated with a standing collar, decorated with embroidery and stones;
• They also wore a homemade wraparound caftan with buttons, metal or wood. In rich houses, gold buttons were used. Long sleeves were rolled up, but elbow-length options were more comfortable;
• Another style of caftan - chucha - was worn for riding. It had side slits and cropped sleeves for comfort;
• Polish culture in the 17th century influenced the appearance of the caftan, which fit tightly to the figure and flared below the waist. The long sleeves were voluminous at the shoulder and tapered greatly below the elbow.

The nobleman also had ceremonial clothing, its names were a cloak or a feryaz, which was worn over a caftan. The length of the outfits reached the calves or the floor; the dress itself was trimmed with fur or decorated with a fur collar. The wide shawl was fastened with one button. To sew the outfit, dark green, dark blue cloth or gold brocade was used.

Fur coat

If the caftan and furyaz were inaccessible to the peasants, then almost all segments of the population had a fur coat. Fur coats were made with the fur inside, expensive and not very expensive. Voluminous ones with large sleeves reached to the ground or were below the knees. Peasants wore hare and sheep fur coats. And rich, noble people sewed them from the skins of sable, marten, fox, and arctic fox.

Headdress

A mandatory attribute of Russian clothing was a fur hat, reminiscent of a high cap. Among the nobility, it was decorated with embroidery with gold thread. At home, boyars and nobles wore tafya, similar to a skullcap. When going outside, they put on a murmolka and a cap made of expensive fabric with a fur trim over the tafya.

Shoes

The most common footwear among peasants is bast shoes. Not everyone had leather boots, so they were very much appreciated. Instead of boots, peasants wrapped their feet tightly in cloth and sewed leather onto their feet. Boyars, princes, and nobles had the most common footwear in ancient Rus' - boots. The toes are usually turned up. Shoes were made from colored brocade, morocco and decorated with multi-colored stones.

Women's clothing

The main women's ancient Russian clothing was a shirt, a sundress, and a poneva. The formation of the folk costume of the southern regions of ancient Rus' was influenced by Ukrainian and Belarusian culture. The women's outfit consisted of a canvas shirt and a poneva (swinging skirt). On top, women put on an apron or cufflink and tied a belt. A high kick or magpie is required on the head. The entire outfit was richly decorated with embroidery.

The Slavic costume of the northern lands had a sundress shirt and an apron. Sundresses were made from a single cloth or from wedges and decorated with braid, lace, and embroidery. The headdress was a scarf or kokoshnik decorated with beads and pearls. In cold weather, they wore long fur coats or short shower jackets.

Shirt

Worn by women of all social classes, they differed in fabric and decoration. It was made from cotton, linen, expensive ones - from silk. The hem, collar and sleeves were decorated with embroidery, braid, appliqué, lace and other patterns. Sometimes dense designs decorated the chest area. Each province had different patterns, patterns, colors and other details.

Features of the shirt:

• Simple cut with straight pieces;
• The sleeves were wide and long, so as not to interfere, they wore bracelets;
• The hem reached to the toes;
• Often a shirt was made from two parts (the upper one was expensive, the lower one was cheaper, as it wore out quickly);
• Richly decorated with embroidery;
• There were several shirts, but smart ones were rarely worn.

Sundress

Ancient Russian women's clothing was worn until the 18th century in all segments of the population. They sewed things from canvas, satin, brocade, and silk. They were trimmed with satin ribbons, braid, and embroidery. At first the sundress looked like a sleeveless dress, then it became more varied:

• Deaf - sewn from one piece of fabric folded in half, a neck was made along the fold, decorated with bright fabric;
• Swing, oblique - appeared later and 3-4 fabrics were used for its sewing. Decorated with ribbons and patterned inserts;
• Straight, swing - sewn from straight fabrics, which were gathered on the chest. It was held on by two narrow straps;
• A type of straight one made of two parts - a skirt and a bodice.

Among rich women, a shushun sundress with flared bottoms was common. Extended sleeves were sewn onto it, but they were not worn. The shushun was fastened with buttons all the way to the bottom.

Poneva

The skirt is made of three layers of woolen fabric. They wove at home, alternating wool and hemp threads. A cellular pattern was created. Decorated with tassels and fringes. Young women decorated more brightly. Only married women wore it, sometimes with a shirt hanging from their belt. An apron or cufflink with a hole for the head was put on top of the skirt.

Outerwear:

• The flyer was sewn from a plain fabric and reached the calves in length. It was decorated with a fur collar;
• A shower warmer is a short garment, just below the waist, quilted with cotton lining. It was trimmed with bright fabrics, brocade, satin and fur. Worn by peasants and nobility;
• A fur coat sewn with fur inside was worn by women of all classes; peasant women had cheaper furs.

Hats

The clothing in the Russian style is completed with a headdress, which was different for unmarried and married women. The girls had part of their hair open, and they tied ribbons, hoops, headbands, and openwork crowns on their heads. Married women covered their heads with a headscarf over their kiki. The headdress of the southern regions was in the form of a spatula and horns.

In the northern regions, women wore kokoshniks. The headdress looked like a round shield. Its solid base was decorated with brocade, pearls, beads, beads, and among the nobility - expensive stones.

Children's

There was little children's clothing, it was valued, and in appearance it looked like an adult outfit. The younger children carried the older ones to term. Just for little ones, it could be with short sleeves, for convenience it could even resemble a dress.

The first diaper a boy was born with was his father's shirt, and a girl's was her mother's. In ancient Rus', clothes for children were altered from parents' outfits. It was believed that the energy and strength of the parents would protect the baby from any diseases or the evil eye of others. Shirts for boys and girls were no different; they were thick and long to the toes. The clothes were lovingly decorated with maternal embroidery, which was a talisman for the child.

At about 3 years old, children were sewn their first shirt from a new linen. And 12-year-old girls were entitled to a new poneva or sundress, boys - harpoon pants. For teenage children, the outfits were more varied; adult models were repeated: blouses, trousers, fur coats, hats.

Traditional clothing of Ancient Rus' has long gone into history. But the fashionable ideas of designers look impressive in a modern outfit with elements of Russian style. Ethnic looks are in fashion now.

Dresses in Russian design attract with their modesty, restraint with a shallow neckline, medium length or almost to the floor. Russian patterns on clothes add sophistication and originality:

• Floral motifs on fabric;
• Hand embroidery of plant patterns;
• Sewing, appliqués;
• Decoration with beads, ribbons;
• Lace making, crocheting, knitting.

Trimming is done on the cuffs, hem, neckline or yoke. Natural fabrics (cotton, linen) are very popular. And delicate colors (blue, beige, green, pistachio) convey femininity and purity. The style of a dress or sundress can be different, either loose or fitted with a slightly flared or “sun” skirt. Sleeves are long and short.

They complement the image in folklore flavor with jewelry, accessories (large earrings, beads, strap) and outerwear. This could be a vest, a coat or a warm fur coat, or a muff. A fur hat or brightly colored scarves on your head will complement the look. Fashion designers sometimes use a layering effect in modern outfits by changing the volume and shape of the sleeves.

Currently, Russian-style clothing sets for men, women, and children add national flavor to folk festivities and holidays. A new trend - a party in Russian folk style - brings guests back to Ancient Rus', to its traditions, round dances, and games.

Russian national clothing is the keeper of cultural roots. The artistic image has been preserved through many centuries. Nowadays there is a revival of interest in Russian traditions, holidays, and culture. New modern outfits are appearing that use elements of Russian costume.

Publications in the Traditions section

They meet you by their clothes

Russian women, even simple peasant women, were rare fashionistas. Their voluminous chests contained many different outfits. They especially loved hats - simple, for every day, and festive ones, embroidered with beads, decorated with gems. The national costume, its cut and ornament were influenced by such factors as geographical location, climate, and the main occupations in this region.

“The more closely you study Russian folk costume as a work of art, the more values ​​you find in it, and it becomes a figurative chronicle of the life of our ancestors, which, through the language of color, shape, and ornament, reveals to us many of the hidden secrets and laws of beauty of folk art.”

M.N. Mertsalova. "The Poetry of Folk Costume"

In Russian costumes. Murom, 1906–1907. Private collection (Kazankov archive)

So in the Russian costume, which began to take shape by the 12th century, there is detailed information about our people - a worker, a plowman, a farmer, living for centuries in conditions of short summers and long, fierce winters. What to do on endless winter evenings, when a blizzard howls outside the window and a blizzard blows? Peasant women weaved, sewed, embroidered. They created. “There is the beauty of movement and the beauty of peace. Russian folk costume is the beauty of peace", wrote the artist Ivan Bilibin.

Shirt

An ankle-length shirt is the main element of Russian costume. Composite or one-piece, made of cotton, linen, silk, muslin or simple canvas. The hem, sleeves and collars of shirts, and sometimes the chest part, were decorated with embroidery, braid, and patterns. Colors and patterns varied depending on the region and province. Voronezh women preferred black embroidery, strict and sophisticated. In the Tula and Kursk regions, shirts, as a rule, are tightly embroidered with red threads. In the northern and central provinces, red, blue and black, sometimes gold, predominated. Russian women often embroidered spell signs or prayer amulets on their shirts.

Different shirts were worn depending on what work had to be done. There were “mowing” and “stubble” shirts, and there was also a “fishing” shirt. It is interesting that the work shirt for the harvest was always richly decorated; it was equated with a festive one.

Fishing shirt. End of the 19th century. Arkhangelsk province, Pinezhsky district, Nikitinskaya volost, Shardonemskoye village.

Mowing shirt. Vologda province. II half of the 19th century

The word “shirt” comes from the Old Russian word “rub” - border, edge. Therefore, the shirt is a sewn cloth with scars. Previously they used to say not “hem”, but “hem”. However, this expression is still used today.

Sundress

The word “sarafan” comes from the Persian “saran pa” - “over the head”. It was first mentioned in the Nikon Chronicle of 1376. However, the overseas word “sarafan” was rarely heard in Russian villages. More often - a kostych, damask, kumachnik, bruise or kosoklinnik. The sundress was, as a rule, of a trapezoidal silhouette; it was worn over a shirt. At first it was purely men's attire, ceremonial princely vestments with long folding sleeves. It was made from expensive fabrics - silk, velvet, brocade. From nobles, the sundress passed to the clergy and only then became established in the women's wardrobe.

Sundresses were of several types: blind, swing, straight. Swing ones were sewn from two panels, which were connected using beautiful buttons or fasteners. The straight sundress was fastened with straps. A blind oblique sundress with longitudinal wedges and beveled inserts on the sides was also popular.

Sundresses with soul warmers

Recreated holiday sundresses

The most common colors and shades for sundresses are dark blue, green, red, light blue, and dark cherry. Festive and wedding attire was made mainly from brocade or silk, and everyday attire was made from coarse cloth or chintz.

“Beauties of different classes dressed up almost identically - the only difference was the price of the furs, the weight of the gold and the shine of the stones. When going out, a commoner would put on a long shirt, over it an embroidered sundress and a jacket trimmed with fur or brocade. The noblewoman - a shirt, an outer dress, a letnik (a garment that flares out at the bottom with precious buttons), and on top there is also a fur coat for added importance.”

Veronica Batkhan. "Russian beauties"

Portrait of Catherine II in Russian dress. Painting by Stefano Torelli

Portrait of Catherine II in shugai and kokoshnik. Painting by Vigilius Eriksen

Portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna in Russian costume." Unknown artist. 1790javascript:void(0)

For some time, the sundress was forgotten among the nobility - after the reforms of Peter I, who forbade those close to him to wear traditional clothes and cultivated the European style. Catherine the Great, a famous fashion trendsetter, returned the item of clothing. The Empress tried to instill in her Russian subjects a sense of national dignity and pride, a sense of historical self-sufficiency. When Catherine began to rule, she began to dress in Russian dress, setting an example for the ladies of the court. Once, at a reception with Emperor Joseph II, Ekaterina Alekseevna appeared in a scarlet velvet Russian dress, studded with large pearls, with a star on her chest and a diamond diadem on her head. And here is another documentary evidence from the diary of an Englishman who visited the Russian court: “The Empress was in Russian attire - a light green silk dress with a short train and a bodice of gold brocade, with long sleeves”.

Poneva

Poneva - a baggy skirt - was a mandatory element of a married woman's wardrobe. Poneva consisted of three panels and could be blind or hinged. As a rule, its length depended on the length of the woman's shirt. The hem was decorated with patterns and embroidery. Most often, poneva was sewn from wool blend fabric in a checkered pattern.

The skirt was put on a shirt and wrapped around the hips, and a woolen cord (gashnik) held it at the waist. An apron was usually worn on top. In Rus', for girls who had reached adulthood, there was a ritual of putting on a poneva, which indicated that the girl could already be betrothed.

Belt

Women's wool belts

Belts with Slavic patterns

Machine for weaving belts

In Rus', it was customary for a woman’s undershirt to always be belted; there was even a ritual of girding a newborn girl. It was believed that this magic circle protected against evil spirits; the belt was not removed even in the bathhouse. Walking without it was considered a great sin. Hence the meaning of the word “unbelt” - to become insolent, to forget about decency. Wool, linen or cotton belts were crocheted or woven. Sometimes the sash could reach a length of three meters; these were worn by unmarried girls; hem with a voluminous geometric pattern was worn by those who were already married. A yellow-red belt made of woolen fabric with braid and ribbons was worn on holidays.

Apron

Women's urban costume in folk style: jacket, apron. Russia, late 19th century

Women's costume from the Moscow province. Restoration, contemporary photography

The apron not only protected clothes from contamination, but also decorated the festive outfit, giving it a finished and monumental look. The wardrobe apron was worn over a shirt, sundress and poneva. It was decorated with patterns, silk ribbons and finishing inserts, the edge was decorated with lace and frills. There was a tradition of embroidering the apron with certain symbols. From which it was possible, as from a book, to read the history of a woman’s life: the creation of a family, the number and gender of children, deceased relatives.

Headdress

The headdress depended on age and marital status. He predetermined the entire composition of the costume. Girls' headdresses left part of their hair open and were quite simple: ribbons, headbands, hoops, openwork crowns, and folded scarves.

Married women were required to cover their entire hair with a headdress. After the wedding and the ceremony of “unbraiding the braid,” the girl wore a “young woman’s kitty.” According to ancient Russian custom, a scarf - ubrus - was worn over the kichka. After the birth of the first child, they put on a horned kichka or a high spade-shaped headdress, a symbol of fertility and the ability to bear children.

Kokoshnik was the ceremonial headdress of a married woman. Married women wore a kichka and kokoshnik when they left the house, and at home they usually wore a povoinik (cap) and a scarf.

The age of its owner could be determined by the clothes. Young girls dressed most flamboyantly before the birth of a child. The costumes of children and older people were distinguished by a modest palette.

The women's costume was replete with patterns. Images of people, animals, birds, plants and geometric shapes were woven into the ornament. Sun signs, circles, crosses, rhombic figures, deer, and birds predominated.

Cabbage style

A distinctive feature of the Russian national costume is its multi-layered nature. The everyday suit was as simple as possible, it consisted of the most necessary elements. For comparison: a married woman’s festive costume could include about 20 items, while an everyday costume could include only seven. According to legends, multi-layered, loose clothing protected the hostess from the evil eye. Wearing less than three layers of dresses was considered indecent. For the nobility, complex dresses emphasized wealth.

Peasants sewed clothes mainly from homespun canvas and wool, and from the middle of the 19th century - from factory-made chintz, satin and even silk and brocade. Traditional outfits were popular until the second half of the 19th century, when urban fashion began to gradually supplant them.

We thank the artists Tatyana, Margarita and Tais Karelin - laureates of international and city national costume competitions and teachers - for providing photographs.

Russian national costume- a traditional set of clothing, shoes and accessories that has developed over centuries, which was used by Russian people in everyday and festive life. It has noticeable features depending on the specific region, gender (male and female), purpose (celebratory, wedding and everyday) and age (children's, girl's, married woman, old woman).

Despite the general similarity in cut and decoration techniques, the Russian costume had its own characteristics. Russian folk costume represents two main types - northern and southern. In northern Russia, peasants wore clothing significantly different from peasants in the southern regions. In central Russia they wore a costume similar in character to the northern one, however, in some individual areas one could see a costume with features of southern Russian clothing.

A distinctive feature of the Russian national costume is a large amount of outerwear. Cover-up and swing-out clothing. The cover-up garment was put on over the head, the swing garment had a slit from top to bottom and was fastened end-to-end with hooks or buttons.

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Men's clothing

The main men's clothing was a shirt or undershirt. Russian men's shirts of the 16th - 17th centuries have square gussets under the armpits 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.

Men's Russian folk costume was less varied than women's. It consisted mainly of a shirt, usually a blouse, decorated at the collar, hem and ends of the sleeves with embroidery or weaving, which was worn over the pants and girded with a woven or woven belt.

Outerwear

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:

• Sarafan is folk Russian women's clothing in the form of a dress, most often sleeveless. Sundresses varied in fabric and cut.
• Poneva is a loincloth worn by girls who have reached the age of brides and have undergone initiation.
• Zapona is a girl's canvas clothing made from a rectangular piece of fabric, folded in half and having a hole on the fold for the head.
• Telogrea - clothing lined with fur or lined with long tapered sleeves, fastened in front from top to hem.
• Privoloka is a sleeveless cape.
• Shushpan is a canvas caftan with red trim, trim, and sometimes embroidered with garus.
• Letnik - ancient women's outerwear.

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 (kuftyr), 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).

The peasantry is the keeper of aesthetic ideas and traditions in folk costume

The Russian national costume was preserved mainly in the peasant layer of society, since by decree of Peter I the ruling classes of Russia had to switch to compulsory wearing of foreign-style dress. The formation of the composition, cover, and characteristics of the ornament was influenced by the geographical environment and climatic conditions, the economic way of life and the level of development of the productive forces. The vastness of the settlement area, various natural environments and raw materials, the nature of customs and living conditions became the reason for the emergence of diverse clothing options. Thus, there was no single national costume in Russia.

So, in women's clothing, with all the abundance of types, four complexes are distinguished:

1. Shirt with poneva and magpie headdress.

2. Shirt with sundress and kokoshnik.

3. Shirt with skirt - andarak.

4. Cable dress.

The first two are the main ones. The costumes differed from each other in their components, features of cut and decoration. The evolution of costume among the people occurred slowly. The first complex covered the southern and central regions of Russia - Oryol, Kursk, Ryazan, Tambov, Tula, Moscow, Kaluga provinces. In each of them he had significant differences.

South Russian costume: more ancient in origin. It consists of a long canvas shirt, over which married women wore a loincloth - ponevu, and there was certainly an apron (curtain, cufflink). Next came the chest garment, which went down just below the waist and had a variety of names: nasov, navershnik, shushun, sukman, shushpan. A thick, multi-piece headdress was mandatory for women. The girls wore different types of headbands. The suit was made from homemade materials.

The complex with a sundress or Northern Russian, which existed in the Russian North, in the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, in some regions (Smolensk, Kursk, Voronezh, Kharkov provinces) consisted of a shirt and a long sundress, on top of which they put on a soul warmer - a short chest garment with straps. In the cold season, dress it at the waist with a collar and sleeves. With such a costume, girls wore a bandage or a crown, and married women wore a kokoshnik.

A suit of a shirt and a striped, less often checkered, andarak skirt (cloth , Sukminki) was not typical for Russians in general. It became widespread locally in certain villages of the Vologda, Kursk, Oryol, Ryazan, and Smolensk provinces.

A women's costume typical of the Cossacks of the Don basin and the North Caucasus, with a swinging dress - a kubelka, influenced by the local population. It was worn over a shirt, often with a knitted cap and pants; in the 19th century it was replaced by a skirt with a jacket.

In folk costume, the division into everyday, work, festive, and ritual was clearly observed. Festive clothing was always newer, more often made from expensive fabric, composed of a large number of items, and richly decorated. Festive clothing was also divided: one was worn on Sundays, the other on major annual holidays. Ritual costumes are also adjacent to it: the betrothed girl, wedding, funeral (sometimes also wedding). It is interesting that the harvest shirt, the work shirt, was raised by the ritual to the rank of a festive one and was decorated especially magnificently. An everyday suit for work around the house and in the field was made from especially durable fabrics and was decorated more modestly. Clothing has always emphasized family and age differences. In the southern regions of the country, the only clothing for a girl under 14-15 years old was a shirt, girls wore a canvas “hem” skirt, and in the costume of a young woman, the brighter colors of the older ones predominated - darker ones. The headdresses of girls and women differed, and those of old women were also known. Widows wore white clothes. The children's costume was almost identical to the adult one, but consisted of fewer items. The wardrobe of a wealthy peasant woman included brocade sundresses, fur-lined soul warmers, and headdresses decorated with pearls. The costume of the Ural Cossack women was rich. In poor families, homespun predominated; textiles, small freshwater pearls, glass beads, beads, bird down and dyed feathers were used as decoration.

Common features in folk clothing:

1. Solid, straight, swinging clothes reveal the desire to create a massive, slightly dissected form, a solid and simple silhouette.

2. The massiveness increases from bottom to bottom, this is emphasized by the shoes - woven bast shoes with thick onuches, large gathered boots and heavy cat-shoes, which were worn over seven or eight pairs of thick woolen stockings.

3. The waist is not emphasized, hidden behind the bibs. Thus, body shapes have not been identified.

4. Folk costume is very complex. This complexity is combined with patterned weaving, multi-stitch embroidery, sewing and knitting with various materials, and appliqué.

The preferred colors are white and red, but the clothes of wealthy northerners and Volzhan women were made from purchased expensive fabrics such as damask and semi-brocade.

The costume of the Russians of Siberia is distinguished by its unusual brightness and unexpected color characteristics. Outerwear is usually black, brown, dark yellow, gray, but often blue-dyed and little decorated. A man's suit, with the exception of outerwear, follows the proportions and divisions of the human body.

Since ancient times, the basis of women's and girls' costumes has been the shirt - the oldest common Slavic element. Throughout Russia, girls and women wore a long white shirt, sewn from straight panels of linen or hemp fabric. Shirts were one-piece or composite. The whole ones were sewn from four longitudinal panels of canvas (worn by girls).

Types of Russian women's shirts.

1. Shirts with stripes (straight or oblique) - shoulder inserts that expand their upper part and collar. They were sewn either on the warp or on the weft. Poliki were cut out separately or together with sleeves.

2. Tunic-shaped shirts, shirts with a collar and a shirt with a yoke. The shape of the sleeves is straight or tapering towards the wrist, puffy at the shoulders or at the wrist, loose or gathered with or without gussets, gathered under a narrow trim or on a wide cuff decorated with lace. In wedding and festive clothing from the 17th to the end of the 19th century, there were shirts - long sleeves, with sleeves up to two meters long, with wedges, without gathering. When worn, such a sleeve was gathered in horizontal folds, or had special slots-windows for threading the arms through. Similar shirts were made from linen, while more expensive ones were made from silk fabrics and brocade.

Each province had its own decoration techniques, locations and methods of implementing patterns, and a specific color scheme. In ancient shirts, patterned weaving and embroidery with linen, silk, wool, and later cotton threads predominated.

The main locations of patterns are collars, mantles, sleeves, and hem. On the collar there is a narrow strip of weaving or embroidery, later an appliqué of bright stripes of fabric. In some shirts, the entire chest area was embroidered with dense patterns. More often, the central motif of shirt decoration was linings made of calico, printed chintz, satin, or inserts of patterned fabric. They were additionally distinguished at the seams by black, red or polychrome embroidery, casting, counted satin stitch, half-cross stitch, lace sew-on braid, sewn sequins and various buttons. Sometimes the patterns were along the seams, the bottom was clearly emphasized, and they were completely ornamented. Particular attention was paid to the hem of stubble and mowing shirts, along the bottom of which there were multi-colored patterns painted with a wide stripe, made with multi-colored chain stitch, light painting, counted satin stitch, fabric patch or appliqué. There was abundant decor in South Russian costume. Floral and geometric patterns, palmettes, volutes, rosettes, lace flowers, numerous rhombic and cross-shaped zigzags, meanders were used. Intensely red, dense, carpet-like embroidery and woven weaving are most characteristic of the shirts of the Kursk and Tula provinces. A bright decorative effect was achieved by the contrast of the white background of the fabric with the richly colored mantles and sleeves. In others, the entire sleeve area was covered with a geometric pattern of braided fabric. Colored stripes "punctures" were often used. The combination of stripes of various colors, proportions and materials in one item, the use of sparkles, bugles, buttons, beads, etc. enhances the play of color and tonal relationships.

Shirts from the villages of the Voronezh province, decorated with embroidery, black silk or woolen threads using the set technique. The graphic nature of the seam and the narrow lobar stripes of the ornament give rise to a strict sophistication of the style and constitute their unique beauty. The women's shirts of the Odnodvorets are distinguished by the peculiarity of their cut and decor. The skirts and the upper part of the sleeve were decorated with stripes of weaving fabric and embroidery. On top of the wrist they put the so-called “bryzhi” - wide cuffs made of silk ribbons. The hem was decorated with a strip of mortgage or braided fabric. The upright collar, called the “trump card,” added solemn elegance. The edge was trimmed with factory lace and braid. On holidays they put on another one.

Shirts of residents of the northern and central provinces of Russia. The embroidery was done with cotton, silk and gold spun threads. Numerous shades of red were predominant, sometimes interspersed with blue and black, with metallic sparkles; double-sided sewing predominated. On wedding wedding shirts, the width of the embroidered pattern on the hem sometimes reached 30 centimeters or more.

Along with geometric motifs, peahens, horses, leopards, and the tree of life with forthcoming figures were used.

In some cases, decorations of different techniques coexisted on one object. This can be seen especially clearly on the shirts of betrothed girls in the Vologda, Arkhangelsk and Tver provinces, where there are solar signs: circles, crosses, complicated rhombuses, which carried a semantic load in the beliefs of the Slavs. Colors: white, light red, often using metal threads and gold-woven materials. Restrained color sound, but it is possible to combine contrasting dark purple with gold.

The ornamentation of girls' shirts in Russia is more modest and takes up less space. Children's and old women's shirts were decorated even more simply. Old women often wore undecorated canvas shirts, tied with garus thread.

Poneva: a mandatory accessory for a married woman’s costume. It consisted of 3 panels of homespun, often checkered woolen fabric. Based on their cut, ponevs are divided into unstitched “swing” ponevs, which are most typical for the southwestern regions of Russia, and blind ponevas with stitching. Stitching is a fourth panel inserted between three panels, made from a different texture, usually factory fabric. In addition to the cut, they differed in the methods of ornamentation and the manner of wearing. They were worn in a bag, tucking one or two front flaps into the belt and forming a special hall at the back, which required additional ornamentation. The style of decoration is very diverse. Geometric patterns are typical for this type, the coloring is restrained and strict, but there were also bright ponevs, including Orlov ones entirely decorated with appliqué. The version of poneva with stitching has become widespread in Kursk, Voronezh, Smolensk and other provinces. They were covered with rich polychrome embroidery, silk or wool threads, sequins, and stripes. The abundance and unusualness of decorations in Voronezh and Ryazan ponevs in red-orange and brown-yellow tones.

On the festive occasions of young women (before the birth of a child), in addition to the usual decorations, there were additional decorations. Depending on their income, they were decorated with purchased items: wide metal lace, stripes of braid, fringe made of corded threads, beads, and sparkles. Sometimes numerous large rosettes made of bright ribbons with beads or bells in the center, and tassels made of silk threads were sewn onto the back panels of young women.

Sarafan is a term of eastern origin, meaning “dressed from head to toe.” There were four types:

1. A blind oblique sundress, which was common in the north - Novgorod, Olonets, Pskov regions. It was sewn from a sheet of fabric folded over the shoulders, and slightly beveled or longitudinal wedges were inserted on the sides. Feryaz - a blind sundress made of red cloth.

2. The oblique swing sundress is common in the European part, in the regions of the Urals. It was called swing because its front consisted of two, rather than one, panels of fabric, connected by fasteners on copper, tin or silver buttons or sewn and having a purely decorative fastener. The sides are expanded with additional wedges, giving the silhouette a trapezoidal shape. Wedding and festive clothes were made from brocade and damask.

3. Later in appearance is a round or straight sundress with straps. Later, he replaced the heavy oblique sundress made of brocade, because it was easier to manufacture. For everyday use, it was sewn from motley fabric and chintz. Festive made from bright silk fabrics. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, rich families most often used semi-brocade for wedding sundresses. Blue, green, dark blue and dark cherry tones predominated. Individual flowers or bouquets of them, woven with gold and silver thread, were scattered across the field of silk. The front line was decorated with gold and silver lace, as well as expensive, filigree buttons. In the southern regions they preferred rosin, satin, white and black cloth, and Chinese fabric. The choice of fabric depended on the wealth of the family. Particularly interesting are the black woolen sundresses from the Kursk province with rich, dense embroidery in red, green, and yellow woolen threads.

In addition to sundresses and sundresses, the national costume also includes a skirt - woolen homespun one-yard skirts are interesting. Color: green, red, burgundy, blue tones. At weddings, polychrome embroidery with woolen threads was done over multi-colored stripes. Subjects: human figures, eight-petalled and vortex rosettes, solar symbols, garlands. Decorated with pleated appliqué and lace. In “sad” skirts, the red color disappeared altogether and was replaced by burgundy.

Apron

1. A tunic-like apron worn over the head with sleeves or narrow armholes - usually included in a complex with a poneva (curtain, cufflink). In the costume of girls and adult girls, it was the only addition to the shirt.

2. Wearing with a sundress:

a) an apron with ties above the work

b) a cufflink with a breast or breastplate - tied at the waist and complemented by a braid around the neck.

Since the end of the 19th century, an apron fastened at the waist has been widely used. It was worn with skirts and sundresses. In addition to protecting against contamination, aprons served a decorative purpose, covering the undecorated parts of the costume. They contributed to the creation of a coherent composition of the ensemble. The richness and density of the decor increased from the top to the hem. On South Russian aprons there are designs of plant and zoomorphic images. In addition to ponevas and sundresses, a skirt is found in some areas, initially as a local phenomenon, and in the 20th century as the predominant version of waist-length clothing. Of great interest are woolen striped homespun one-yard skirts (Ryazan, Tambov provinces). Despite the same cut, they differed sharply, even in neighboring villages, in color, proportions and combination of stripes. Green, red, and blue tones are common in color. The material for the skirts was polished. On wedding dresses, polychrome embroidery with woolen threads was done over bright multi-colored stripes. Her favorite subjects were human figures, eight-petalled and vortex rosettes, solar symbols, and garlands. In addition, the skirts were decorated with velvet appliqué and lace.

Apron. Women's peasant costume everywhere included an apron, which, according to its design, was divided into several types.

One of them, a tunic-like apron with sleeves or narrow armholes worn over the head, was usually part of a complex with a poneva and was used mainly in the central and southern Russian provinces under the name “curtain”, “zapon”. In girls' and girls' costumes, it was the only addition to the shirt. There are isolated cases of its existence in the Novgorod and Semipalatinsk provinces. An apron with a yoke is considered a later option.

Other types of aprons were usually worn with the sundress. One of them was fastened with ties above the chest, the other - a cufflink with a breast or breast - was tied at the waist and with an additional ribbon at the neck. Such aprons were widespread mainly in the Central Russian region, the Volga region, the Urals, and Siberia. Since the end of the 19th century. An apron fastened at the waist was widely used. It was worn with skirts and later types with sundresses.

Aprons carried a large decorative load: they covered the undecorated part of the costume and contributed to the creation of a coherent color composition of the ensemble. The aprons of the Southern regions, repeating in general terms the decoration of the shirts, were more intensely ornamented than the Northern ones. The richness and density of the decor grew rhythmically from the top to the hem. The pattern was formed from ornamental compositions that varied in style, execution technique and material. These are harmoniously connected, sometimes repeating stripes of weaving, weaving patterns, bright silk ribbons, fabric applique, lace. In some cases, sequins, braid, silk and metal fringe are used.

On southern Russian aprons there are designs of plant and zoomorphic images. In the decoration of aprons in the northern regions, especially the Vologda and Arkhangelsk provinces, preference was given to embroidery with a double-sided seam, painting, and typesetting. There were both geometric patterns and complex compositions: horses with riders, lions, leopards. The uniqueness of color combinations and unusual decorative means attract aprons from the villages of the Moscow province. Woven entirely with narrow stripes of red, blue, yellow, orange-brown tones, they, like a shell, completely covered the front of the entire suit. Their decor was certainly consistent in tone and technique with the decoration of the sleeves of the shirts.

Chest clothing. An important and sometimes obligatory component of an elegant women's costume was the shoulder (chest) clothing, which was worn mainly in the autumn-spring period, over a shirt, poneva and apron.

In the southern provinces, as a festive occasion, married women used tunic-like bibs, which resembled a shirt, but shorter. Uniform in cut, they differed in material, collar cut, presence or absence of sleeves, wedges, and length. Depending on the number and color of the decorations, they had different names in different provinces: shushpan, shushun, nasov, sukman, korotay, zheltik, navershnik, skirt, bastrog.

Depending on the time of year and place of existence, they were sewn from canvas, thin cloth or wool, and sometimes richly ornamented. The front part of the bibs was decorated with lace stitching, appliqué, colored fabric, red, yellow, blue; the cut of the collar and shoulder straps were decorated with abundant, plain or polychrome embroidery and stripes of embedded or braided fabric.

In addition to the tunic-shaped ones, in the south of Russia there are also swing-type ones. Unlike the first ones, which were often belted, they were worn without a belt. In the Tula province, their hem was decorated with silk or wool fringe with sequins and beads, and in the Tambov province, red or calico wedges were inserted into the side seams. Unlike the peasant costume, the single-yard costume of the south of Russia used a dark, figure-hugging corset that gave it a slender look. It was decorated with colored tambour embroidery.

The type of shoulder clothing is also known - with straps. This is the “bastrog” that was used in the Ryazan and Tambov provinces. It has a trapezoidal shape and reaches to the waist, reminiscent of northern soul warmers. Bastrogs were covered with appliqués made of calico, polychrome embroidery with wool, and sequins.

In the northern regions, soul warmers, which were also called korotyon, pero, epanechka, short fur coat, were made of brocade, velvet, and scarlet damask. Especially elegant were the soul warmers made of crimson velvet, densely embroidered with braid or gold thread. They were typical for residents of the rich, villages, as well as townspeople - burghers, merchants. Swing shugai (like jackets) with sleeves were quilted with cotton wool, a large turn-down collar and sleeves were trimmed with metal fringe or inexpensive fur. Jackets called “fur coats” were made from expensive silks and furs.

The shoulder garment formed the silhouette of the suit.

Headdresses. One of the most important components of the costume was the headdress, which completed the entire (costume) ensemble. The entire territory of Russia is characterized by two sharply different categories of hats. Girls' dresses, which left their hair and the crown of their head open, had the shape of a wreath - a hoop or a headband.

Women's headdresses were varied, but they all completely hid their hair, which, according to popular beliefs, had witchcraft powers and could bring misfortune. The headdress emphasized not only the change in a woman’s marital status, but also her social and property status.

Girls' hats were quite simple in their shape and method of manufacture. The headbands were rectangular in shape and secured to the head with ribbons or ribbons. Their earliest type was head panels made from a strip of canvas with ends decorated with embroidery using double-sided satin stitch, half-cross stitch, sequins and metal thread. In the southern regions, preference was given to geometric motifs in ornamentation, while in the northern regions, ornithomorphic plant motifs were preferred.

The most common were girls' dresses in the form of a crown or hoop. Depending on the place of existence, the material for their manufacture varied. In the southern regions of Russia, fabrics, braids, ribbons, beads, buttons, sequins, and feathers were widely used. The color scheme of these headbands, headbands, and wreaths is bright and rich. Dyed bird feathers, including peacock feathers, were used not only in the headdress itself, but also as its additional parts.

Headbands, ribbons, laces made of brocade and braid, damask fabric and strips of calico with rich embroidery with gold thread, typical of the northern provinces, were made wide, on a thick base. Sometimes they were decorated with a lower part or duckweed made of river pearls, chopped mother-of-pearl, and beads that descended to the forehead.

Volumetric openwork “crowns with cities”, crowns, bangs, also decorated with pearls, mother-of-pearl, inserts of stones and glass, and colored foil, became widespread.

The wedding crown was a dense rim with a braid, under which protruded an openwork wreath, decorated with pearls, mother-of-pearl, beads, with inserts of foil, glass, and sometimes sewn on brooches.

A variant of the all-Russian girl's headdress was a factory-made scarf folded into a rope and tied with the ends back. It was complemented by beaded pendants.

The basis of all varieties of southern Russian headdresses of the “magpie” type was a hard forehead piece sewn from quilted canvas, compacted with hemp or birch bark, and worn directly on the hair. Depending on its shape, flat or imitating horns extending back, it was called a kichka or a horned kichka. It was this detail of the headdress that gave its entire structure one form or another, which was completed with the help of the upper part, a kind of cover made of calico, calico or velvet - a magpie; the back of the head was covered by a rectangular strip of fabric - the back of the head. Sometimes this dress included up to twelve parts, and its weight reached up to five kilograms.

There were various variations of this headdress: horned, hoof-shaped, spade-shaped, bowler-shaped. So in the Ryazan province, along with almost flat kitties with barely outlined horns on their headdresses, there are also headdresses with horns up to thirty cm high. In the Tula province, they were completely modified through an additional complex design of several vertically fixed layers of gathered ribbons, giving the impression of a lush bright fans. Headdresses were especially different from each other in the methods and themes of decoration and color scheme. In the Oryol, Tula, Kursk, and Voronezh provinces, preference was given to light red, green, and yellow colors, while in the southeast - in the Ryazan and Tambov provinces, dark red and black. On the headband, embroidery with painting, set and satin stitch using multi-colored silk, wool, cotton thread with the addition of sparkles and beads was widely used. She gave comprehensive information about age. The headdresses of young women before the birth of a child were most brightly decorated. Gradually the pattern became drier and more restrained; old women wore magpies with white or sparse black embroidery.

Made in the same way as magpies from calico and velvet, the back of the head was covered over the entire surface with dense embroidery, often complemented by gold embroidery. The front part of the magpie was decorated with a strip of shiny braid, “tufts” of drake feathers. In the Tula province, tufts of brightly colored poultry feathers tucked into the side of a headdress, and goose down “gun” balls attached to the ear or ear became widespread. Sometimes the ears were covered with ear pads or wings with braid, braid, beads, and sparkles.

Women's headdresses in the northern provinces of Russia, which had the general name "kokoshnik", differed significantly in their appearance from those in the south. Unlike magpies, they were made to order by professional craftswomen from factory fabrics. The forms of northern headwear, despite the unifying origin and name, were very diverse even in nearby areas. Almost the entire surface of the helmet-shaped “heads” from the Tver province was covered with braid, dense embroidery with gold thread and gimp; the headband ended with a pearl or beaded bottom—“duckweed.” The duckweed headdress from the neighboring district was miniature, its richly ornamented crown covered only a tuft of hair at the back of the head, and the very wide duckweed and the back of the head covered the rest of the head.

The Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Kostroma provinces from the 18th century are characterized by flat massive kokoshniks with a vertical or horizontal blade above the forehead. They come in elongated triangular or rounded shapes; sometimes the span of the headband reached 60 centimeters. The front side of such kokoshniks was embroidered with pearls using colored foil and glass inserts, and the back side was made, as a rule, of cherry velvet and decorated with gold thread embroidery, floral and ornithomorphic ornaments. The kokoshnik had a wide bottom that covered almost the entire forehead. In most provinces, expensive kokoshniks and samshurs were worn with scarves. On special occasions, scarves with dense floral patterns embroidered with gold and silver threads were used. The drawing took up half of the scarf. When putting it on, its ends were folded under the chin.

The centers for the production of gold-embroidered scarves were Kargopolye and certain districts of the Nizhny Novgorod and Tver provinces.

By the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, kokoshniks and samshurs were replaced by easier-to-make povoiniki and collections, sewn from factory fabrics.

Removable decorations. They played a big role in women's costume. These are: earrings, bibs, gaitans, back and waist pendants. In all regions of Russia they had their own colors and were made from different materials.

The most popular decoration were earrings. A major center for their production was the village of Rybnoye, Kazan province, and the village of Krasnoye on the Volga.

Very interesting are homemade earrings from the southern provinces made from goose down, feathers, beads, multi-colored woolen threads, and beads.

In the north, the most popular were earrings made of low pearls, “butterflies”, flat, rosette-shaped, pear-shaped, etc.

Neck and chest “tongues”, “breasts”, necklaces, necklaces, monistas, gaitans, chains.

“Tongues” and “breasts” were made of cotton fabric, decorated with appliqué, and the most expensive ones were made of silk, embroidered with gold thread and beating, and decorated with inserts of multi-colored glass and foil.

The beaded monista and gaitana were in harmony with the multicoloredness of the southern Russian costume. They were wide polychrome stripes about 1.5 meters long with a clear pattern of nets, rhombuses, and rosettes. Depending on the place where the gaitans were made, their colors varied. They were complemented by copper crosses and glazed icons suspended from them.

In terms of the manner of wearing, the Monists and Gaitans are similar to “harnesses” made of small multi-colored beads; they also wore large ambers, or glass beads, covering the neck in several rows.

The northern regions are characterized by either necklaces such as a collar or collar, tightly fitting the neck and consisting of wide nets made of mother-of-pearl, pearls and white beads, or strips of canvas embroidered with the same materials, complemented by inserts of colored glass and ribbons. Amber beads and all kinds of metal chains, both voluminous, ringed, and flat with links made of smooth ribbed or filigree wire, were very popular.

For several centuries, buttons have been an attribute of Russian clothing. They were intended not only for fastening it, but also for decoration. Buttons were made from various metals and decorated in a wide variety of ways. Their ornamentation used engraving, niello, filigree, granulation, glass and stone inserts, and setting with small pearls and mother-of-pearl. When their production ceased by the nineteenth century, buttons continued to be used as pendants or cufflinks.

In southern Russian clothing, much attention was paid to decorating the back. Interesting are the long beaded threads that were a continuation of the gaitans - “mushrooms” and “notes” made of garus or silk cord, black braid with beads, lush multi-colored tassels and rosettes embroidered with gold thread, sequins, and beads.

In the Ryazan province, back decorations “wings” consisted of two strips of fabric with braiding, colored stripes, beads, and buttons.

In the Kursk province there are “shoulders” made of long silk ribbons.

Various braids woven into braids were very popular among girls, made in the north from braids, silk stripes embroidered with gold thread, in the south and west - lowered beaded blades, multi-colored pendants and tassels.

A mandatory element of the Russian national costume, both women's and men's, was the belt. Shirts, sundresses, outerwear were belted around them, and the waistband was attached.

Depending on the purpose, the belt was tied under the chest or under the stomach. If the sundress was made of expensive fabrics (damask, brocade, velvet), the belt was sometimes tied to the shirt underneath. Since ancient times, it was considered a talisman for the owner. People associated various superstitions with the belt.

Girls wore various pockets on their belts, “lakoniks” - richly decorated with embroidery and appliqué. Women - small pockets-wallets for money and small items. Men hung combs, pouches, and devices for making fire on their belts.

The belts were braided and woven. Among the Cossacks, belts made of velvet, braid and metal became widespread; a mandatory addition to them was a figured buckle. The length and width of the belts vary depending on their purpose and place of use. Some belts were decorated with woven inscriptions.

Men's costume. It was more of the same type throughout Russia and was not as colorful as women's.

Ethnic and local differences were weaker than social and age differences.

The composition of a man's suit everywhere included a shirt, ports (pants), a belt, shoes and a headdress.

Everyday clothes were sewn from homespun checkered or striped motley or printed fabric and were almost not decorated.

The most ancient part of the costume, which has undergone little change, was a short, knee-length, tunic-like shirt with a straight, often oblique, cut at the collar and a gusset. A piece of “backing” fabric was sewn on the inside of the back and chest. Just like women's, men's shirts were necessarily belted with a homespun or leather narrow belt, often ending in tassels.

Festive and wedding shirts were decorated with weaving or embroidery, predominantly in red, along the collar, slit on the chest, edge of the sleeves and hem. The patterns used were the same as for women's shirts. The most elegant were the wedding and holiday shirts of young men. The decorations on them were sometimes located on the back and were multi-colored, numerous and varied in execution technique.

The shirts of grooms from the Semipalatinsk province were especially colorful. Their back and chest are richly colored with a geometric pattern. The predominant colors in embroidery are blue and red. The pattern is arranged asymmetrically, in the form of a wide stripe; braid, lace, and applique are used in the decor.

The shirts of the southern provinces were decorated much more intensively than the northern ones. Embroidery on Voronezh shirts was done with black thread.

Men's trousers (pants) were made from striped fabric or printed fabric, from white homespun, and in cold weather - from homemade cloth. The ports were uniform in appearance throughout Russia; the differences concerned only some details of cut. As a rule, they were not decorated.

The headdresses of Russian peasants were varied, but the main ones were two types of felted hats made of white, gray or brown wool - with a crown and small brims, and caps - felt boots without brims. Wedding hats were richly decorated. Winter hats in the northeast were borrowed from the indigenous peoples and gradually replaced by the traditional and now ushanka hat.

This article could also be titled: “Clothing of the Russian village.” For many centuries, the absolute majority of the Russian population were peasants. They led a subsistence economy, providing themselves with everything they needed, including clothing. By his very destiny, inseparable from the life of the earth, the plowman was part of his native nature, and his costume best suited the peculiarities of the Russian climate.

Festive girl's costume from the Vologda province.
The famous Russian artist I. Bilibin depicted a girl from a northern village. Her outfit - a wedge sundress and a feather warmer - are made from purchased damask with a rich pattern. Such fabric was brought from the countries of the East. But the headdress is a crown - Russian gold embroidery work.

Festive women's costume from the Vologda province.
Again I. Bilibin, and again a Vologda peasant woman. Only this time, young woman—that’s what a woman was called in the early stages of marriage, often before the birth of her first child. Her richly decorated costume symbolized this blossoming age, as if calling upon the future mother the grace of heaven and earth. The sundress and warmer are made of patterned damask, the latter trimmed with stripes of gold embroidery. The tall gold-embroidered kokoshnik is decorated with stones. A silk shawl is tied over it, turning into a cape.

Something else is also important. The peasant left his village only when absolutely necessary; foreign guests were also rare. Therefore, his clothes, which avoided external influences, clearly expressed his worldview, customs, character, taste - the inner essence of a native Russian person. That is why, for many centuries, first of all, the peasantry was the custodian of national traditions in costume. Especially after the famous decree of Peter, which obliged everyone, except peasants and clergy, to wear European-style dress. The townspeople were forced to switch to “German” clothes, and only the villagers continued to wear folk costume.

"Pendants" - element of the head
girl's dress. Tomsk province.
The end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century.

What was he like? If you found yourself a hundred years ago at a large fair somewhere in Makaryev or Irbit, you would have been amazed at the variety of outfits, especially women’s: and you couldn’t find two identical ones! Indeed, over the centuries, almost every village in vast Russia has developed its own traditions - so that by the colors or patterns of clothes one could find out where the hostess was from. Most of all, the costumes of the northern and southern provinces differed; Siberian women dressed in their own unique way. Let's talk about these ensembles.

The traditional women's outfit of the Russian North is often called the “sarafan complex”, since its main parts are a shirt and a sundress. Our ancestors have worn a shirt since time immemorial - this is confirmed by many beliefs associated with it. For example, you didn’t sell your own shirt: it was believed that you would also sell your happiness. Is this why people who were ready to give their last shirt to those in need were so valued among the people? This was the main, and sometimes the only, clothing: according to custom, village boys and girls in the 19th century wore only shirts with a belt until the wedding.

Festive women's shirt. Olonets province. Beginning of the 19th century.
Decorating the shirt with lavish embroidery, the craftswoman used paper, silk and gold threads.
The pattern on the hem is especially interesting: the Tree of Life with birds on the sides.

In the old days, a shirt was made from linen or hemp canvas, running a single piece from the collar to the hem. Hence the name - tunneler, which was common in the Vologda province. But already in the last century, such clothes were found only as wedding and funeral clothes; in ordinary times, a shirt made of two parts was worn. The upper one was called sleeves in the North and was sewn from thinner, even purchased, fabric, the lower one - the waist - from ordinary homespun.

In the Russian village, not all clothes were decorated, but only festive and ritual ones. The richest one, the annual one, was worn three or four times a year, on the most solemn days. They took great care of it, tried not to wash it, and passed it on from generation to generation.
While preparing an elegant shirt, the village needlewomen showed everything they were capable of. Sleeves, shoulders and collars not covered by a sundress were embroidered with red thread. The hem was also often decorated. In special shirts, which were worn with a belt for mowing or harvesting, it was almost completely covered with an embroidered or woven pattern. They walked with songs - after all, for peasants, harvesting is not only hard work, but also a great holiday. In the Olonets province there was an elegant mourning shirt, or makhavka, with very long and narrow sleeves. The bride wore it on her wedding day and, saying goodbye to her parents, waved the ends of the sleeves around her head and along the floor, lamenting her past girlhood and her future life in someone else’s family...

Skirt "hem" Olonets province. Beginning of the 20th century.
This skirt is amazingly beautiful, almost entirely covered with a woven pattern. Taking a closer look at it, you can see how deer with branched antlers walk rhythmically around the solar diamonds. The subject was not chosen by chance. Such a skirt was separated from the kokosnitsa’s shirt, the hem of which was generously decorated with braided weaving. For the first cattle drive, young women put on two or even three undershirts, showing the sun and their girlfriends their wealth.

It is interesting that the word “sarafan” was first found in Rus' in documents of the 14th century in relation to men’s clothing. The most ancient type of women's sundress is the shushpan with a solid front panel. But already in the last century, elderly peasant women wore it, and young people mastered the swing sundress, fastened with openwork metal buttons. Due to the large number of wedges that greatly expand it at the hem, it received the name wedge. However, there were also other names - based on the fabric: kumashnik, naboeshnik, damask - after all, wedges were sewn not only from homespun dyed blue or red, but also from purchased fabrics. Kumach, which was used for festive clothing, was extremely popular. For the most elegant ones they used silk fabrics - satin and damask, and in the wealthiest families - brocade. In the second half of the 19th century, the oblique-wedge one was replaced by a straight sundress made of five or six panels with narrow straps: lyamoshnik, round, inflate, Muscovite, fur coat.

I remember that not so long ago wide dresses without a belt, supposedly designed in the “Russian style,” were fashionable. But is it true? After all, in Rus' they never wore a belt, and the first “clothing” that a newborn received was a belt: it was believed that it protected from troubles. A wide variety of belts are known: woven, knitted, wicker. Wide - for outerwear and narrower - for maids, festive and everyday. Patterned belts with lush terry at the ends were woven from garus wool. Many were “with words”—an elaborately woven line of prayer or dedication. Otherwise it’s simple: “Whom I love, I give,” and names...

Finally, the headdress, without which the costume of a Russian peasant woman is simply unthinkable. After all, according to ancient custom, a married woman did not appear bare-haired in public - this was considered a great sin. Girls did not have to cover their hair. Hence the difference in attire: for a married woman it is a closed cap, for a girl it is a bandage that leaves the top of her head uncovered.

The festive kokoshniks of northern women are magnificent, embroidered with gold thread and freshwater pearls (until the 18th century, Rus' was very rich in them). In their shape they resembled a fluffy chicken, but in some places they had different outlines. For example, Nizhny Novgorod - with a high crest in the shape of a crescent or pointed Kostroma. The elegant maiden crown really resembled an ancient royal crown with fancy teeth, which was echoed by a brocade braid, also trimmed with pearls and embroidery. On weekdays, girls wore a ribbon or scarf.

What else complemented the main costume? With a rich sundress they wore a brocade warmer for warmth, gathered on the back in beautiful folds. With sleeves it was called an epanechka, with straps it was called a short one. An embroidered apron could also have sleeves, but was more often worn around the neck or tied above the chest. Well, on a holiday - a beautiful scarf or shawl, say, a Kargopol gold scarf with patterns. This is the attire of the peasant women of the Russian North.

The costume of the southern provinces was noticeably different from it. And in terms of composition, this is the so-called “powder complex”. And according to the materials, the local peasants lived poorer and did not buy expensive fabrics. And in style, the southern Russian costume is brighter and more colorful, which is due to the different climate and the proximity of the steppe peoples.

It is based on an ancient belt poneva. Imagine three sewn panels with a cord threaded at the top - a gashnik. They are wrapped around the hips and secured at the waist, and the hems do not meet and the shirt is visible in the gap. This is an old swing poneva. The deaf one appeared later, when they began to cover the hole with a cloth of another matter - the seam.

Poneva was usually made from woolen homespun, blue or black, in a large check. This ornament was supplemented with an embroidered or woven pattern; young women also sewed ribbons, tassels, buttons, and sequins. The local attire is generally characterized by increased patterning. For example, red rectangles were often sewn onto the shoulders of a shirt, already rich in embroidery and weaving. The shirt itself is long-sleeved and very long. It was pulled up to the knees, and a large overlap was formed at the waist, which was used as a pocket. Because of this bag, in the old days Ryazan women were often teased as “slant-bellied.”

The complete ensemble also included a top of the ancient tunic-like cut and an apron covering the rip or seam. You will see all this in the illustrations. But special mention should be made about the headdress of a married woman - the kichka. This is a whole structure, sometimes consisting of ten parts, and weighing up to seven kilograms. In some places it was called a “magpie” - because of its upper part, which, when unfolded, resembled a bird with wings.. First, they put on the kichka itself - a canvas cap with a rigid frame. In front of it there were often horns. Apparently they are

Zana with some very ancient ideas, for the clay female figurines excavated in Kyiv also have two-horned headdresses. On top of the kichka they put on a gold or beaded forehead, a back cover, a magpie, headphones... Oddly enough, Russian women did not want to part with all this for a long time. I. S. Turgenev tells how one landowner ordered the serfs to replace the “heavy and ugly” kichkas with a kokoshnik, but the peasants wore it... over the kichkas. There is also a well-known playful ditty: “I will never throw away the Ryazan horns: I will eat only chaff, but I will not throw away my horns!..”

The Siberian costume is unique. Russian people moved to Siberia from various places in European Russia. Over time, their usual outfits changed in new natural conditions. Moreover, the settlers borrowed a lot from the local peoples, especially warm clothes and shoes. Thus, in the lower reaches of the Ob, men and women wore Nenets malitsa made of reindeer fur with the wool inside with a hood and mittens. They also mastered new fabrics, since flax and hemp did not grow everywhere. For example, in Transbaikalia, everyday sundresses were made from blue cotton daba, which was brought from China, while oriental silks were widely used for festive occasions. However, in general, the traditional costume was preserved in Siberia and even acquired unique features, especially where the settlers lived in large villages, sacredly preserving the customs of their fatherly antiquity.

The composition of men's clothing was the same everywhere. But it’s worth telling about the motley fabric, from which shirts and portages were sewn along with canvas. This is a checkered or striped fabric made from dyed yarn. The colors and patterns are sometimes delightful - it’s not for nothing that village dandies wore colorful sundresses. The checkered pattern was used for shirts, and the stripes were used for trousers, which were called blue-striped.

Finally, shoes. We got used to the idea that everyone in the village wore bast shoes. But they were worn mainly in the central black earth provinces, where serfdom had a stronger impact. They even got married and buried here in bast shoes. But the steppe inhabitants, Pomors, and Siberians did not know them at all. In the North, bast shoes were woven for work, because they are indispensable for mowing or harvesting: comfortable, light, and you won’t get your feet pinched. On holidays they wore leather shoes - boots, ankle boots, shoes. And also cats with red trim - something like shoes that are roomier, so that a foot in a woolen stocking can fit in. Knitted knee-length stockings with a patterned slip were worn by both men and women, but with bast shoes - usually white canvas or cloth onuches. It seems like the most simple detail of the costume, but there’s so much invention here! The frills used to tie shoes to the foot were often woven from black wool - imagine how beautifully they crossed over the festive onuchs!

Festive men's shirt. Semipalatinsk province. The end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century.
The men's clothing of the so-called “Bukhtar-Minsk Old Believers” who lived in Southern Altai was very colorful. In terms of the richness of decorations, the shirt you see is not much inferior to a woman’s: red gussets and stripes, embroidery and hemstitching. When preparing a gift for the groom, the bride took special care to embroider the top of her chest, where, according to ancient beliefs, the soul lived. The lattice-shaped pattern located there was called a window and was decorated with beads.

Beauty and usefulness have never been at odds with meaning in folk art. Let's remember the patterns on shirts, ponevas, aprons: Women with raised arms, the unblooming Tree of Life, solar rhombuses with crosses in the middle... Scientists have proven that they all express the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fertility of Mother Earth, so close to the soul of the farmer. And the upper part of the costume was associated with the idea of ​​the sky. Take, for example, the names of women's headdresses, reminiscent of birds: magpie, chicken (in the old way kokoshi), swan (“kichet white swan”). Thus, dressed in her festive multi-layered outfit, the Russian peasant woman represented the image of the entire universe, as people then imagined it. She looked majestic and representative; performed solemnly.

Festive men's ports. Semipalatinsk province. The end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century.
Having moved to the slopes of Altai in the 18th century, the “Bukhtarma people” were forced to adapt to different living conditions. And over time, new features appeared in their costume. For example, embroidery on men's pants, which is extremely rare in European Russia. Moreover, the ornament often combined Russian and Kazakh motifs. In our example, the traditional Tree of Life is represented by quite realistic horses, which played such an important role in the lives of the settlers.

It is always very important what stands behind a person. The Russian peasant suffered a lot and was often illiterate. But behind him stood his native nature, from which he did not separate himself, a great people with its historical and spiritual experience, the most ancient of cultures - agricultural. The peasant served them and was their representative. This was expressed with such force in his suit.

Men's and women's suits for winter trips. Central provinces of Russia.
The woman is wearing a sheepskin coat, the man is wearing a cloth coat. The artist modernized it somewhat: Russians only fastened their clothes on the left side. Fur coats and sheepskin coats were made with a very deep smell, so that the mother could even wrap her child up. The man has his own felted hat on his head, and the woman has a factory-made shawl over her kokoshnik. Bast shoes with warm onuchs or wire rods, patterned knitted mittens. Whip in hand - and off he goes!

An apron with agricultural calendars - “months”. Olonets province. End of the 19th century.
The intricate patterns embroidered on the Kargopol apron are nothing more than ancient agricultural calendars. Six petals and six sprouts inside the circle indicate 12 months, and symbols outside are the most important milestones of the annual circle of field work. For example, May 2 - “Boris-Gleb - I sow grain”, May 31 - “Fedot will come - the earth will take over its kind.” Similar words of the month were also embroidered on the hems of shirts and on towels. You can understand how these things were valued, carefully passing them on to inheritance.

A. LEBEDEV,
Candidate of Historical Sciences
Drawings by N. Vinogradova, G. Voronova