Azerbaijan national costume

Each nation has its own history, which consists of many moments: culture, cuisine, language, costumes. The history of Azerbaijan is interesting, fascinating, sad and tragic in places. Clothing plays an important role in the history of this people. The Azerbaijani national costume stands out for its extraordinary beauty, which is skillfully combined with the national characteristics of the inhabitants of sunny Azerbaijan. Throughout the entire period of the costume's existence, it underwent numerous changes.

The costumes of any nation have unique features that are distinctive features. Azerbaijani costumes are no exception.

Various materials were selected: imported and local. Silk was used most often. When creating casual wear, priority was given to linen, wool and chintz. The outfits of rich people consisted of velvet, cloth, tirme, fine silk.

The decoration has always been skillful and expressive. Even a simple costume in the skilled hands of a craftswoman took on an expensive look. Gold and silver threads, beads, lace, braid, expensive coins were used for decoration.

The female costume consisted of two parts and a large number of elements with complex and strange names.Let's try to understand them and present the image of an Azerbaijani woman who lived several centuries ago.

• The chador is a bag-like blanket that is worn when leaving the house.

• Rubend is an element that covered a woman's face. At home, this element was not worn, but it was forbidden to leave the house without it.

• Ust gayimi - this was the name of outerwear, which included a shirt with wide sleeves, wide trousers ending at the ankle, and a flared skirt.
• Chepken was worn on top of a shirt, which, in turn, was fastened around the neck with one button. On the side of the chepken there were sleeves with oversleeves. To create these clothes, velor, dash and other materials with a shiny texture were used.

• Arkhalyg is a short jacket that fits around the back and chest. The sleeves in these clothes were long. In the waist area, this jacket was pulled together, and then it was lush and diverged in lush ruffles. This element of the national costume was considered the most widespread throughout the country.
• A hem was used as the lower part of the suit, which could have different widths. Pleated and corrugated materials were used to create the hem.

• In addition to such standard elements, other clothes could be present in the composition of the Azerbaijani national costume. For example, a quilted robe with lining (lebbade), outerwear made of quilted material (eshmek or kyurdu), outerwear to the waist with a hem made of corrugated material.

Throughout the entire period of its existence, the national Azerbaijani costume had differences in outfits in terms of regional indicators. Women who lived in Gazakhi wore long shirts with side slits. Inhabitants of Karabakh had long-sleeved chepkens in their wardrobe, which tightly fitted the waist.

Skirts not below the knee and wide trousers were worn by women from Nakhchivan. But the residents of Shusha and Shamakhi wore long skirts. Well-to-do women from Nakhchivan and Ganja often wore long kulejes with rich embroidery and various patterns.

• A silver with gilding or gold belt was worn over outer clothing (arkhalyg, chepken). Also often found was a leather belt embroidered with coins or decorated with a badge. Only married women were allowed to wear the belt. The girl at the wedding received her first belt as a gift.

• The headdress was of particular importance. Beanies were created in various shapes. Headscarves could be worn on top. The hair was hidden in a special linen bag called "chutgu". A hat in the shape of a cylinder was put on the head, most often it was velvet. A turban and scarves were tied over the cap. Kelagai, a silk scarf, was especially popular. There were several ways to tie it. In the cold season, a Kashmiri shawl was added, for the creation of which exclusively natural wool was used.

• On the feet were Jorab stockings and pointed-toed shoes, without a backdrop, with a small heel. Such shoes were part of the summer wardrobe, and in winter they used charygs. Stockings were created with their own hands from wool or cotton threads. Along its entire length, there were a large number of patterns and designs that were similar to those that were present on carpets.

• Girls began to wear jewelry from the age of 3, they were perceived for the most part as a talisman against bad words and glances. Until the moment when the girl is going to become a married woman, she managed to collect a whole collection of jewelry. Not all of them could be worn.For example, during a religious ceremony, within 40 days after the death or birth of a child. Rich and poor women wore approximately the same jewelry, the only difference was the presence of precious stones.

The male Azerbaijani costume consisted of a shirt, trousers, a beshmet narrowed at the waist, and a sheepskin coat, which was used in cold weather. Cherkeska was given special attention, she put on a shirt on top, which, in turn, tucked into her pants. There were boots on the legs, and on the head there was a hat, for which astrakhan fur or sheepskin was chosen.

The Circassian coat was fastened with all buttons, and the sleeves were folded back. In the chest area there were special pockets for gas tubes or bullets. These pockets were called “gazyrnitsy”. Due to the large size of the pockets, the likelihood of serious damage during chopping blows was reduced. Now these pockets are more decorative than practical.

Modern young people no longer wear national costumes. They went out of fashion even before the twentieth century. Nowadays, national costumes are used in theatrical performances and in museum exhibitions.

The Azerbaijani national costume is of great interest to European designers. Elements from the national dress of the Azerbaijani people are increasingly found in modern collections that appear on European catwalks. Wide trousers, long skirts and outerwear have become the basis for many collections. This trend is just beginning to be picked up by the designers of Azerbaijan.