Kazakh national costume

The Kazakh national costume personifies the long history of the development and formation of the people of Kazakhstan. Modifying and improving over the centuries, it has preserved the ancient traditions of its ancestors.

As in a mirror, it reflects all aspects of life: a difficult climate, geographical location, economic condition, social environment, way of life, the main activity of the population. The subject of national pride of the Kazakhs, he embodied the national flavor and vivid identity.

A traditional costume always reflects the style and way of life of its people, therefore, the costume of each nationality has its own nuances, characteristics and differences from other peoples. The Kazakh national costume was no exception.

• Both men and women, the clothes are fitted, swing-open, with a smell on the left edge for everyone.
• The women's outfit was richly decorated with chic frills and frills.
• High hats adorned with jewelry, feathers, patterned embroidery.
• The discrepancies between festive and everyday clothes were minimal: the festive one had a looser cut, and the jewelry and accessories were more voluminous.

• The minimum range of colors in a suit with an optimal number of shades.
• Clothes were necessarily decorated with a kind of "logo" - unique original stripes, patterns, weaving, ornaments in the national style.
• The suit was very comfortable and practical, it was suitable for riding, and for spending the night in the uncomfortable steppe, and for walks and for work.
• The Kazakhs have a tradition that has survived to this day - to present as a gift a robe richly embroidered with a national ethnic pattern - "shapan".

The most ancient ancestors of the Kazakhs made clothes from leather and fur. Having engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, they added to this meager selection of felt, cloth from sheep and camel wool, which they learned to make themselves. These materials have become the most popular and inexpensive, as their suppliers are always at hand.

Due to the fact that the “silk road” ran through the territory of Kazakhstan, traders began to supply Kazakhs with cotton fabrics, silk, brocade, velvet, and satin. By the presence of expensive fabrics in a suit, one could judge the financial situation of its owner.

The Kazakh national costume has always stood out with colorful bright colors, as a proof of prosperity and well-being. The clothes of women, as well as men, shone in all shades of green and gold, red and blue.

• Male

The men's set includes voluminous trousers, underwear, dressing gown, high headdress, belt, boots. The peculiarity of the trousers consists in inserts made of sheep skin, which serve to protect the skin while riding on horseback during long herd passes. Long boots, into which the pants are tucked in, perform a similar function. Shirt made of cotton fabrics like a tunic with a stand-up collar or turn-down collar.

Outerwear for the poor part of the male population was a quilted robe made of camel, sheep wool or suede. Wealthy and wealthy Kazakhs wore camisoles or beshmets, for which silk, brocade, thin cloth, and velvet were used.

• Female

In the past, when women, on a par with men, rode horseback, their costume differed from a man's only in the presence of a skirt that opened on both sides. The rest of the kit was the same, but differed in style and cut. Later, another was added to this ensemble - a dress with a flared skirt.

Women's outfit was set according to age. For girls and women, the most common clothing was the most fitted bright dress with several rows of frills along the hem, bottom of the sleeves and the collar; colorful velvet camisole; pants, hat and belt, embroidered and decorated with all kinds of patterns and jewelry.

A married woman's costume was distinguished by a headdress, and an elderly woman's - by a belt and camisole colors. If young girls have multi-colored, bright, juicy camisoles, then in the camisoles of mature women shades of extremely dark colors. Kazakh clothes are full of beauty, wealth and luxury.

The wedding dress of a Kazakh girl deserves a separate description. Only expensive materials and fabrics were taken to create this masterpiece of splendor. The dress was made of satin, silk, taffeta, organza. To make a national ornament, which must have been present, beads, gold cords and ribbons were used.

The choice of the color of the fabric for the wedding dress was far from accidental. Preference was given to red, as a symbol of youth and the flourishing of life, as well as blue, as a symbol of a cloudless sky, warmth, purity and purity. A camisole was worn on the dress, which was in tune with the dress and was also decorated with embroidery, ornaments, and jewelry.

The main attribute of a wedding dress is a phenomenal headdress called "saukele". It was a part of the dowry, it had to be expensive and luxurious, because this cone-shaped hat, decorated with a huge amount of ornaments, was the measure of the bride's well-being.

The abundance and luxury of jewelry is of no small importance. They are found in almost all garments. The difference in types, forms, materials, techniques for making jewelry could be a distinctive feature of people by age, social and marital status, and regional characteristics.

Ornament is an important fragment that gives the national ensemble its originality. It was compulsory for the girl to study the art of embroidery. Comprehending the techniques of embroidery with a vestibule, satin stitch, using a needle for work, an awl with a hook, hoops of various shapes, over the years they became skilled craftswomen and needlewomen.

They were embroidered with silk, gold threads, lurex, beads. The embroidery pattern can be very diverse: a relief pattern is a natural pattern depicting representatives of the local fauna and flora. Sometimes embroideries, stripes, appliqués depicted a whole plot.

There were many decorative elements in the clothes. These were rings, signet rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, as well as onlays, buckles, plaques and plaques of the most varied forms. Depending on the family's income, bronze and silver, copper and gold, colored glass and pearls, corals and mother-of-pearl, agate and turquoise were used for their manufacture. And of course, the traditional nuance is the decoration of the outfit with bird feathers and valuable furs.

Kazakhs' headdresses are famous for a variety of styles, a variety of materials for their manufacture and an even greater number of accessories and ornaments that make each headdress unique.

The skullcap is a generally recognized Kazakh headdress. It was worn by children, teenagers, old people, men and women. It was sewn from cotton fabrics, satin, velvet, cloth, silk.

In summer, the most popular among men was the hat with the brim, folded up, made of felt. In the winter cold, hats made of sheep fur were considered indispensable, children's hats were sewn from a fox. The cut of the hat protected the shoulders and neck from frost.

The girls had only two types of hats, a skullcap and a winter hat trimmed with fur trim. But the widest range of colors and a great variety of decorations.

Over the centuries, Kazakhs have changed and improved their national shoes, adapting them to nomadic life, until they achieved the optimal result. High boots, in which it is convenient to ride, with wide tops, into which it is convenient to tuck the pants, have become footwear that meets all the requirements of practicality and comfort.

Summer boots were distinguished by a heel and curved toes. Shoes, like all elements of the costume, were richly decorated, especially for women. The boots of young girls and women were decorated with embroidery and appliqués. The elderly wore flat boots. In winter, boots were worn over warm felt stockings. Poor people and shepherds wore felt boots with leather soles.

Without a description of winter clothing, the story of Kazakh clothing would be incomplete. A fur coat is of no small importance, considering how inhospitable and harsh the Kazakhstani steppes are.

Over time, the Kazakhs perfectly mastered the art of making furs, leather and sewing clothes from them. Sheepskin, goat, camel coats were the most inexpensive and in demand. The fur and skins of wild animals have always been prized.

The owners of expensive skins were considered tigers, saigas, kulans; among fur-bearing animals, the fur of a ferret, desman, fox, and raccoon stood out. Fur coats were made from the down of a loon, swan and heron. But the marten and sable were valued most of all. Fur coats covered with cloth, silk or brocade were the pride of wealthy Kazakhs.

With open and non-buttoned outerwear, the belt was an integral part of it.

The men's belt was made of leather, sometimes silk or velvet. Leather belts were decorated with decorative embossing, shaped metal inserts, interspersed with precious and semi-precious stones, ornate stripes of bone. The buckles were made in the form of figures of animals or birds.

Women's belts were similar to men's, but were wider and more elegant: silk and velvet, embroidered with gold thread and pearls, woven from goat down or camel wool.

The modern look of the Kazakh traditional costume has been forming for a very long time.

But juicy living colors, a unique national ornament, subtlety and grace, which have always been inherent in the sacramental costume of the Kazakh people and distinguished it from other nationalities, are becoming more and more popular among today's residents of Kazakhstan, giving Kazakh fashion designers and designers an inexhaustible source of imagination.

National costume for girls is becoming very popular today. It is worn for performances on stage, and on state and national holidays, when little Kazakh women walk the streets in traditional dresses.