Russian folk costume

Despite the change in names and political system, our country carries the ancient and special cultural values ​​of our ancestors. They are contained not only in art, traditions, characteristic features of the nation, but also in the national costume.

The ancient Russian costume is considered to be the national dress of the population of Russia of the pre-Mongol invasion and of Muscovite Russia, before the coming of Peter the Great to power. Nand the formation of special features of outfits was influenced by several factors at once: close relations with Byzantium and Western Europe, withlevel climatic conditions, activities of the vast majority of the population (cattle breeding, tillage).

Clothes were made mainly of linen, cotton, wool, and in itself it had a simple cut and a long, closed cut. But those who could afford it, in every possible way adorned a modest outfit with immodest decorative elements: pearls, beads, silk embroidery, embroidery with gold or silver thread, fur trim. The national costume was also distinguished by its bright colors (crimson, scarlet, azure, green shades).

The costume of the Moscow Rus era from the 15th to the 17th centuries retained its characteristic features, but underwent some changes towards a more intricate cut. The differences in the attire of the population were influenced by the class division: the richer and more noble a person was, the more layered his attire was, and they wore it both indoors and outdoors, regardless of the season. Swinging and fitted clothes appeared, and Eastern and Polish culture had its influence. In addition to linen, woolen, silk, velvet materials were used. The tradition of sewing bright clothes and richly decorating them has remained.

At the turn of the 17th - 18th centuries, Peter I issued decrees prohibiting everyone except peasants and priests from dressing in national costumes, which played a negative role in their development. The decrees were issued in order to establish political relations with the European allies, to adopt their culture. The people were forcibly instilled in taste, replacing chic, but long-length and uncomfortable multi-layered clothes with more comfortable and lightweight pan-European ones with short caftans, low-cut dresses.

The Russian national costume remained in the use of the people and merchants, but nevertheless adopted some fashion trends, for example, a sundress belted under the chest. In the second half of the 18th century, Catherine II made an attempt to restore some national identity to the European costumes that had become fashionable., especially with regard to the materials used and the splendor of the finish.

The 19th century brought back the demand for national costume, in which patriotism, which increased due to the Patriotic War, played its role. Sundresses and kokoshniks returned to the everyday life of noble young ladies. They were sewn from brocade, muslin, cambric. The emerging clothing, for example, the "women's uniform", may not outwardly resemble a national costume, but nevertheless had a certain symbolic division into "shirt" and "sundress". In the 20th century, due to the cut off from European suppliers, there was a kind of return of national outfits, and in the second half, in the 70s, it was nothing more than a fashion trend.

Despite the fact that a certain traditional set of clothes can be distinguished, due to the large territory of the country the national costume took on characteristic features in certain regions. The North Russian set is word-of-mouth, and the slightly more ancient South Russian set is unmistakable. In central Russia, the costume was more similar to the northern one, but there were features of the southern regions.

Sundresses were hinged and deaf, had a trapezoidal cut, and were sewn from one or several canvases. Simpler sundresses are products with straps, straight cut. Festive ones were made of silk and brocade, and for everyday affairs and life - cloth and chintz. Sometimes they wore a warmth over a sundress.

Each province had its own preferences and features in decoration, colors, elements and even names. In the Voronezh province, ponevs were decorated with orange embroidery, in Arkhangelsk, Tver and Vologda geometrical symbols were widespread, and what was called "feryaz" in the Yaroslavl province was "soroklin" in Smolensk.

The modern world has its own special fashion, but there is an interest among the people in the origins, national clothes. Traditional outfits can be seen in museums and sometimes at exhibitions, they are used for theatrical and dance performances, at holidays. Many designers and fashion designers use the characteristic features of Russian folk costume in their collections, and some of them, like researchers, delve into detailed study, for example, Sergei Glebushkin and Fyodor Parmon.

The multi-part outfit was characteristic of all strata of the population. While among the working people, a suit could consist of seven elements, among the wealthy nobles there were already twenty. One garment was worn on top of another, whether it was swing, deaf, capacious, with fasteners and ties. A fitted silhouette is practically not characteristic of a national outfit, on the contrary, free, trapezoidal styles are held in high esteem, and the length in most cases is on the floor.

For a long time, the Russian people have had a passion for bright colors that bring joy. The most common are red, blue, gold, white, blue, pink, crimson, green, gray. But apart from them, each province had its own preferences in shades, of which there were a great many: lingonberry, cornflower blue, smoky, nettle, lemon, poppy, sugar, dark clove, saffron - and these are just a few of them. But the black color was used only in the elements of some regions, and then for a long time was associated exclusively with mourning attire.

Since ancient times, embroidery has had a sacred meaning for the Russian national costume. First of all, she always acted not as an ornament, but as a talisman, protection from evil spirits. Pagan symbolism did not disappear into oblivion even with the advent of Christianity, but the ornaments acquired new elements, combining the old Slavic and new church motifs. Protective amulets were embroidered on the collar, cuffs, hem. The most commonly used color scheme was red threads on a white canvas, and only after that multicolor began to spread.

Over time, embroidery acquired a rather decorative character, although it carried the subjects of ancient ornaments and patterns. The development of gold embroidery, river pearl embroidery, crafts, elements of which were transferred from dishes and furniture to clothes, also played a role in the change in meaning. The original Russian pattern assumes strict geometric shapes, almost complete absence of rounded elements, which was due to the embroidery technique. The most common motives and specific symbols: the sun, flowers and plants, animals (birds, horses, deer), female figurines, huts, figures (rhombuses, a beveled cross, a Christmas tree, rosettes, octagonal stars).

In addition to embroidery, the outfits of the nobility were decorated with buttons. (wooden buttons entwined with thread, lace, pearls, and sometimes precious stones), toshotgun and fur on the hem and neck, stripes, necklaces (embroidered with pearls, fastening collar made of satin, velvet, brocade). Additional elements include false sleeves, belts and sashes, bags sewn to them, jewelry, muffs, and hats.

The modern women's national costume is a kind of compilation of several characteristic features at once, because in fact there are a lot of types and variants of the original Russian costume. Most often, we imagine a shirt with voluminous long sleeves, a colored or red sundress. However, the simplified version, although it is the most common, is far from the only one, since many designers and simple folk artists return to the traditions of their regions, which means that various styles and elements come into use.

Costumes for girls and children are very similar to adult models and include shirts, blouses, pants, sundresses, aprons, skirts, hats. All children's models can be sewn with short sleeves, for greater convenience, and, in principle, have the general appearance of a dress, but with certain national elements. For adolescent girls, there is a greater variety of adult models, and not only sundresses and shirts, but also fur coats, pondering.

The winter folk costume is a lot of heavy clothes. In addition to a warm woolen sundress, a part of the outfit for the cold season is a short open-back coat, opashen, soul warmer, quilted jackets, fur coats, woolen stockings, warm hats and shawls. In richer varieties, natural fur is present.

Stage costumes are of two types: the most similar to real national costumes (for the choir), in which the rules of tailoring are observed and stylized, in which many traditional elements are present, but the necessary deviations are allowed.For example, outfits for a round dance, Russian folk dance or other dance styles should, first of all, be as comfortable as possible, so skirts can be shortened, overly puffy, and the sleeves are not only long, but also ¾, “flashlights”. In addition, stage costumes, unless it is a theatrical performance, are richly decorated and as bright as possible, attracting attention.

Wedding national costumes look especially elegant and luxurious. For the rich and noble, they were sewn from heavy, expensive fabrics, while the people could afford simpler ones, such as linen. White was considered a symbol of holiness, so wedding dresses were made in other colors - silver, cream, or multi-colored, elegant. The presence of embroidery of symbols of flora - berries, leaves, flowers, was considered obligatory. In addition, the concept of a wedding dress included four sets of clothes at once - for pre-wedding festivities, weddings, ceremonies and celebrations.

Folklore costumes are as close to the source as possible. Craftsmen recreate costumes with the characteristic features of a particular region or province. Carnival costumes can be similar to folk costumes or, conversely, be simplified in many ways. However, festive outfits are undoubtedly bright and decorated as much as possible.

National color is one of the special styles in fashion, because it presupposes the interweaving of modern fashion trends and traditional features in the culture of a particular people. Slavic and Russian motives are loved not only by our compatriots, but also by some foreign designers. In such clothes, you can appear at any event, while looking ultra-stylish and appropriate.

The modern style adopted primarily colors, ornaments, and embroidery. Familiar patterns are found on trendy pencil skirts, knee-length dresses, blouses. Long dresses and floor-length sundresses look the most authentic to the national dress. She adopted fashion and individual elements, especially for stoles and shawls, shoes, hats.

Folk costume includes clothes, shoes, hats. The main element is a long shirt, over which a sundress, skirt or poneva is worn, secured with a special belt. An apron is sometimes worn over the poneva and skirts. Over a shirt and a sundress, warmth and fur coats are permissible.

The traditional headdress that has come down to our times is a festive kokoshnik, however, in addition to it, hoops, ribbons, headbands, scarves are part of the costume. An authentic outfit involves the obligatory use of jewelry, pearl necklaces, embroidered detachable collars. Among the footwear it is worth mentioning ankle boots and long boots, sandals, felt boots for winter.

In Russia, linen, bedside, cloth, silk, velvet, woolen materials were used for sewing clothes, and a kindyak was used as a lining. These fabrics were available to the vast majority of the population. But the wealthy class could afford expensive outfits made of taffeta, damask, brocade, obyar, satin, kutnya, satin, motley.

The easiest way to rent a Russian folk costume is from carnival clothing stores. Most of the time, the costumes are pretty monotonous, simple, made from available cheap materials. A dance or stage costume can be tailored to order from dressers and ateliers that provide such services. But you can buy a ready-made outfit on many sites that are engaged in sewing not only stylized clothes, but also similar to traditional Slavic ones. These sites are easy to find in a search engine, and one of the most famous is the Russian Vintage store (bestavantage).

• Suit from the collection "Chary of the Russian North".An elegant sundress in deep blue with a floral black and orange ornament, a beige fur coat and a matching coruna (headdress), and a warm scarf on top. Since the suit is winter, the most suitable footwear is felt boots.

• Loose red sundress with straps, floor-length, belted under the bust with a belt embroidered with an ornament. Under the sundress, a shirt with long straight sleeves and a print with traditional patterns.