In RussiaIn Russia

Definition

National costume - costume which usually relates to a geographic area or a period of time in history, but can also indicate social, marital and/or religious status. Such costumes often come in two forms: one for everyday occasions, the other for festivals and formal wear.

Russian costume Contents

Kazakin 

Rubakha

Zhilet

Dushegreika

Dokha

Balakhon

Kaftan

Zipun

Sarafan

Shuba

Balakhon

Balakhon is loose overall men’s or women’s outerwear, which was widely spread in the northern and western provinces of European Russia, and somewhere in Siberia in the 18th – early 19th cc. It was made of sackcloth or twill.

Balakhon

Most often the balakhons had the tunic-like cut: it was sewn of a width of fabric folded at the weft and cut in front, with gores inserted between the back and the laps. The balakhon was wrapped from right top left and belted with a sash, a braid or a tape in front, with the ends tucked in behind the sash not to hang down. It was mainly used for working. In summer it was worn over the basic dress and in autumn and winter over a caftan, a sheepskin jacket or other outerwear while doing some outdoor work or in inclement weather. In some villages of Smolensk Province the balakhon was everyday or sometimes even holiday clothes of the elderly people.

Dokha Dokha (yaga, yargak) is winter men’s

and women’s outerwear worn over basic winter clothes on long-distance sleigh journeys. It was widely spread in the Urals, the Low Volga Region, Siberia and Altai in the 18th- 20th cc. Dokha was made of autumn fells of deer, marals, wild goats, wolves and even dogs. Dog dokhas were considered the warmest ones. Dokhas covered one from head to heel, protecting from frosty wind. They had long broad sleeves and large turn-down collars, which could be raised to cover one’s head completely. The Dokha was wrapped right to left and belted with a sash. The collar was wound with a warm scarf or a shawl and tied at the throat.

Dushegreika

Dushegreika (dushegreya, karataika, korotena, podserdechnik) is a type of women’s throw-open single-breasted garment on stripes, as a rule sewn of expensive factory-made fabrics, such as velvet, velveteen, brocade, and silk, and often lined with wadding or flax noil. In the 18th-19th cc three kinds of dushegreika were known.

Kinds of dushegreika

1

Dushegreika made of a rather narrow cloth cut with wadding, fastened with one hook on its top. On the back of such dushegreika there were dense fillets with wadding.

3

Dushegreika on wide stripes, up to the waist or thighs, with straight laps and pleats beneath the back, which was cutoff at the shoulder blades or waist. It was buttoned with silver or tin buttons and silk loops.

2

Short dushegreika, a little above the waist, without lining. It was sewn of three straight pieces of fabric (two for the laps and one for the back) and several gores at the sides. When spread out, such dushegreika had the shape of a circle.

Zhilet

Zhilet is a men’s vest-type garment sewn of factory-spun fabrics, such as wool, broadcloth, nankeen, tricot, velveteen, or velvet, with a lining of calico or home-made canvas. It was a single-breasted or double-breasted sleeveless jacket to the waist, with copper or glass buttons. The collar was cut as a triangle or a circle around the neck. In the latter case a short stand-up collar was stitched to it. The zhilet was usually put on over a shirt, which was worn outside trousers. In villages and settlements of Russia it appeared in the last third of the 19th – early 20th cc. it was worn by young men and guys from rich families on high days and holidays.

Rubakha

The shirt (rubakha) was always the basis of man’s costume. The traditional Russian shirt was of knee-length and had a vent at the neckband – it could be either in the middle of the chest, or on one side (in case of kosovorotka). It had no collar, and yet, a narrow round cloth necklet would be fixed to a holiday shirt, with the sleeves fastened by bracelets at the wrists. The necklet and the bracelets were made of some fine fabric and richly embroidered with pearls and gems. The shirts were sewn of linen or cotton, as well as of silk.

In the folk costume the shirt was a door garment, whereas among the nobles it was used as underwear. There was also the home type of shirt worn by boyars at home; it was always made of silk.

Shirts were of different colours, but the white, blue and red were most common. They were worn outside trousers and belted with a narrow girdle. Young men would belt the shirt at the waist, whereas the elderly put the belt a bit lower, allowing a blousing in front to produce an impression of a portly figure.

Rubakha

Kazakin

Kazakin is men’s or women’s outerwear for spring, summer, autumn, and, in some areas, for winter.

The kazakin was an open-up double-breasted garment of knee-length, with a back cutoff at the waist and gathers behind or around the waist. It had a stand-up collar or a collar along the neck. The kazakin was sewn of factory-spun fabrics, such as broadcloth, moleskin, nankeen, etc., usually with a lining. Winter kazakins had wadding or fur lining. It was buttoned to the waist with hooks or bow-buttons, which were sewn on in two rows often.

Kazakin

Festive kazakins, especially those spread in the Arkhangelsk Province were decorated with worsted and silk braids that were stitched along the collar, coat-breasts and pockets. In the 19th century kazakins were widely spread in settlements, villages and towns of almost all provinces of European Russia. It was mainly women’s wear in the southern regions, and men’s garment in the central and northern areas. All around the kazakins were holiday apparel of young people from rich families.

Zipun

Zipun is men’s or women’s outerwear. The term became known in the 17th century. Back then it stood for men’s short jacket outlining the figure and with narrow sleeves. It was worn over a shirt and under the caftan. In the boyar costume of that period it probably played the role of the modern vest. In the 18th – early 20th cc zipun as a shoulder garment was part of the Don Cossacks’ costume. It was worn on a shirt, beneath the beshmet.

Zipun

In most parts of Russia in the 18th-early 20th cc zipun was spread only as a coat. It was used by peasants as everyday or festive dress in spring and summer, or else, as outerwear worn above basic door costume on a journey or in foul weather. Holiday zipun were made of factory-spun canvases of black or blue colour, while everyday zipuns were sewn of grey or white home-spun cloth. As a rule, it was a double-breasted jacket without a collar, or with a short stand-up collar, and was buttoned right to left with hooks or leather buttons and leather loops.

Zipun

Zipuns used as additional outerwear were produced of grey or black home-spun canvas. It was belted with a sash or a cord, its ends tucked in behind the sash on the sides. The zipun was widely spread in most of the European Russia, as well as in Siberia and Altai.

Sarafan

Sarafan is the traditional sleeveless women’s dress, popular among peoples of the northern and central parts of Eastern Europe. There were a number of varieties of sarafan. The same name was used in the olden days to denote a men’s long caftan of a specific cut.

It is mentioned as a men’s outerwear in the 14th century documents. Before Peter the First sarafan was customary among boyars; the tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich also had various kinds of sarafans.

Sarafan

The sarafan was also widely used as women’s long dress in Russia from olden days. From the 19th century it was mainly worn by peasant girls and women in the northern and central regions of Russia, in the Volga Region. Until the dress-related reforms it was also popular among townsfolk.

The oldest type of sarafan was closed and almost straight, i.e. it was like an ordinary sleeveless dress put on over a shirt. Later there appeared the sarafan with a seam in front, or buttoned through, the edges and middle decorated with galloon. A wide bell-shaped sarafan could have flap sleeves. In the 19th century a straight sarafan on stripes was widely spread. The latest type of the sarafan, a skirt with a bodice stitched to it, was popular in several regions in the second half of the 19th – early 20 cc.

In some parts of Russia old type sarafans still exist.

Sarafan

Kaftan

The Russian kaftan was the most widely spread garment in Russia before Peter the First. It was a push-open dress broadening downwards due to gores sewed into its side seams. The kaftan was to close the knees, and sometimes even reached the ankles. The kaftans were sewn of a wide range of fabrics; common people would wear kaftans of canvass or coarse heavy cloth, while boyars would put on kaftans of silk, broadcloth, velvet and brocade.

Noble or elderly people usually wore the kaftans at home; whereas the youth also put them on to go out. Depending on its purpose it could be warm or cold, long or short (as the riding kaftan), outerwear or underwear.

Shuba

One of the most specific Russian garments was the shuba(i.e. fur coat). All layers of population, from peasants to noble boyars and even the tsars, used to wear the shubas. In the old Rus shubas were never sewn with the fur outside. No matter how expensive the fur could be it always served as a lining. Peasants usually used sheepskin, or hare fur, whereas the nobles had shubas of marten, sable, blue fox or silver fox furs.

Outside the shuba was stitched with various types of fabrics, such as broadcloth, brocade or velvet. On festive occasions it could be put on even in summertime and indoors.

There were several types of shubas. The most popular of them were the “Russian” and “Turkish” ones. The “Russian” shuba was massive, long to the floor, and broadening downwards up to 3.5 meters at the hem. In front it was tied with laces. The shuba had long sleeves sometimes reaching the floor; they had holes to the elbows in front to put the arms through. The broad turn-down collar and the cuff were made of fur.

The “Turkish” shuba was considered extremely festive apparel and was usually put on the shoulders. It was long, with comparatively short and wide sleeves.

Shuba

The project was made by Konoplianikova Julia, Теаcher: Alla Larguina , Dubna,Russia 2009