Ancient Rus': clothes. Clothes in Rus': women's, men's, children's

In the 15th - 17th centuries, a sundress appeared - a long, sleeveless, loose garment, held on narrow shoulder straps and belted under the chest. A short shower warmer was worn over the sundress, which was also held on the shoulder straps. A shower warmer was sewn from expensive patterned fabrics and trimmed along the edge with a decorative border. Depicted in the picture Makovsky K.E. the girl is dressed in a white shirt, a red sundress and a shower warmer, her head is decorated with a crown with a pearl bottom, tied at the back with a red ribbon.

K.E. Makovsky "At the outskirts" 1890

One of the varieties of the headdress of married women is the kiqa. It was a hard hat with a flat top; sometimes there were parts on the sides that covered the ears. Kiku was decorated with pearls and embroidery. The painting by K.E. Makovsky depicts a kika richly decorated with embroidery. At the back, the hair is covered with a nape, and a lace headband hides the forehead.

K.E. Makovsky "Boyaryshnya"

A feature of the costume of the XV-XVII centuries was the simultaneous wearing of a large number of clothes. The multi-layered attire testified to the prosperity of a person, was the main criterion for the concept of beauty. Men wore zipun over their shirts - loose-fitting clothes with narrow sleeves. Zipun reached the knees and usually served as home clothes. Sometimes a feryaz (ferez) was put on the zipun, which was an outer garment without a collar, reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves tapering to the wrist; it was fastened in front with buttons or ties. A common type of outerwear worn on a zipun was a caftan. Caftans were sewn from expensive patterned fabrics, trimmed with buttonholes and buttons, braid and galloon. One of the types of caftan is okhaben. It had a quadrangular fold-down collar that reached half the back. The long sleeves had slits through which you could stick your hands, and the sleeves were tied in a knot at the back. Shoes were boots made of morocco and velvet, with heels.

A.P. Ryabushkin "A merchant's family in the 16th century" 1896 State Russian Museum

In winter, women wore fur coats. The sleeves of fur coats were long and narrow. Along the line of the armhole, a cut was made in them for threading hands. Throat caps, so named because they were sewn from the necks of fur-bearing animals, served as headdresses. Such hats were worn only by representatives of the boyar families. By the height of the throat caps, it was easy to establish the nobility of the clan: the higher the cap, the more noble the clan. The girl depicted in the painting by A.P. Ryabushkina is dressed in a fur coat trimmed with fur, the sleeves cut at the top hang down to the hem. On the head of the girl is a high throated hat.

A.P. Ryabushkin "Moscow girl of the 17th century" 1903

In the picture M.V. Nesterov depicts a girl in an old Russian princely costume. She is wearing a patterned caftan, from the wide sleeves of which the cuffs of the lower shirt are visible. A cloak-korzno is thrown over the shoulders of the princess, lined with ermine and fastened at the shoulder with a fibula. The girl's head is covered with a hat, on top of which a ubrus is tied.

"The Girl at the Lake (Princess)". Late 1910 - early 1920s.

Great importance in the women's costume belonged to headdresses. Girls wore loose hair or one braid, into which ribbons, gold and pearl threads were woven. Since ancient times, girls have been wearing a headdress? there was a metal hoop. Temporal rings and forehead metal ornaments were attached to it. A ribbon was tied around the head. Sometimes the tape was glued to a hard pad. Such a headdress was called a brow or a crown. Cassocks descended from him along his cheeks, and on his forehead - lift - strands of pearls with pendants. The crown could be small and large, festive. Such a festive crown with a pearl bottom, tied at the back with a silk ribbon, is shown in the picture by K.E. Makovsky.

K.E. Makovsky "Boyaryshnya" 1884

For the decorative solution of caftans, a high standing richly embroidered trump collar was used. Some types of caftans were girdled with sashes and belts made of leather, silk, brocade or velvet and decorated with gold embroidery, precious stones, and metal plaques. One of the forms of headwear was a small tafya, embroidered with silk and jewels, worn under the top headdress. Presented in the picture of Makovsky K.E. the boyar is dressed in a green caftan with a trump collar, belted with an embroidered belt. On the boyar's head is an embroidered tafya.

K.E. Makovsky "Boyarin" 1880

An icon of the 15th century, depicting the first Russian saints, princes Boris and Gleb, gives us a visual representation of the princely costume of Kievan Rus. The princes are dressed in long caftans, belted with embroidered belts. Cloaks-korzno are thrown over the shoulders. The costume is complemented by round embroidered hats with fur bands and morocco boots.

Icon "Boris and Gleb". Middle of the 14th century. Moscow

Women's costume in the XV - XVII centuries was extremely colorful. Top shirts were sewn from colored fabrics. Such a shirt was called red, that is, beautiful. The sleeves of the shirt were threaded into the slits of the armholes of the outer clothing, so their decoration was given special importance. Over the shirt they put on a long-skirted swing dress with wide sleeves - a faux pas. Collars were separate, not sewn to clothing. They were embroidered with pearls and silks. Standing and flattened on the shoulders, the collar was called a necklace, that is, surrounding the throat (vent). The ceremonial headdress was a kokoshnik. The solid part of the kokoshnik was sewn to the cap, which completely covered the head. The headband of the kokoshnik was decorated with pearls and colored glass, and a muslin coverlet was attached to the top, falling on the shoulders. The richness of the festive costume is illustrated by the picture of Makovsky K.E., the heroine of which is dressed in a red shirt with embroidered cuffs.

K.E. Makovsky "The young lady at the window (with a spinning wheel)" 1890s

A typical men's clothing in Muscovite Rus' was a fur coat - voluminous outerwear with a turn-down collar and wide sleeves. The top of the fur coat was covered with fabric (satin, brocade, velvet, cloth), and the lining was sable, ermine, marten, fox, arctic fox, hare, squirrel, and sheepskin. They fastened the coat with cords. Sometimes the sleeves had a slit at the level of the elbow for threading the hands. The lower parts of the sleeves hung loosely. Boyars and nobles wore fur coats both in winter and summer, without taking them off indoors. Fur coats were dining (on light fur, dressed at the table), sleigh and riding. Boyarin in the painting by K.E. Makovsky is dressed in a feryaz and a fur coat. A tafya is put on the head.

Do you know what women wore in ancient Rus'? What was a man allowed to wear? What did the common people wear in Ancient Rus', and what did the boyars wear? You will find answers to these and other equally interesting questions in the article.

What is the background of the shirt

“I know what the underlying reason is,” we will say now, having learned the true reason for this or that incident. But in the days of Kievan Rus, this meant something completely different. The fact is that at that time clothes were very expensive, they took care of them, and in order for the shirt to serve the owner for as long as possible, it was strengthened with a lining, that is, an underlying reason, for strength. It can be assumed that this expression acquired an ironic connotation due to the fact that some poor people boasted of rich sewing, but they were betrayed by the wrong side, sewn from cheap fabric. After all, the clothes of Ancient Rus' served not only for warming, but also for emphasizing their social status. The shirt here was of no small importance. For the nobility, it was the underwear, for the poor it was often the only one, not counting the ports and bast shoes. In addition, the shirt of a commoner was much shorter so as not to hinder movement.

Evil eye ornament

The boyars did not work in the field, so they could afford underwear almost to the knees. But regardless of whether you are poor or rich, the shirt had to have a belt. The word "unbelted" was used in the literal sense, but had an equally negative connotation. In addition, ornamentation was very desirable on this piece of clothing. Its patterns protected from the evil eye and other troubles. Death was a frequent guest in peasant huts. Then the "unfortunate" shirts were used. White with white embroidery if the parents were dying, and embroidered with black patterns if there was mourning for the children. Each piece of clothing also had a ritual meaning. When the widows plowed the village, preventing it from such misfortunes as cholera or the loss of cattle, they were bare-haired, without shoes and in snow-white, without any decorations shirts.

For whatever occasions the shirts were intended, they did not have a collar. It was replaced by the so-called necklace, which was fastened at the back with a button, for a celebration. This collar is suitable for any other clothing. And the longest preserved such kind of shirt as a kosovorotka. She appeared in the IX, and was worn until the XX century. A cloth with a small hole for the head and a cutout on the left side of the chest - that's all. Simple and practical.

Curtain on poneva

Separate shirts were worn very rarely. In the center and in the north of Rus', a sundress was put on top, and in the south - a poneva. What is poneva? In ancient Rus', it was a kind of skirt, only consisting of not one, but three woolen or half-woolen panels, pulled together at the waist with a gashnik. This belt was a sign that the woman was married. The color of the poneva was dark, with a red or blue tint, less often black. On weekdays, they sewed braid or red lace at the bottom, and on holidays they took out ponevs from chests, the hems of which were decorated with as many-colored embroidery as possible.

Women in those days had a hard time in many ways. Clothing is no exception. A feature of the women's clothing of Ancient Rus' was that on top of all of the above they put on an apron, which was called a curtain, and the Russian costume was completed with linen, woolen or semi-woolen shushpan.

Six kilos on my head

Headdresses for women deserve special mention. In a married woman, he could reach a six-kilogram weight. The main thing is that this design completely covers the hair. The people have long believed that they have witchcraft power. The base of the canvas was compacted with hemp or birch bark to make a solid forehead part. This was called kika, which ended with a cover made of calico, velvet or calico. The back of the head was covered with a nape, a rectangular strip of fabric. In total, such a “cap” could include twelve parts. In winter, a round fur hat could be seen on the head of a Slav, but her hair was completely covered with a scarf. On holidays, a kokoshnik appeared on the heads with a bottom made of matter and a base made of solid material. Usually it was covered with gold cloth and sheathed with pearls.

The girls had it much easier. Their headdress in Ancient Rus' looked like a bandage, a hoop or a crown. If such a rim was richly decorated, then it was called a coruna. The rigid, often metal base, covered with embellished fabric, was fashionable with urban dandies. In the villages, girlish whisks were simpler. Men preferred round hats with a fur rim. Sheep, arctic foxes and foxes went for fur. Dried hats and hats made of felt were also worn. Usually their shape was cone-shaped, and the top was rounded. They were sewn from linen and wool, and also knitted. Skullcaps made of sables could only be afforded by princes and close boyars.

Legwear

The legs were wrapped in a cloth made of canvas or cloth, and on these onuchi they put on bast shoes or cats, leather shoes. But the very first leather shoes in Rus' were pistons. They were made from a single piece of leather, which was gathered along the edge with a strap. Bast shoes made of bast were very short-lived. Even in the village they were worn for no more than ten days. On urban pavements, they wore out even faster. Therefore, bast shoes made of leather straps were more common there. Metal plates were often sewn on them, so that peculiar sandals were obtained.

Now felt boots are considered the most traditional footwear in Russia. But in fact, they appeared only in the XIX century and were very expensive. Usually there was only one pair of felt boots in the family. They took turns wearing them. Boots were popular much earlier. They were sewn from leather in the same way for men and women. The nobility flaunted boots made of morocco, goat skin soaked in lime mortar and polished with stone, yuft, that is, thick leather, and calf leather. Other names for boots are ichigi and chebots. Shoes that were tied with laces were women's shoes. Heels appeared on them only in the 16th century and could reach 10 centimeters.

From ports to trousers

If we talk about pants, then this word came to Rus' from the Turks somewhere in the 17th century. Before that, leg clothes were called ports. They were made not very wide, almost close-fitting. A gusset was sewn between the two trousers for ease of walking. The length of these primitive trousers was to the shin, where they were tucked into onuchi. For noble people they were sewn from taffeta in summer, and from cloth in winter. There were no buttons, and there was no cut for them. On the hips, the ports were held with a drawstring. Something similar to trousers in the modern sense of the word appeared in Russia under Peter I.

You can't survive without pants in Rus'

The great importance of clothing among Russians was determined, of course, by the climate. In winter, without pants, as in Rome or Constantinople, you won’t go out into the street. And the outerwear of Ancient Rus' in many respects differed from that which was in use in most European countries. Going out into the street, they put on warm long suites of cloth. Their sleeves were with cuffs, and the collar was with a turn-down collar. They fastened with buttonholes. This is typical for ancient Russian clothing. Wealthier people introduced axamite and velvet caftans into fashion. Zipun is a kind of caftan without a collar. The boyars considered it to be underwear, and the common people put it on the street. The word "zhupan" is now considered Polish or Czech, but it has been used in Rus' since ancient times. This is the same suite, but shorter, slightly below the waist. And, of course, speaking of winter, one cannot fail to mention fur. I must say that clothing made of fur and its quantity did not serve as a sign of wealth. There were more than enough fur animals in the forests. Fur coats were sewn with fur inside. Worn not only in the cold, but also in the summer, even indoors. You can recall historical films and sitting boyars in fur coats and fur hats.

Old Russian sheepskin coat

One of the signs of prosperity in our time is a sheepskin coat. But the Slavs had similar clothes - a casing - in almost every house. They made it from the skin of goats or sheep with fur inside. On the peasants one could often see a sheepskin coat, a casing made of sheepskin. If ordinary people wore naked casings, then the boyars preferred to cover them on top with foreign, expensive matter. It could be, for example, Byzantine brocade. Knee-length casings were later transformed into sheepskin coats. Women also wore them.

But other types of men's winter clothing of Ancient Rus' are forgotten more firmly. For example, Armenian. Initially, it was adopted from the Tatars and was sewn from camel hair. But it was too exotic, besides, sheep's wool was no worse. They put on a coat over a sheepskin coat, so there was no way to fasten it. Another indispensable attribute of the old Russian wardrobe was used: a sash.

One of the oldest Slavic garments is epancha. This is a round cape with a hood but no sleeves. Came from the Arabs and is even mentioned in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. Since the 16th century, it has become a cape worn on solemn occasions, and under the field marshalship of Suvorov, the epancha becomes part of the soldier's and officer's uniform. Okhaben was worn by people from the upper classes. After all, they sewed it from brocade or velvet. A feature of the okhabny was extremely long sleeves, which were thrown behind the back, where they were tied in a knot. On Easter, noble boyars went to serve in the feryazi. It was already the height of luxury, royal ceremonial clothing.

Let us also mention such clothes for all classes as a single-row. This is a kind of caftan, but long and with buttons to the hem. Sewn from colored cloth, without a collar.

In a coat and coat

Women of fashion in winter preferred fur coats with decorative sleeves. They were long and folded, and slits above the waist were intended for the arms. Many types of Russian costume were original. An example is a shower heater. For peasant women, this was a festive outfit, and for more prosperous young ladies, it was everyday. Soul warmer - loose, narrow front clothing, rarely reaching the middle of the thigh in length. It was usually sewn from expensive fabrics with beautiful patterns. Shugai is another type of short, fitted outerwear, reminiscent of a modern jacket. Could have a fur collar. Wealthy residents of cities wore outerwear made of cotton fabric. In the annals there is a mention of dressing gowns on princely daughters. For the common people, they, apparently, were a curiosity.

From flax and sermyaga

The fabrics from which clothes were sewn did not initially differ in great variety. Linen and hemp were used for shirts. The upper, laid-on outfit was woolen, and warm suites were made of coarse sermyag and sheepskin. Gradually, representatives of noble families acquired more and more silk fabrics from Byzantium. Brocade and velvet were used.

Cloak and power

For a long time, a cloak was an obligatory item in the Russian wardrobe, especially the princely one. It was sleeveless, draped over the shoulders, and was broken off near the neck with a fibula. They wore cloaks and smerds. The difference was in the quality of the fabric and in the fact that commoners did not use brooches. The first of the known varieties of raincoat - votola, made of vegetable fabric. Both plowmen and princes could wear votola. But the bluegrass is already a sign of high origin. For damage to this cloak during a fight, even a fine was due. Centuries later, bluegrass was more likely to be seen on monks than on city dandies. But the chroniclers mention the basket only when they want to emphasize the princely dignity of its owner. Most likely, even the closest boyars had no right to wear such a cloak. There is a case when he saved a man from death. For some reason, the prince wanted to save someone who had already been raised with a sword. For this, he threw a basket on him.

Canvas

What is canvas fabric? Now not everyone knows the answer to this question. And in pre-Mongol Rus', canvas clothing was the most common among both the nobility and the common people. Flax and hemp are the first plants to be used for fabric and clothing, mainly shirts and ports. Girls in those ancient times wore a zapon. Simply put, this is a piece of fabric that was folded in half and cut out for the head. Worn over a body shirt and girdled. Daughters from more affluent families had underwear made of thin materials, all the rest - from coarser, reminiscent of burlap. A shirt made of wool was called a sackcloth, it was so rough that the monks wore it to humble the flesh.

Will shit come into fashion

Much of the wardrobe of ancient fashionistas and dandies, having slightly changed, has survived to this day, but it has become far from being so accessible. The same well-made casing costs like an inexpensive car. Fur shower warmer is also not affordable for every woman. But now hardly anyone wants to wear a shabby or single-row. Although, fashion, they say, is back.

Publications in the Traditions section

Meet by clothes

Russian women, even simple peasant women, were rare fashionistas. In their voluminous chests, many different outfits were stored. They especially loved headdresses - simple, for every day, and festive, 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 the 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, in the language of color, shape, ornament, reveals to us many secret secrets and laws of the beauty of folk art.”

M.N. Mertsalova. "Poetry of folk costume"

In Russian costumes. Moore, 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 hard worker, plowman, 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, a blizzard sweeps? Peasant women weaved, sewed, embroidered. They did. “There is a beauty of movement and a beauty of stillness. Russian folk costume is the beauty of peace"- wrote the artist Ivan Bilibin.

Shirt

An ankle-length shirt is the main element of the Russian costume. Composite or one-piece, made of cotton, linen, silk, muslin or plain canvas. The hem, sleeves and collar of the shirts, and sometimes the chest part, were decorated with embroidery, braid, and patterns. Colors and ornaments varied depending on the region and province. Voronezh women preferred black embroidery, strict and refined. In the Tula and Kursk regions, shirts are usually tightly embroidered with red threads. In the northern and central provinces, red, blue and black prevailed, sometimes gold. Russian women often embroidered incantatory signs or prayer charms on their shirts.

They put on different shirts depending on what kind of work was to be done. There were "mowing", "stubble" shirts, there was also "fishing". It is interesting that the working shirt for the harvest was always richly decorated, it was equated to a festive one.

Shirt - "fishing". End of the 19th century. Arkhangelsk province, Pinezhsky district, Nikitinskaya volost, Shardonemskoe village.

Slant shirt. Vologda province. 2nd half of the 19th century

The word "shirt" comes from the old Russian word "rub" - frontier, edge. So, the shirt is a sewn cloth, with scars. Previously, they said not to “hem”, but to “cut”. However, this expression still occurs 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" rarely sounded in Russian villages. More often - 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 a purely masculine attire, ceremonial princely vestments with long folding sleeves. It was sewn from expensive fabrics - silk, velvet, brocade. From the nobles, the sundress passed to the clergy, and only after that it was entrenched in the women's wardrobe.

Sundresses were of several types: deaf, oar, straight. Swings were sewn from two panels, which were connected with beautiful buttons or fasteners. A straight sundress was attached to the straps. A deaf wedge-shaped sundress with longitudinal wedges and beveled inserts on the sides was also popular.

Sundresses with shower warmers

Recreated Holiday Sundresses

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

“The beauties of different classes dressed up almost the same - the difference was only in the price of furs, the weight of gold and the brilliance of stones. The commoner "on the way out" put on a long shirt, over it - an embroidered sundress and a warm jacket trimmed with fur or brocade. The boyar - a shirt, an outer dress, a letnik (clothes expanding downwards with precious buttons), and on top also a fur coat for greater importance.

Veronica Bathan. "Russian beauties"

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

Portrait of Catherine II in shugay 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 walking in traditional clothes and cultivated the European style. The wardrobe item was returned by Catherine the Great, a well-known trendsetter. 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 court ladies. 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 a Russian outfit - a light green silk dress with a short train and a corsage of gold brocade, with long sleeves".

Poneva

Poneva - a baggy skirt - was an indispensable element of a married woman's wardrobe. Poneva consisted of three panels, could be deaf or oar. As a rule, its length depended on the length of the women's shirt. The hem was decorated with patterns and embroidery. Most often, poneva was sewn from semi-woolen fabric in a cage.

The skirt was worn over 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 the age of majority, there was a rite of putting on a poneva, which said that the girl could already be betrothed.

Belt

Women's wool belts

Belts with Slavic patterns

Belt weaving loom

In Rus', it was customary for the lower women's shirt to always be belted, there was even a ritual of girdling a newborn girl. It was believed that this magic circle protects from evil spirits, the belt was not removed even in the bath. Walking without it was considered a great sin. Hence the meaning of the word "unbelted" - to become impudent, to forget about decency. Woolen, linen or cotton belts were crocheted or woven. Sometimes the sash could reach a length of three meters, such were worn by unmarried girls; a hem with a three-dimensional geometric pattern was worn by those who were already married. A yellow-red belt made of woolen fabric with braid and ribbons was wrapped around on holidays.

Apron

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

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

The apron not only protected clothes from contamination, but also adorned the festive attire, 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 trim inserts, the edge was decorated with lace and frills. There was a tradition to embroider an apron with certain symbols. According to which it was possible, as if 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

Headwear 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, bandages, hoops, openwork crowns, scarves folded in a bundle.

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

The kokoshnik was the ceremonial headdress of a married woman. Married women put on kichka and kokoshnik when they left the house, and at home, as a rule, they wore a povoinik (cap) and a scarf.

It was possible to determine the age of its owner by the clothes. Young girls dressed most brightly before the birth of a child. The costumes of children and older people were distinguished by a modest palette.

Women's costume abounded in patterns. Images of people, animals, birds, plants and geometric figures were woven into the ornament. Solar signs, circles, crosses, rhombic figures, deer, birds prevailed.

Cabbage style

A distinctive feature of the Russian national costume is its layering. Everyday costume was as simple as possible, it consisted of the most necessary elements. For comparison: a festive women's costume of a married woman could include about 20 items, and everyday - only seven. According to popular beliefs, multi-layered spacious clothes protected the hostess from the evil eye. Wearing less than three layers of dresses was considered indecent. Among 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 they began to be gradually replaced by urban fashion.

We thank the artists Tatyana, Margarita and Tais Karelin, winners of international and city national costume competitions and teachers, for the photos provided.

The living conditions of the ancient Eastern Slavs - the Drevlyans, Radimichi, Vyatichi, etc. - were the same as those of their neighbors - the Scythians and Sarmatians. They probably wore the same clothes. The ancient Slavs made them from leather, felt, coarse woolen fabric. Later, the costume of the Eastern Slavs became richer under the influence of Greek, Roman and Scandinavian clothes.

Men's suit

Men wore a woolen shirt with long sleeves, without a collar, which was wrapped up in front and girded with a belt. The floors of such a shirt were often trimmed with fur, and winter shirts were fur. The shirt could have been odorless.
Canvas or homespun trousers, as wide as bloomers, were gathered at the waist and tied at the feet and under the knees. Instead of straps, metal hoops were sometimes worn on the legs. Rich people wore two pairs of trousers: canvas and woolen.
Short or long cloaks were thrown over the shoulders, which were fastened on the chest or on one shoulder. In winter, the Slavs put on a sheepskin coat and mittens.

Woman suit

The woman's clothes were the same as those of men, but longer and wider and made of less coarse leather and fabric. White canvas shirts below the knee length were decorated with embroidery along the neckline, along the hem and sleeves. Metal plates were sewn onto long skirts. In winter, women put on short capes (shower jackets), fur coats.

Shoes

In the pre-Christian period, the ancient Slavs wore onuchi (canvas that wrapped the leg) with soles attached to the foot with straps, as well as boots that were made from a whole piece of leather and tied with a strap at the ankle.

Hairstyles and headwear

On their heads, the ancient Slavs wore bronze hoops, round fur hats with a band, felt caps, bandages. The men had long or semi-long hair trimmed at the forehead and beards.
Women wore headbands, later - scarves. Married Slav women covered their heads with a very large scarf that went down the back almost to the toes.
Girls let their hair down, women braided it into braids that were wrapped around their heads.

Decorations

Necklaces, beads, many chains, earrings with pendants, bracelets, hryvnias made of gold, silver, copper - these are the main decorations for both men and women.
Women wore metal head hoops, men wore hats made of bronze rings. Ornaments were also neck rings in the form of a twisted hoop; grivnas - densely strung silver coins or a half-hoop with chains. Numerous pendants, mostly bronze, in the form of bells, crosses, figurines of animals, stars, etc., as well as beads made of green glass, amber, and bronze, were attached to neck rings and chest chains.
The men sported leather belts with chased bronze plaques and long chest chains.
Women were happy to wear earrings with pendants, temporal rings, cleave outerwear on their shoulders with beautiful paired pins.
Both men and women wore bracelets and rings - smooth, with patterns, or spiral.

Costume of Ancient Rus' (10-13 centuries)

After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', Byzantine customs spread, as well as Byzantine clothing.
The ancient Russian costume of this period becomes long and free, it did not emphasize the figure and made it static.
Rus' traded with Eastern and Western European countries, and the nobility dressed mainly in imported fabrics, which were called "pavolok". This is velvet (with an embossed pattern or embroidered with gold), and brocade (aksamite), and taffeta (silk patterned fabric with a pattern). The cut of the clothes was simple, and it differed mainly in the quality of the fabrics.
Women's and men's outfits were richly decorated with embroideries, pearls, and trimmed with furs. Expensive sable, otter, marten, beaver fur was worn for costumes of the nobility, and peasant clothes were sewn from sheepskin, hare, squirrel fur.

Men's suit

The ancient Rusich wore a shirt and trousers (“ports”).
The shirt is straight, with long narrow sleeves, without a collar, in front with a small slit, which is tied with a cord or fastened with a button. Sometimes elegant ones were put on the sleeves around the wrist, made of expensive fabric, with “sleeve” embroidery - a prototype of future cuffs.
Shirts were sewn from fabric of different colors - white, red, blue-blue (azure), decorated with embroidery or fabric of a different color. They wore them loose and girdled. The commoners had canvas shirts, which replaced both their underwear and outerwear. Noble people over the lower shirt put on another one - the upper one, which expanded downwards, thanks to the wedges sewn into the sides.
Ports - long, narrow, tapering pants, which were tied at the waist with a drawstring - "gashnik". The peasants wore canvas ports, and the nobility wore cloth or silk ones.
The "retinue" served as outerwear. It was also straight, not lower than the knees, with long narrow sleeves, expanding downwards due to wedges. The retinue was girded with a wide belt, to which a purse was hung in the form of a bag - “kalit”. For winter, the retinue was made on fur.
The nobility also wore small rectangular or rounded “korzno” cloaks, which were of Byzantine-Roman origin. They were thrown over the left shoulder and fastened with a buckle on the right. Or they covered both shoulders and fastened in front.

Woman suit

In ancient Rus', women with a stately figure, a white face, a bright blush, and sable eyebrows were considered beautiful.
Russian women borrowed the Eastern custom of painting their faces. They covered their faces with a thick layer of rouge and white, and blackened their eyebrows and eyelashes.
Women, like men, wore a shirt, but longer, almost to the feet. Ornaments were embroidered on the shirt; it could be gathered at the neck and sheathed with a border. They wore it with a belt. Wealthy women had two shirts: an undershirt and an upper one, made of more expensive fabric.
A skirt made of colorful fabric - “poneva” was worn over the shirt: sewn panels were wrapped around the hips and tied at the waist with a cord.
The girls put on a "patch" over their shirts - a rectangular piece of fabric folded in half with a hole for the head. The zapona was shorter than the shirt, it was not stitched on the sides and was always belted.
Festive elegant clothes worn over a poneva or cuffs were a “top” - an embroidered tunic made of expensive fabric with short wide sleeves.

On a woman: a double shirt with a patterned belt, a cloak fastened with a fibula, pistons

On a man: a cloak-korzno and a canvas shirt with handrails

Grand Duke costume

Grand dukes and princesses wore long and narrow tunics with long sleeves, mostly blue; purple cloaks woven with gold, which were fastened on the right shoulder or chest with a beautiful buckle. The ceremonial attire of the grand dukes was a crown of gold and silver, decorated with pearls, gems and enamels, and "barmas" - a wide round collar, also richly decorated with precious stones and icon medallions. The royal crown always belonged to the eldest in the grand ducal or royal family. The princesses wore a veil under the crown, the folds of which, framing the face, fell on the shoulders.
The so-called "Monomakh's hat", trimmed with sable fur, with diamonds, emeralds, yachts, and a cross on top, appeared much later. There was a legend about its Byzantine origin, according to which this headdress belonged to Vladimir Monomakh's maternal grandfather, Konstantin Monomakh, and the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos sent it to Vladimir. However, it has been established that Monomakh's hat was made in 1624 for Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

prince costume: patterned fur coat, shirt, decorated with a border

princess costume: outerwear with double sleeves, byzantine collar

On a woman: a fur-lined cap, a hat with a satin band, pearl underskirts over the bedspread.

On a man: a brocade caftan with a trump collar, morocco boots

Warrior costume

Old Russian warriors wore short, knee-length chain mail with short sleeves over ordinary clothes. It was put on over the head and tied with a sash of metal plaques. Chain mail was expensive, so ordinary warriors wore a "kuyak" - a sleeveless leather shirt with metal plates sewn on it. The head was protected by a pointed helmet, to which a chain mail mesh (“aventail”) was attached from the inside, covering the back and shoulders. Russian warriors fought with straight and curved swords, sabers, spears, bows and arrows, brushes and axes.

Shoes

In ancient Rus', boots or bast shoes with onuchs were worn. Onuchi were long pieces of cloth that were wrapped over ports. Bast shoes were tied to the leg with strings. Wealthy people wore very thick stockings over the ports. The nobility wore high boots without heels, made of colored leather.
Women also wore bast shoes with onuchs or boots made of colored leather without heels, which were decorated with embroidery.

Hairstyles and headwear

Men cut their hair in an even semicircle - “in a bracket” or “in a circle”. The beard was worn wide.
The hat was an indispensable element of the men's suit. They were made of felt or cloth and had the form of a high or low cap. Round hats were trimmed with fur.

Married women went only with their heads covered - this was a strict tradition. The heaviest insult for a woman was to rip off her headdress. His women did not film even with close relatives. Hair was covered with a special cap - "warrior", and a white or red linen scarf - "ubrus" was put on top of it. For noble women, the ubrus was silk. It was fastened under the chin, leaving free ends, decorated with rich embroidery. Over the ubrus, they put on round hats made of expensive fabric with a fur trim.
Girls wore their hair loose, tied with a ribbon or braid, or braided into braids. Most often, the braid was one - on the back of the head. The headdress of the girls was a crown, often notched. It was made of leather or birch bark and covered with golden cloth.

Source - "History in costumes. From pharaoh to dandy". Author - Anna Blaze, artist - Daria Chaltykyan

The old clothes of the Russian nobility in their cut generally resembled the clothes of people of the lower class, although they differed greatly in the quality of the material and finish. The body was fitted with a wide shirt, which did not reach the knees, made of simple canvas or silk, depending on the wealth of the owner. At an elegant shirt, usually red, the edges and chest were embroidered with gold and silk, a richly decorated collar was fastened at the top with silver or gold buttons (it was called a “necklace”).

In simple, cheap shirts, the buttons were copper or replaced with cufflinks with loops. The shirt was worn over the underwear. Short ports or trousers were worn on the legs without a cut, but with a knot that allowed them to be pulled together or expanded in the belt at will, and with pockets (zep). Pants were sewn from taffeta, silk, cloth, and also from coarse woolen fabric or canvas.

Zipun

A narrow sleeveless zipun made of silk, taffeta or dyed, with a narrow small collar fastened (encirclement) was worn over the shirt and trousers. Zipun reached the knees and usually served as home clothes.

A common and common type of outerwear worn over a zipun was a caftan with sleeves reaching to the heels, which were folded so that the ends of the sleeves could replace gloves, and in winter serve as a muff. On the front of the caftan, stripes with ties for fastening were made along the slit on both sides of it. The material for the caftan was velvet, satin, damask, taffeta, mukhoyar (Bukhara paper fabric) or simple dyeing. In elegant caftans, sometimes a pearl necklace was attached behind a standing collar, and a “wrist” decorated with gold embroidery and pearls was fastened to the edges of the sleeves; the floors were sheathed with braid with lace embroidered with silver or gold. "Turkish" caftans without a collar, which had fasteners only on the left side and at the neck, differed in their cut from the "stand" caftans with an interception in the middle and with button fasteners. Among the caftans, they were distinguished according to their purpose: dining, riding, rain, "tearful" (mourning). Winter caftans made with fur were called "casings".

Sometimes a “feryaz” (ferez) was put on the zipun, which was an outer garment without a collar, reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves tapering to the wrist; it was fastened in front with buttons or ties. Winter feryazi were made on fur, and summer ones - on a simple lining. In winter, sleeveless feryazi were sometimes worn under the caftan. Elegant feryazi were sewn from velvet, satin, taffeta, damask, cloth and decorated with silver lace.

okhaben

The cape clothes that were put on when leaving the house included single-row, ohaben, opashen, yapancha, fur coat, etc.

Single row

Opashen

A single row - wide, long-sleeved clothing without a collar, with long sleeves, with stripes and buttons or ties - was usually made of cloth and other woolen fabrics; in autumn and in bad weather they wore it both in sleeves and in a nakidka. A robe looked like a single-row, but it had a turn-down collar that went down to the back, and the long sleeves folded back and there were holes under them for the hands, as in the single-row. A simple coat was sewn from cloth, mukhoyar, and elegant - from velvet, obyari, damask, brocade, decorated with stripes and fastened with buttons. The cut was slightly longer at the back than at the front, and the sleeves tapered to the wrist. The fields were sewn from velvet, satin, obyari, damask, decorated with lace, stripes, fastened with buttons and loops with tassels. The opashen was worn without a belt (“wide open”) and saddle. The sleeveless yapancha (epancha) was a cloak worn in bad weather. A traveling japancha made of coarse cloth or camel hair differed from an elegant japancha made of good fabric lined with fur.

Feryaz

The fur coat was considered the most elegant clothing. It was not only put on when going out in the cold, but the custom allowed the owners to sit in fur coats even while receiving guests. Simple fur coats were made from sheepskin or hare fur, marten and squirrel were higher in quality; noble and rich people had fur coats with sable, fox, beaver or ermine fur. Fur coats were covered with cloth, taffeta, satin, velvet, obyary or simple dye, decorated with pearls, stripes and fastened with buttons with loops or long laces with tassels at the end. "Russian" fur coats had a turn-down fur collar. "Polish" fur coats were sewn with a narrow collar, with fur cuffs and fastened at the neck only with a cuff (double metal button).

Terlik

Foreign imported fabrics were often used for sewing men's clothing, and bright colors were preferred, especially “wormy” (crimson). The most elegant was considered colored clothing, which was worn on special occasions. Clothes embroidered with gold could only be worn by boyars and duma people. The stripes were always made of a material of a different color than the clothes themselves, and the rich people were decorated with pearls and precious stones. Simple clothes were usually fastened with pewter or silk buttons. Walking without a belt was considered indecent; the belts of the nobility were richly decorated and sometimes reached several arshins in length.

Boots and shoe

As for shoes, the cheapest were bast shoes made of birch bark or bast and shoes woven from wicker rods; to wrap the legs, they used onuchi from a piece of canvas or other fabric. In a prosperous environment, shoes, chobots and ichetygi (ichegi) made of yuft or morocco, most often red and yellow, served as shoes.

Chobots looked like a deep shoe with a high heel and a pointed toe turned up. Elegant shoes and chobots were sewn from satin and velvet of different colors, decorated with silk embroidery and gold and silver threads, trimmed with pearls. Elegant boots were the shoes of the nobility, made of colored leather and morocco, and later - of velvet and satin; soles were nailed with silver nails, and high heels with silver horseshoes. Ichetygi were soft morocco boots.

With smart shoes, woolen or silk stockings were put on their feet.

Kaftan with trump collar

Russian hats were varied, and their shape had its own meaning in everyday life. The top of the head was covered with a tafya, a small cap made of morocco, satin, velvet or brocade, sometimes richly decorated. A common headdress was a cap with a longitudinal slit in front and behind. Less prosperous people wore cloth and felt caps; in winter they were lined with cheap fur. Elegant caps were usually made of white satin. Boyars, nobles and clerks in ordinary days put on low hats of a quadrangular shape with a “circle” around the hat made of black-brown fox, sable or beaver fur; in winter, such hats were lined with fur. Only princes and boyars had the right to wear high "throat" hats made of expensive furs (taken from the throat of a fur-bearing animal) with a cloth top; in their form, they slightly expanded upwards. On solemn occasions, the boyars put on a tafya, a cap, and a throat cap. It was customary to keep a handkerchief in a hat, which, while visiting, was held in hands.

In winter cold, hands were warmed with fur mittens, which were covered with plain leather, morocco, cloth, satin, velvet. "Cold" mittens were knitted from wool or silk. The wrists of elegant mittens were embroidered with silk, gold, and trimmed with pearls and precious stones.

As an adornment, noble and wealthy people wore an earring in their ear, and a silver or gold chain with a cross around their neck, and rings with diamonds, yachts, emeralds on their fingers; on some rings personal seals were made.

Women's coats

Only nobles and military people were allowed to carry weapons with them; townspeople and peasants were forbidden. According to custom, all men, regardless of their social status, left the house with a staff in their hands.

Some women's clothes were similar to men's. Women wore a long shirt in white or red, with long sleeves, embroidered and decorated with wrists. Over the shirt they put on a letnik - light clothing that reached to the heels with long and very wide sleeves (“caps”), which were decorated with embroideries and pearls. Letniki were sewn from damask, satin, obyari, taffeta of different colors, but worm-like ones were especially valued; a slit was made in front, which was fastened up to the very neck.

A neck necklace in the form of a braid, usually black, embroidered with gold and pearls, was fastened to the collar of the letnik.

The outerwear for women was a long cloth fur coat, which had a long row of buttons from top to bottom - pewter, silver or gold. Under the long sleeves, slits were made under the armpits for the arms, a wide round fur collar was fastened around the neck, covering the chest and shoulders. The hem and armholes were decorated with embroidered braid. A long sundress with sleeves or without sleeves, with armholes, was widespread; the front slit was fastened from top to bottom with buttons. A body warmer was worn on a sundress, in which the sleeves tapered to the wrist; These clothes were sewn from satin, taffeta, obyari, altabas (gold or silver fabric), bayberek (twisted silk). Warm padded jackets were lined with marten or sable fur.

Fur coat

Various furs were used for women's fur coats: marten, sable, fox, ermine and cheaper ones - squirrel, hare. Fur coats were covered with cloth or silk fabrics of different colors. In the 16th century, it was customary to sew women's fur coats in white, but in the 17th century they began to be covered with colored fabrics. The cut made in front, with stripes on the sides, was fastened with buttons and bordered with an embroidered pattern. The collar (necklace) lying around the neck was made of different fur than the fur coat; for example, with a marten coat - from a black-brown fox. The decorations on the sleeves could be removed and kept in the family as a hereditary value.

Noble women in solemn occasions put on their clothes a drag, that is, a sleeveless cloak of worm-colored, made of gold, silver-woven or silk fabric, richly decorated with pearls and precious stones.

On their heads, married women wore "hairs" in the form of a small hat, which for rich women was made of gold or silk fabric with decorations on it. To take off the hair and “to goof off” a woman, according to the concepts of the 16th-17th centuries, meant to inflict great dishonor on a woman. Over the hair, the head was covered with a white scarf (ubrus), the ends of which, decorated with pearls, were tied under the chin. When leaving the house, married women put on a “kiku”, which surrounded the head in the form of a wide ribbon, the ends of which were connected at the back of the head; the top was covered with colored cloth; the front part - the ochelie - was richly decorated with pearls and precious stones; the headdress could be separated or attached to another headdress, depending on the need. In front of the kick, pearl strands (lower) that fell to the shoulders were hung, four or six on each side. When leaving the house, women put on a hat with a brim and with falling red cords or a black velvet hat with a fur trim over the ubrus.

The kokoshnik served as a headdress for both women and girls. It looked like a fan or a fan attached to a volosnik. The headpiece of the kokoshnik was embroidered with gold, pearls or multi-colored silk and beads.

Hats

The girls wore crowns on their heads, to which pearl or beaded pendants (cassocks) with precious stones were attached. The girlish crown always left her hair open, which was a symbol of girlhood. By winter, girls from wealthy families were sewn tall sable or beaver hats (“columns”) with a silk top, from under which loose hair or a braid with red ribbons woven into it descended onto their backs. Girls from poor families wore bandages that tapered at the back and fell down the back with long ends.

Women and girls of all strata of the population adorned themselves with earrings, which were varied: copper, silver, gold, with yachts, emeralds, "sparks" (small pebbles). Solid gemstone earrings were rare. Bracelets with pearls and stones served as decoration for the hands, and on the fingers - rings and rings, gold and silver, with small pearls.

A rich neck decoration for women and girls was a monisto, consisting of precious stones, gold and silver plaques, pearls, garnets; in “the old days, a row of small crosses was hung from the monist.

Moscow women loved jewelry and were famous for their pleasant appearance, but in order to be considered beautiful, according to the Moscow people of the 16th-17th centuries, one had to be a portly, magnificent woman, rouged and made up. The harmony of a thin camp, the grace of a young girl in the eyes of the then beauty lovers had little value.

According to the description of Olearius, Russian women were of medium height, slender build, and had a gentle face; city ​​dwellers all blushed, eyebrows and eyelashes were tinted with black or brown paint. This custom was so rooted that when the wife of the Moscow nobleman prince, Ivan Borisovich Cherkasov, a beautiful woman, did not want to blush, the wives of other boyars persuaded her not to neglect the custom of her native land, not to disgrace other women and ensured that this naturally beautiful woman I had to give in and apply rouge.

Although, compared with rich noble people, the clothes of the "black" townspeople and peasants were simpler and less elegant, nevertheless, in this environment there were rich outfits that accumulated from generation to generation. Clothes were usually made at home. And the very cut of ancient clothes - without a waist, in the form of a dressing gown - made it suitable for many.

Men's peasant clothing

The most common peasant costume was the Russian KAFTAN. The difference between the Western European caftan and the Russian caftan was already mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. It remains to add that the peasant caftan was distinguished by great diversity. Common to him was a double-breasted cut, long floors and sleeves, a chest closed to the top. A short caftan was called a half-caftan or half-caftan. The Ukrainian semi-caftan was called a SWITTLE, this word can often be found in Gogol. Caftans were most often gray or blue in color and were sewn from cheap NANKI material - coarse cotton fabric or CANVAS - handicraft linen fabric. They girdled the caftan, as a rule, with a CUSHAK - a long piece of fabric, usually of a different color, the caftan was fastened with hooks on the left side.
A whole wardrobe of Russian caftans passes before us in classical literature. We see them on peasants, clerks, philistines, merchants, coachmen, janitors, occasionally even on provincial landowners (“Notes of a Hunter” by Turgenev).

What was the first caftan that we met shortly after we learned to read - the famous "Trishkin caftan" at Krylov's? Trishka was clearly a poor, needy person, otherwise he would hardly have needed to reshape his torn caftan himself. So, we are talking about a simple Russian caftan? Far from it - Trishkin's caftan had tails, which the peasant caftan never had. Consequently, Trishka reshapes the "German caftan" given to him by the master. And it is no coincidence that in this regard, Krylov compares the length of the caftan altered by Trishka with the length of the camisole - also typically noble clothes.

It is curious that for poorly educated women, any clothing worn in the sleeves by men was seen as a caftan. They didn't know any other words. The Gogol matchmaker calls Podkolesin's tailcoat (“Marriage”) a caftan, Korobochka calls Chichikov's tailcoat (“Dead Souls”).

A variety of caftan was UNDERNESS. The best description of her was given by a brilliant connoisseur of Russian life, playwright A.N. Ostrovsky in a letter to the artist Burdin: “If you call a caftan with ruffles at the back, which fastens on one side with hooks, then this is how Vosmibratov and Peter should be dressed.” We are talking about the costumes of the characters of the comedy "Forest" - a merchant and his son.
The undershirt was considered a more fine attire than a simple caftan. Dapper sleeveless undercoats, over short fur coats, were worn by wealthy coachmen. Wealthy merchants also wore a coat, and, for the sake of "simplification", some nobles, for example, Konstantin Levin in his village ("Anna Karenina"). It is curious that, obeying fashion, like a kind of Russian national costume, little Seryozha in the same novel was sewn a "gathered undershirt".

SIBIRKA was a short caftan, usually blue, sewn at the waist, without a slit at the back and with a low standing collar. Siberians were worn by shopkeepers and merchants, and, as Dostoevsky testifies in Notes from the House of the Dead, some prisoners also made them for themselves.

AZYAM - a kind of caftan. It was sewn from thin fabric and was worn only in summer.

The outerwear of the peasants (not only men, but also women) was ARMYAK - also a kind of caftan, sewn from factory fabric - thick cloth or coarse wool. Wealthy Armenians were made from camel wool. It was a wide, long, free-cut robe, reminiscent of a dressing gown. A dark coat was worn by Turgenev's "Kasyan with a Beautiful Sword". We often see Armenians on Nekrasov's men. Nekrasov's poem "Vlas" begins like this: "In an Armenian coat with an open collar, / With a bare head, / Slowly passes through the city / Uncle Vlas is a gray-haired old man." And here is what Nekrasov’s peasants look like, waiting “at the front door”: “Tanned faces and hands, / A thin Armenian on his shoulders, / On a knapsack on his backs bent, / A cross on his neck and blood on his legs ....” Turgenev Gerasim, fulfilling the will of the mistress, "covered Mumu with his heavy coat."

Armenians often wore coachmen, putting them on in winter over sheepskin coats. The hero of L. Tolstoy's story "Polikushka" goes to the city for money "in an army coat and a fur coat".
Much more primitive than the coat was Zipun, which was sewn from coarse, usually homespun cloth, without a collar, with sloping floors. Seeing a zipun today, we would say: "Some kind of hoodie." “No stake, no yard, / Zipun is all a living”, - we read in Koltsov’s poem about a poor peasant.

Zipun was a kind of peasant coat, protecting from cold and bad weather. Women also wore it. Zipun was perceived as a symbol of poverty. No wonder the drunken tailor Merkulov in Chekhov's story "The Captain's Uniform", boasting of former high-ranking customers, exclaims: "Let me die rather than sew zipunas! "
In the last issue of his "Diary of a Writer" Dostoevsky called: "Let's listen to the gray zipuns, what they will say," referring to the poor, working people.
A variety of caftan was also CHUYKA - a long cloth caftan of a careless cut. Most often, the chuyka could be seen on merchants and philistines - innkeepers, artisans, merchants. Gorky has a phrase: “Some kind of red-haired man came, dressed as a tradesman, in a coat and high boots.”

In Russian everyday life and in literature, the word "chuyka" was sometimes used as a synecdoche, that is, the designation of its carrier by an external sign - a close-minded, ignorant person. In Mayakovsky's poem "Good!" there are lines: "Salop says chuyka, chuyka salop". Here, chuyka and salop are synonymous with hardened inhabitants.
A homespun caftan made of coarse, undyed cloth was called SERYAGOY. In Chekhov's story "The Pipe" an old shepherd is depicted in a sackcloth. Hence the epithet homely, referring to the backward and poor old Russia - homespun Rus'.

Historians of Russian costume note that there were no strictly defined, permanent names for peasant clothing. Much depended on local dialects. Some identical items of clothing were called differently in different dialects, in other cases different items were called by the same word in different places. This is also confirmed by Russian classical literature, where the concepts of “kaftan”, “armyak”, “azyam”, “zipun” and others are often mixed up, sometimes even by the same author. However, we considered it our duty to give the most general, common characteristics of these types of clothing.

KARTUZ has only recently disappeared from peasant headdresses, which certainly had a band and a visor, most often of a dark color, in other words, an unshaped cap. The cap, which appeared in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, was worn by men of all classes, first landowners, then philistines and peasants. Sometimes caps were warm, with earmuffs. Manilov ("Dead Souls") appears "in a warm cap with ears". On Insarov ("On the Eve" by Turgenev) "a strange, eared cap". Nikolai Kirsanov and Yevgeny Bazarov (Fathers and Sons by Turgenev) walk around in caps. " Worn Cap" - on Eugene, the hero of Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman". Chichikov travels in a warm cap. Sometimes a uniform cap, even an officer's cap, was also called a cap: Bunin, for example, instead of the word "cap" used "cap".
The nobles had a special, uniform cap with a red band.

Here it is necessary to warn the reader: the word "cap" in the old days had another meaning. When Khlestakov orders Osip to look in the cap for tobacco, it is, of course, not about a headdress, but about a bag for tobacco, a pouch.

Ordinary working people, in particular coachmen, wore tall, rounded hats, nicknamed BUCKWHEATS - by the similarity of the shape with the then-popular flatbread baked from buckwheat flour. Shlyk was a disparaging term for any peasant hat. In Nekrasov's poem "To whom it is good to live in Rus'" there are lines: "Look where the peasant hats go." At the fair, the peasants left their hats to the innkeepers as a pledge, in order to redeem them later.

There were no significant changes in the names of the shoes. Low shoes, both men's and women's, were called SHOE in the old days, shoes appeared later, not significantly different from shoes, but debuted in the feminine: the heroes of Turgenev, Goncharov, L. Tolstoy had a BOOT on their feet, not a shoe, as we say today. By the way, boots, starting from the 1850s, actively replaced the almost indispensable boots for men. Particularly thin, expensive leather for boots and other footwear was called GROWTH (from the skin of a calf less than a year old) and calf - from the skin of a calf that had not yet switched to plant food.

Especially smart were considered boots with a SET (or assemblies) - small folds on the tops.

Forty years ago, many men wore STIBLETs on their feet - boots with hooks for winding laces. In this sense, we meet this word in Gorky and Bunin. But already at the beginning of Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" we learn about Prince Myshkin: "On his feet were thick-soled shoes with boots - everything is not Russian." The modern reader will conclude: not only not in Russian, but not in human way at all: two pairs of shoes on one person? However, in the time of Dostoevsky, boots meant the same thing as leggings - warm covers worn over shoes. This Western novelty evokes venomous remarks from Rogozhin and even a slanderous epigram against Myshkin in the press: “Returning in narrow boots, / He took a million inheritance.”

Women's peasant clothes

A SARAFAN, a long sleeveless dress with shoulder straps and a belt, served as rural women's clothing from time immemorial. Before the attack of the Pugachevites on the Belogorsk fortress (“The Captain’s Daughter” by Pushkin), its commandant says to his wife: “If you have time, put on a sundress for Masha.” A detail that is not noticed by a modern reader, but significant: the commandant expects that in the case of the capture of the fortress, the daughter will get lost in the crowd of peasant girls in rustic clothes and will not be identified as a noblewoman - the captain's daughter.

Married women wore PANEVA or PONYOVA - a homespun, usually striped or plaid woolen skirt, in winter - with a padded jacket. About the merchant's wife Bolshovoy clerk Podkhalyuzin in Ostrovsky's comedy "Own people - let's settle!" says with contempt that she is "almost a nerd", alluding to her common origin. In the "Resurrection" by L. Tolstoy, it is noted that the women in the village church were in panevs. On weekdays, they wore a POVOYNIK on their heads - a scarf wrapped around the head, on holidays KOKOSHNIK - a rather complex structure in the form of a semicircular shield over the forehead and with a crown at the back, or KIKU (KICHKU) - a headdress with projections protruding forward - "horns".

It was considered a great shame for a married peasant woman to appear in public with her head uncovered. Hence, “goof off”, that is, disgrace, disgrace.
The word "SHUSHUN" is a kind of village quilted jacket, short jacket or fur coat, we remember from the popular "Letter from Mother" by S. A. Yesenin. But it is found in literature much earlier, even in Pushkin's Moor of Peter the Great.

fabrics

Their diversity was great, and fashion and industry introduced new ones, forcing them to forget the old ones. Let us explain in dictionary order only those names that are most often found in literary works, remaining incomprehensible to us.
ALEXANDREYKA, or XANDREYKA, is a red or pink cotton fabric with white, pink or blue stripes. It was willingly used for peasant shirts, being considered very elegant.
BAREGE - light woolen or silk fabric with patterns. Dresses and blouses were most often sewn from it in the last century.
BARAKAN, or BARKAN, is a dense woolen fabric. Used for furniture upholstery.
PAPER. Be careful with this word! Reading from the classics that someone put on a paper cap or that Gerasim gave Tanya a paper handkerchief in Mumu, one should not understand this in the modern sense; "paper" in the old days meant "cotton".
GARNITUR - spoiled "grodetur", dense silk fabric.
GARUS - rough woolen fabric or similar cotton.
DEMIKOTON - dense cotton fabric.
DRADEDAM - thin cloth, literally "women's".
ZAMASHKA - the same as posconina (see below). On Biryuk in the story of the same name by Turgenev - a zamashka shirt.
ZAPREPEZA - a cheap cotton fabric made of multi-colored threads. It was made at the factory of the merchant Zatrapeznov in Yaroslavl. The fabric disappeared, but the word "shabby" - everyday, second-rate - remained in the language.
CASINET - smooth wool blend fabric.
KAMLOT - a dense woolen or half-woolen fabric with a strip of rough workmanship.
KANAUS - cheap silk fabric.
CANIFAS - striped cotton fabric.
CASTOR - a kind of thin dense cloth. Used for hats and gloves.
CASHMERE - expensive soft and fine wool or wool mixture.
CHINA - a smooth cotton fabric, usually blue.
Calico - cheap cotton fabric, one-color or white.
KOLOMYANKA - homemade motley woolen or linen fabric.
Creton is a dense colored fabric used for furniture upholstery and damask wallpaper.
LUSTRIN - woolen fabric with gloss.
MUKHOYAR - motley cotton fabric with an admixture of silk or wool.
NANKA is a dense cotton fabric popular among peasants. Named after the Chinese city of Nanjing.
PESTRYAD - coarse linen or cotton fabric made of multi-colored threads.
PLIS - dense cotton fabric with a pile, reminiscent of velvet. The word is of the same origin as plush. From plush they sewed cheap outerwear and shoes.
Poskonina - homespun hemp fiber canvas, often used for peasant clothing.
PRUNEL - dense woolen or silk fabric, from which women's shoes were sewn.
SARPINKA - thin cotton fabric in a cage or strip.
SERPYANKA - coarse cotton fabric of rare weaving.
Tarlatan is a transparent, light fabric similar to muslin.
TARMALAMA - dense silk or semi-silk fabric, from which dressing gowns were sewn.
TRIP is a fleecy woolen fabric like velvet.
FULAR - light silk, from which head, neck and handkerchiefs were most often made, sometimes the latter were therefore called foulards.
CANVAS - light linen or cotton fabric.
CHALON - dense wool, from which outerwear was sewn.
And in conclusion about some COLORS.
ADELAIDA - dark blue color.
BLANGE - flesh-colored.
DOUBLE-FACE - with overflow, as if two colors on the front side.
WILD, WILD - light grey.
MASAKA - dark red.
PUKETOVY (from spoiled "bouquet") - painted with flowers.
PUSE (from the French "puce" - flea) - dark brown.