Russian Traditional Costume

It’s impossible to image the culture of any nationality without its traditional costume. Historians suppose that the traditional Russian costume started taking its shape in the 12^th-13^th centuries. Until the beginning of the eighteenth century, when Peter the Great proclaimed the Russian dress to be ‘peasant and non progressive’. He introduced a law that fined anyone who entered the city in traditional national clothes, as well as anyone with a beard. However, the national (folk) Russian costume was popular in the village till the beginning of the 20^th century. Nowadays, traditional Russian dress can only be seen worn by Church officials and during some ethnic holidays.

Rubakha (oversize shirt)

The basic element of any traditional Russian wardrobe was the rubakha, which could be worn by both men and women. Basically, this is the old style variant of the contemporary shirt. Rubakhas were worn as street clothes among the poor and as home clothes among the rich. The overall look was what is now called ‘oversize’ as it didn’t have any specific silhouette. Depending on the financial status, different materials were used for rubakha manufacturing and tailoring, from cheap linen or cotton to expensive imported silk. Collars and sleeves were decorated extensively.

Sarafan (long dress)

The main part of the female wardrobe was the sarafan. A long dress, which was often worn on top of a rubakha, that formed the ‘everyday’ and ‘special occasion’ outfit. The most common colors for sarafans were red, light or deep blue, wine and white. Sarafan dresses were often decorated with embroidery. There were two types of women costumes: the South Russian one with poneva, i.e. a homespun woollen skirt, and the Mid-Russian one with a sarafan, i.e. a kind of sleeveless dress.

Kokoshnik

In the case of women, the way the hair was arranged could tell a lot about civil status: young women could show off their hair arranged in a single braid decorated with flowers and other elements. Married women were not allowed to show their hair in public, so they covered their head with different decorations. It was masterfully decorated with pearls, golden and silver needlework and decorative stones. The head-dress was treasured in the family and handed down, and was an integral element of a well-off bride’s dowry.

Woven shoes

The woven shoes commonly made from fibres of the birch tree. No longer worn in modern times, today they are a decorative piece hanging in people’s homes.

Since old times clothing was designed not only to protect from cold and bad weather but also to decorate. Traditional clothing could tell a lot about a person: where he comes from, how rich or how old he was. Nowadays traditional clothing is the one that has amazing traits of our ancestors, so that ‘s the reason to keep our culture and history.