Топик НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ РУССКИЙ КОСТЮМ (NATIONAL RUSSIAN COSTUME)

НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ РУССКИЙ КОСТЮМ (NATIONAL RUSSIAN COSTUME)

Traditional clothes express the people's identity through the national costumes. They often look nice and colourful. As a rule, they show the wearer’s role in society, his rank or social status as well as his marital status and age. National costumes also have to protect the wearer from cold or bad weather.

P robably the best-known traditional pieces of clothing in Russia are sarafans and rubakhas. The sarafan was the main part of the female wardrobe. It’s a long sleeveless dress which was often worn on top of a rubakha. The rubakha was a linen oversize shirt or blouse. Russian people hand-painted linen fabric, sewed shirts and sarafans and decorated them with embroidery.

Traditional man's outfit consisted of a rubakha, long narrow trousers, leather  boots, a kushak (a waistband), a woolen hat and a kaftan (a light woolen coat). In summer people in Russian villages wore lapti (shoes woven from bast fiber). Traditional winter footwear was valenki (felt boots).

Russian women in the past wore sarafans, aprons, blouses, leather shoes or valenki, kokoshniks and jewellery. The kokoshnik is an amazing  national women’s headwear, usually decorated with river pearls, decorative stones, golden and silver needlework.

Traditionally, Russian clothing had two main colors: white and red. Festive clothing was richly decorated with ornaments and embroidery. There were differences between the clothing of young women, married women and older women. Clothing of older women had fewer ornaments and was made in darker tones.