The history of Russian folk wedding costume goes back many centuries. Since ancient times, a wedding has been considered a special ceremony, so the decoration should be appropriate. Read on to learn about the distinctive features of a Russian wedding costume.
Features of an ancient wedding costume in Rus'
Wedding attire could vary significantly depending on the area. Despite the common features in cut and decoration, they all had their own characteristics. The tradition of folk costume in Rus' can be divided into two directions:
- southern;
- northern. In the central part of Rus', costumes were more similar to the outfits of northern settlements.
The wedding suit looked very different from the everyday one. To sew it, they used different materials, bright colors, and an abundance of decorations. The bride's costume was multi-item - it consisted of many details.
As for fabrics, then all clothes were made only from natural materials based on flax or wool. More often than not, all the threads and yarn were woven and spun by the brides themselves. The bride's sundress was thick, but the shirt was made from light linen.
The bride's outfit - what does it consist of?
Women's costume in Rus' consisted of a large number of elements. All of them were important and were never missed when creating an outfit.
Dress
The basis of the costume was traditionally a dress - a complex shirts with sundress. The undershirt was found everywhere and could be either long (almost to the toes) or short (tunic-like). Since a sundress was always worn on top, only puffy sleeves were visible from under it. In everyday life, the shirt was jokingly called “sleeves”.
They made a shirt from natural linen. Four or two pieces of fabric were sewn together, and special pieces richly embroidered with silk threads were inserted on the shoulders. In general, the entire shirt was embroidered with plant, natural, and geometric motifs. Multi-directional stitches in different colors were popular, which made the clothes pockmarked and very elegant.
In Rus', the sundress was sewn either wedge-shaped or straight. He did not emphasize the figure, he went down it freely. In rich families, the sundress was appropriate: craftswomen cut it out of brocade and decorated it with natural furs, stones, and pearls. The peasants' dresses were more modest, made of linen or woolen materials, but they were also embroidered with patterns, ornaments, beads and lace. This was the main difference between a wedding dress and an ordinary one - the abundance of decorations even on an inexpensive sundress.
Headdress
In the north and south of Rus', brides' headdresses differed significantly. In general terms, the most common of them can be identified:
- kokoshnik - a headdress with an open back of the head, richly decorated with stones, beads and braid.Sometimes they wore a thin, tight-fitting mesh cap, woven by hand, underneath it. She completely covered her hair;
- kosnik - a ribbon headband with openwork patterns, pendants made of beads and pearls.
Shoes
The type of women's shoes depended on the time of year:
- in summer - leather, wicker sandals or shoes;
- in winter - warm woolen boots. The latter were decorated with bright patterns.
Accessories and add-ons
Additional decorations were practically not used in women's costumes. Yes and there was no need for beads or earrings when the entire outfit from head to toe was embroidered with openwork motifs, stones and lace. Just look at the wide embroidered sleeves of a light women's shirt. Just a sight for sore eyes!
It is worth mentioning separately such details as belt. It no longer served an aesthetic function (did not emphasize the figure), but rather simply supported the outfit. Nevertheless, the craftswomen did not skimp on its decoration. It was tied at the waist, and the ends were either twisted or lowered into a loose position.
Sometimes in the wedding decoration there was also apron. It was no longer decorated as richly as the main dress. The main purpose of putting on an apron is to show the bride's thriftiness.
What does the groom's suit look like?
Important! Traditionally, the bride embroidered the groom's shirt. This action was considered an important rite: the girl conveyed her message through prayers and chants.
The groom's wedding attire was approximately the same throughout Rus'. It consisted of trousers, a shirt and a belt. The shirt was no less bright than the bride's clothes. She was certainly decorated with ornaments on the chest and sleeves. If the shirt was white, then the embroidery was red. Bright red shirts were embroidered with gold threads.
The length of the shirt reached the hips and even lower. A richly decorated belt was tied around the waist.An interesting feature is that the men’s belt was embroidered with the same motif as the bride’s sundress.
Meanings of wedding embroidery and symbolism on a dress
Numerous ornaments were embroidered on a wedding suit for a reason. It was believed that each of them has a sacred meaning. The future married life of the newlyweds depended on the image on the dress. For example:
- the tree of life means the beginning of a new stage in life;
- Bogodar - the favor of the Gods towards the newly-made family;
- Belobog is a symbol of everyday joy, love, light in the house;
- the star means the opening of the Universe and grace from the Heavenly powers;
- Volot is a symbol of human strength. Very often embroidered on the groom's shirt.
Vintage wedding looks today
Now Russian-style weddings are coming back into fashion. In them, the bride and groom dress in folk costumes, thereby emphasizing their ethnicity. It is not necessary to completely repeat the old image - some elements are enough, for example, a kokoshnik or a patterned caftan. Clothes can have a modern look, but with elements of Russian tradition - embroidered belts, skirts, red boots. Here everything depends only on the imagination of the newlyweds!