An ancient wedding suit in Russia

The history of the Russian folk wedding costume dates back many centuries. The wedding has long been considered a special rite, therefore, the decoration should be appropriate. About the distinguishing features of the Russian costume for the wedding - read on.

Features of an ancient wedding suit in Russia

Wedding attire could vary significantly depending on the area. Despite the similarities in cut and decoration, they all had features. The tradition of folk costume in Russia can be divided into two directions:

southern;
north. In the central part of Russia, costumes were more like outfits of northern settlements.

The wedding suit looked very different from the everyday one . For his sewing used other materials, bright colors, an abundance of jewelry. The bride’s costume was multi-disciplinary - it consisted of many details.

As for fabrics, all clothes were sewn only from natural materials based on linen or wool . More often all the threads and yarn were woven and spun by the brides themselves. The dress for the bride was dense, but the shirt was sewn from light linen.

Outfit of the bride - what is it made of?

Women's costume in Russia consisted of a large number of elements. All of them were important and were never missed when creating the outfit.

Dress

The basis of the costume was traditionally a dress - a set of shirts with a sundress . A body shirt was found everywhere and could be both long (almost to the toe) and shortened (tunic-like). Since a sundress was always worn on top, only magnificent sleeves were visible from under it. In everyday life, a shirt was jokingly called “sleeves”.

Sewed a shirt made of natural linen. Four or two pieces of fabric were sewn together, and on the shoulders were inserted special pieces richly embroidered with silk threads. In general, the whole shirt was embroidered with plant, natural, geometric motifs. Multidirectional stitches of different colors were popular, so that the clothes became pockmarked and very elegant.

The sundress in Russia was sewn either wedge-shaped or straight. He did not emphasize the figure, freely descended on it . In rich families, the sundress was appropriate: the craftswomen cut it from brocade, decorated it with natural furs and stones, pearls. The peasants' dresses were more modest, made of linen or woolen materials, but were also embroidered with patterns, ornaments, beads and lace. This was the main difference between a wedding dress and an ordinary one - in the abundance of jewelry, even on an inexpensive sundress.

Headdress

In the north and south of Russia, the hats of the brides were significantly different. In general terms, the most common of them can be distinguished:

Kokoshnik - a headdress with an open nape, richly decorated with stones, beads and braid. Under it, they sometimes wore a thin tight-fitting mesh cap woven manually. She covered her hair completely ;
Kosnik - a headband with openwork patterns, pendants made of beads and pearls.

Footwear

The type of women's shoes depended on the season:

in summer - leather, woven sandals or shoes;
in winter - warm wool boots. The latter were decorated with bright patterns.

Accessories and add-ons

Additional jewelry in a women's suit was practically not used. Yes, and there was no need for beads or earrings, when the whole outfit from head to toe was embroidered with delicate motifs, stones and lace . What are only one wide embroidered sleeves of a light female shirt. Just a sight for sore eyes!

Separately, it is worth mentioning such a detail as a belt. He performed no longer an aesthetic function (did not emphasize the figure), but rather simply supported the outfit . Nevertheless, the craftswomen did not skimp on its decoration. He was tied on a belt, and the ends were either twisted or lowered into a free position.

Sometimes an apron also took place in the wedding decoration. He was no longer decorated as richly as the main dress. The main goal of putting on an apron is to show the bride's thrift.

What does the groom's suit look like?

Important! The bride was traditionally embroidered a shirt for the groom. This action was considered an important rite: the girl through prayers and chants transmitted her message.

The groom's wedding outfit throughout Russia was about the same. It consisted of trousers, a shirt and a belt. The shirt was no less bright than the clothes of the bride. She was certainly decorated with ornaments on her 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 at the waist. An interesting feature - the men's belt was embroidered with the same motif as the bride’s sundress.

The values of wedding embroidery and symbols on the 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 - favor of the Gods to the newly made family;
white-god - a symbol of everyday joy, love, light in the house;
star means the discovery of the universe and grace from heavenly forces;
Volot is a symbol of human power. Very often embroidered on the shirt of the groom.

Vintage wedding looks today

Now weddings in Russian style are returning to fashion. On them, the bride and groom put on folk costumes, thereby emphasizing their ethnicity. It is not necessary to completely repeat the old image - some elements, for example, a kokoshnik or a patterned caftan, are enough . Clothing can have a modern look, but with elements of the Russian tradition - embroidered belts, skirts, red boots. Here everything depends only on the imagination of the newlyweds!