Belarusian national costume

In many countries, for example, in German Bavaria or Switzerland, traditional folk costume is worn not only during national holidays or on stage, but also in everyday life: at home, on the street, even at work. Recently, in post-Soviet society, there has been a tendency to turn to folk costumes, whether it be its elements, characteristic embroidery or interesting stylization.

Folk costumes of any country are a direct reflection of its history. Traditional folk costumes are not just pieces of clothing that you can wear at your own discretion, they are historical artifacts, studying which you can come to a better understanding of the living conditions, cultural values, and ethnic characteristics of our ancestors.

The first mentions of the Belarusian folk costume appear at the beginning of the first half of the 10th century. They are rather indistinct and have a fragmentary character, however, archaeological excavations made it possible to recreate the "system" itself, this is what the ensemble of national clothes is also called, and to correlate the chronicle information about the requirements of those times for male and female suits in their various versions, depending on the origin of the person. his social status, type of activity, region (there are about 30 variations of costume, correlated with a certain area), place of residence (city or village), age, family differences.

Finally, the classic look of the Belarusian traditional costume was fixed only at the beginning of the 20th century. One should also take into account the fact that the Belarusian national costume used by the townspeople not only differed from the rural version, but had characteristic signs of a pronounced influence of European fashion.That is why it is customary to consider a villager's costume as a model of the national costume of Belarus, as it retained the features of true originality and self-identification.

The clothing complex of the Belarusian national costume arose in the distant Middle Ages, gradually forming under the influence of several "neighboring" cultures at once: Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Polish, while retaining, however, features inherent only to the Belarusian people: the dominant white color (thanks to which, as they say , Belarusians and got their ethnic name).

Bright embroidery was a characteristic element of clothing decoration., in which geometric patterns prevailed, and then plant motifs also firmly entered into use. As a rule, red yarn was bought for embroidery, sometimes specially additionally dyed to achieve richer and deeper shades. In some cases, for example, for embroidering head patterns and if the owner had sufficient income, silver or gold threads were used.

The men's casual suit included an oversized shirt, a hem and a collar that was decorated with embroidery, belted with a bright belt; trousers (one or two, depending on the wealth of the owner); kamiselki (vest); braverki (single-breasted jacket with a strap, made of cloth). In cold weather, again, depending on the wealth, they wore either a cloth sheepskin coat, or a sheepskin sheepskin coat (trimmed with fabric with embroidery), or a fur coat (an indicator of the great wealth of the owner). The headdress in the summer was a bryl - a wide-brimmed straw hat, in the winter - a fur ablauha (a hat to which four parts were sewn, two of which were tied at the top, and two - under the chin).

Women's clothing, even casual, had a significantly large number of different options.: cough - a white shirt with embroidery (there were three types of cough, differing in cut), spadnitsa - a skirt (of several types, differing in fabric (cloth, wool), cut (andarak, poneva, letnik, sayan), color, pattern (red, green and blue, checkered, striped), an apron (it was an obligatory wardrobe detail), a garset - a vest made of chintz fabric, velvet, and for wealthy women - from brocade (also decorated with luxurious embroidery, beads, multi-colored braid, appliques).

The outerwear of women, despite the similarity of cut with men, was nevertheless more elegant: woolen scrolls and sheepskin casings. Women's hats were also varied - girls were given wreaths or colorful ribbons, while the crown of the head remained uncovered. Married women were obliged to tuck their hair under a cap, over which a scarf or namitka (basting) was tied. In some regions, one could also see a kichka - a horned female headdress, characteristic of most Slavic peoples.

Festive: this type of national costume differed from everyday only in brightness, splendor of decorative embroidery, thinner and richer fabrics used for its sewing, and the choice of shoes - if the opportunity allowed,then on holidays leather shoes were worn instead of bast shoes. A variety of elegant accessories were added to women's costume on holidays: rings, bracelets, pendants, glass beads, earhooks (analogue of modern earrings), belt buckles, brooches (fasteners).

Clothes for girls and boys practically did not differ from the clothes of adults.except for some details. For example, a girl who put on an apron for the first time was considered a girl, and a girl who replaced a girl's wreath with a wedding dress was considered a woman.

An important feature of the Belarusian ethnic costume is that it belongs to the so-called belt. Elements of the traditional ensemble of clothes of the inhabitants of Belarus - a men's belt and a women's apron, indispensable attributes of men's and women's suits, respectively, containing deep symbolism - in addition to utilitarian, practical functions (due to the lack of pockets in clothes, a handbag and all the things necessary for household use were attached to the men's belt , and to the belt of a woman's apron - keys and various little things), they have a ritual, protective meaning.

While in the warm season, almost the entire population of the village walked barefoot.making an exception only for holidays, it was absolutely unthinkable for a man to leave the house without a belt. Even the absence of a headdress could be, with difficulty, but justified, the absence of a belt was not justified and threatened with ridicule and even shame. The women's apron was of the same importance - an additional amulet of the female womb.

A striking distinctive feature of the Belarusian women's costume is the namitka - a headdress marking the girl's becoming a woman in a wedding ceremony. Namitka, first wound on the head of the bride, like a modern veil, was kept alive and was put on the head of the deceased for the second time.

This old Belarusian headdress was a long piece of fabric, which was wound over a light wooden hoop worn over the head. Despite its simplicity, women contrived to tie namitka in a variety of ways, characteristic not just for each region, but even for each village. The wraps were sewn from fine, expensive fabrics and decorated with lace, rich embroidery.

Available natural materials were used as fabric for sewing clothes: flax, called God's candle, wool, sometimes hemp. Sheepskin and thick cloth were used in the manufacture of warm versions of clothing. The dyes were also of natural origin: infusions of various types of herbs, tree bark, swamp ore.

• Decorated with colorful traditional embroidery, the shirt looks very stylish and can be successfully worn with a skirt or jeans for a simple but effective ethnic-casual look.

• In a dress decorated with luxurious embroidery in the national Belarusian style, any woman will undoubtedly be in the spotlight.

• Also noteworthy is a T-shirt with ethnic patterns, which will suit both a young man and a girl.

• Variants of national ornament on children's things look great - bright, attractive and original.

• Trends of traditional or well-stylized wedding dresses in the Belarusian style are gaining more and more popularity.

• Elements and motives of the Belarusian national costume arouse great interest on world catwalks as well.