Why were the first Russian sundresses for men, and why the tsar banned this folk costume

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

"Work carelessly" - the origin of this saying is directly related to the Russian national sundress. A very long outfit that almost completely covers the body was originally far from women's clothing, but men's. The first evidence that the Russian sarafan began to be used by the weaker half appeared only by the beginning of the 17th century. Even Peter I tried to deprive a piece of clothing so beloved by the people of national status. But the sundress survived, and even today, centuries later, this component of the wardrobe is in demand among women around the world. The first recognized couturiers are also inspired by the Russian folk dress, introducing an authentic sundress into the shows of their collections.

Where did the sundress come from?

The word “sarafan”, which is native to our ear, is by no means of Russian origin. The most widespread opinion of linguists is that the roots stretch to the Iranian consonant word, which translates as "dressed from head to toe." But there are several more etymological theories, united by the idea of borrowing from Eastern or Asian languages. The word "sarapa" is also in the Persian language, which, however, is interpreted similarly to Iranian. Scientists also do not take off the account of the Indian "sari", meaning "piece of cloth".

With sufficient semantic equivalence, it is not known for certain which of the words penetrated into the Russian language earlier, and therefore the question of borrowing remains open. It is clear that the sundress, which has become a Russian national symbol, had an overseas origin, and came to us with the establishment of trade relations with other states. And although sundresses in Russia have been known since the end of the 13th century, they began to be worn only by the 15th century, allowing these clothes to grow into Russian life forever.

Male outfit

Initially, this half-length dress was not worn by adorable young ladies at all. The sundress was an element of exclusively men's clothing. Often strict straight sundresses made of strong flax could be seen on the voivods. The prototype of this wardrobe element is considered to be a trapezoid-shaped dress with long fold-down sleeves, which took shape in Russia in the 12th century. Such an outfit was worn only in the circle of very rich people, as a rule, princes. It was sewn from brocade, velvet, silk, worn over a shirt.

Dangling elongated sleeves constrained a person when doing any business. Hence the famous saying about working carelessly. After some time, this dress reached the boyar circles, and even later it was adopted by the monastics. The sundress fell in love with all segments of the population by the 15th century, but it was only at the beginning of the 17th that women began to wear sleeveless dresses over their heads.

The nature of the sundress and the principles of wearing

Each region had its own style of national costume. Commoners, of course, could not afford whole brocade and velvet. Need gave rise to embroidery with gold in the circles of Russian needlewomen, decoration of sundresses and shirts for them with colored trim and embroidery with ribbons. The costume, made and decorated according to all traditions, was not cheap. In southern Russia, the sundress came into use only in the 19th century.

At that time, the so-called “round” sundress was considered the most fashionable throughout the country. He was also called "Moskal" and "Muscovite". And a century earlier in Russian society, the popular was the "swing" or "oblique-wedge" style. At the top, it was as narrow as possible, and expanded significantly towards the hem. For the most generous women of fashion, the width of the bottom in the straightened form reached 8 meters. Sundresses were decorated with lace in gold and silver tones. It was customary to sew a lot of buttons on top of the dress - up to a couple of dozen for one unit of clothing. Wealthy people sewed sundresses from brocade, taffeta, patterned silk, damask, velvet, decorating the hem with furs. Such truly items of handicraft art were inherited from mother to daughters, and then the sundress became a family heirloom.

There were also rules for wearing sundresses. These clothes were put on over one or several shirts (bottom and top), to achieve a rounded shape, several underskirts were pushed on. Young girls loved to flaunt in red shades of sundresses, mature women preferred blue, brown and black. The bride's wedding dress was also red, which, depending on the region, differed in embroidery ornaments. This outfit was necessarily subdivided into everyday and festive. And already a solemn sundress in wealthy wardrobes had its own purpose: Christmas, Easter, wedding.

European influences

The century of the national sundress was tried to interrupt Peter I, who purposefully fought for the introduction of European values in Russia. And the young reformer cared little about the fact that he was depriving Russian culture of its originality. The sovereign took and canceled the sundress. The ban affected not only this particular type of clothing, but also extended to the sale of things with a Russian character. From now on, it was not supposed to wear high skirts, traditional coats and short fur coats. Those who disobey were charged with impressive fines.

For this reason, in the Petrine era, the traditional costume was less and less used by the people. The poor reserved the right to wear coarse linen clothing. And the sundress, as such, was allowed only to the priest. But already with the accession of Catherine II, the sleeveless dress returned to fashion. The Empress herself appeared at masquerades and costume balls in traditional Russian costumes. She could be found in a luxurious sundress in a duet with a kokoshnik embroidered with jewels. This trend was so fond of in the highest imperial circles that Nicholas I even drew up a special decree, which obliged the ladies of the court to dress in dresses created according to the patterns of the traditional sarafan.

The sundress does not give up cultural positions in today's fashion. Fashion masters Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, etc., turned to Russian sarafan images in the preparation of high-profile shows. In the Russian borders, the national sarafan is invariably used not only as a concert outfit, but also by lovers of the authentic Russian style.

Women photographers were rare in the early days of this profession. So, Maria Mrozovskaya managed to film the tsar himself and his family.