Belarusian national costume

National costume is a well-established set of clothes, shoes and jewelry. It took shape for more than one century, was highly dependent on climate and reflected the traditions of the people. Natural conditions influenced not only a set of clothes for a suit, but also the choice of fabrics for them. For example, the Belarusian national costume, which we will discuss in this article, was sewn from linen, woolen and even hemp fabrics, decorations were made from wood, straw and much more. In a word, from what was at hand.

It is believed that the first information about the clothes of Belarusians is reported in the 1588 Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Descriptions and even images of national clothes of those times can be found in the notes of travelers traveling through the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

What is so special about the Belarusian national costume? What is different from the nearest neighbors - Russian, Ukrainian, Polish costumes?

The main color of clothes of Belarusians was white. There is a legend that it was for this that they got their name. Many famous people have noticed this feature during their travels. Thus, the ethnographer of the XIX century Pavel Shane wrote about the Belarusian lands in his notes: "... Where people meet, there is a solid white wall."

As we said at the beginning, fabrics were made on the basis of local organic material. These were mainly flax, wool, hemp and even nettle. They brought on Belarusian lands and expensive fabrics, such as silk or velvet. But for ordinary peasants they were not available.

Until the end of the XIX century, in the peasant farms, the fabrics were made independently. Also independently painted them. To do this, use the roots of plants, berries, bark or buds of trees and much more. Painted mainly fabrics for skirts, pants and sleeveless jackets. For other products, the fabric is simply bleached.

Shirt is the main element of the national costume. At first it was done without seams on the shoulders. Cloth simply folded in half in the right place and so tailored. But in the XIX century it was already considered an obsolete way, which was used only for sewing ritual clothing.

In the new way of cutting the shirts, special inserts (palics) of the same fabric, which connected the back and front panels, have become.

Collars were also a feature of festive clothing. They were made mostly stand-up, no more than 3 cm, and fastened with a small button. The gentry — the poor nobility, who could not confirm their belonging to the upper class and the peasants remaining in the class — sewed shirts with a turn-down collar to emphasize their peculiarity. Such a collar buttoned on the cufflink.

The main accessory of the national costume is a belt. The belts were woven on their own, the patterns were the most incredible. The richer the family, the more expensive the belt. This item of clothing was judged on the welfare of the family. Very rich people could afford silk belts with interweaving of expensive gold and silver threads. Every such belt is today considered a work of art, to which entire museum expositions are dedicated.

So, the basis of any suit in ancient times was a shirt. Women's shirts were long and sewed from flax. They were always decorated with embroidery. A skirt was worn over the shirt. Skirts could be different: in the summer - from flax (“letnik”), in the autumn and winter - from cloth (“Andarak”), and also peculiar for adult women. An apron was worn over the skirt, and a sleeveless shirt was worn over the shirt. And girdled. The head was necessarily decorated with a headdress that carried information about the marital status of a woman. Complement the image of beads, ribbons and other decorations. This is the basis. But there could be options.

The color of the skirt, skins or andarak could be any. Mostly painted in red or blue-green. Also, the skirt could sew from the fabric in a cage or strip. Aprons were always embroidered, and sleeveless jackets were also decorated with lace.

Sleeveless was an element of festive clothing. They made it necessarily on the lining, and called it “Garset”. Garset's cut could be different: up to the waist or longer, straight or fitted. There were no strict regulations on this. The sleeveless jacket could be buttoned on hooks, buttons or simply laced up.

But the hats were not as monotonous as outerwear. The girls decorated their hair with ribbons and wreaths. Married women had to hide their hair. Most often, Belarusians wore a “namitka” or a scarf.

To put on a garment, it was necessary to collect the hair in a bun on the top of the head and wind it on a skeleton ring. Then they put on a special cap, and on it - bleached linen cloth. Its length was on average 4-6 m, and its width was 30-60 cm.

Peasants wore bast shoes or postola. Postoli are special sandals made from raw skin. Boots or shoes shod only on holidays. Often for the whole family it was only one pair. Such shoes were made by shoemakers to order, and therefore it was very expensive.

The basis of the men's suit was also a shirt, which was embroidered around the collar and below. Next, dress pants and sleeveless. From accessories - a belt and a headdress.

Pants on the Belarusian lands were called “leggings” or “pants”. Summer pants were made from flax, winter pants were made from cloth. By the way, because of this, winter legs were called "cloth cloths". Pants could cut with a belt and button up, and they could be without a belt and just tightened on a string. Rich peasants wore silk over the linen legs on holidays. By the way, over time, the legs and all began to be considered the lower male underwear. But this happened at the beginning of the 20th century, when factory-made trousers were already being worn in the village.

Men's sleeveless were called "kamizelka." They made them out of cloth.

There were a lot of hats. They did not carry on themselves such social values ​​as women, and were used for their intended purpose. In the cold season they wore a “maherka” made of felted wool, in the summer they wore a “bryl” - a straw hat with brim. In winter, they also used ablavuhi fur hats. In the second half of the XIX century. a cap has come into fashion - a summer hat with a lacquered visor.

Children up to 6-7 years old, no matter the floor, girls and boys, wore an ordinary linen shirt to the toe, which was fastened with a belt at the waist. The first pants were worn over the boy at the age of 7-8, the girl’s first skirts were tried on at 7-8.

Further, as they matured, new elements were added. So the girl should sew her first apron and embroider herself. As soon as she did this, she was considered a girl and could be invited in the company of young people. When the girl was dressed, she could wear a skirt - a special skirt worn only by adult women. And, of course, the most important element was the headdress. Before marriage, it was wreaths and ribbons, after - a scarf or namitka.