Russian folk shirt: description, tailoring features, pattern, photo

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

At all times and for any nation, clothing had not only a traditional practical function, but also represented the national mentality and culture. Modern well-known couturiers are increasingly using the Russian national costume for the manufacture of their collections. The Russian shirt is the most ancient and universal element of the folk costume. Everyone was allowed to wear it: men, women, peasants, merchants and princes.

History of the Russian shirt

The Old Church Slavonic language contains many words that have much in common with "shirt". But if we approach this issue etymologically, then the closest ones will be: "hack" - a piece, a piece of fabric and "rush" - to destroy, tear.

This is not a coincidence. The reason is that the Russian folk shirt is the simplest attire: a fabric cloth, bent in the middle and equipped with a hole for the head. Yes, and scissors appeared much later than people turned to weaving. Gradually, the shirts began to be fastened on the sides, and then they were also supplemented with rectangular pieces of fabric - sleeves.

Distinctive features of the men's Russian shirt

Russian shirt (Slavic) is also a means of socialintegration. It could be worn by both a noble person and an ordinary layman - the only difference was the material used - linen, hemp, silk, cotton and rich finishes.

The collar, hem and wrists of the Russian national shirt must have been decorated with embroidery-amulet. A Russian men's shirt of the 17th-18th century can be distinguished from a South Slavic one by easily recognizable features: a slit at the neck shifted to the left, which allows you to hide the cross, and knee-length.

Women's shirt

Russian women's shirt is a fundamental element of the national dress. In the southern part of the country, a poneva skirt was worn over it, and in the central and northern part - a sundress. A linen shirt, coinciding in length with the length of a sundress, was called a "camp". In addition, the shirt could be:

• everyday;
• festive;
• magic;
• slanting;
• for baby feeding.

But the shirt-sleeve is among the most interesting ones. The peculiarity of this attire is very long, sometimes to the hem, sleeves, which were equipped with cutouts for the hands at the level of the wrist, which made it possible to tie hanging sleeves behind the back. In addition, wearing such a shirt could be done in another way: gather the excess length of the sleeve into a fold and grab it. Of course, such a shirt cannot be called everyday, since it is, to put it mildly, uncomfortable to work in it (by the way, the expression “working carelessly” originates from here).

Originally herworn for divination or some pagan religious rite. And a little later, she became a festive dress or outfit for noble people.

Magnetism of embroidery-amulet

Even many years after the Russians converted to Christianity, they did not stop believing in the healing power of embroidery-amulet applied to the body shirt. The same considerations were taken as the basis when sewing the first shirt for a newborn - if a boy was born, then the father's shirt was used, and if a girl, then the mother's. It was the most powerful amulet. Only by the third birthday of the child were sewing clothes from a new material.

Clothes or business card

In the old days, a Russian shirt was not just a piece of clothing, but also a hallmark of every woman. Previously, there were no boutiques and ateliers, and the duties of the hostess included tailoring clothes for herself and her family. Consequently, the better the suit fit, the more ornamental elements and decorations it had, the more diligent the wife was considered. In addition, the Slavic worldview is based on the ability to harmonize the surrounding space - family, yard, house, etc. And this can only be achieved if internal harmony is achieved. That is, if a woman is doing well, then the result of her work will be excellent. Conclusion - if a person put on a torn shirt, from which threads stick out, then the atmosphere in his family and soul is appropriate.

Important! Needlework was considered an exclusively female occupation. This fact is also a confirmation of the fact that, according to the ancestors, onlywife.

Men's shirt

Russian men's shirt is very different from women's. The difference lies in the more archaic cut and decor. Previously, homespun fabric was popular - a canvas 40 cm wide (the size is due to the design of a handloom). It is from here that the type of cut that is used to this day originates - vertical strips of fabric of different widths are used to make a shirt. The range of widths of modern material allows not resorting to the use of an additional strip along the waist, but it is precisely this cut that is provided for by the spirit of antiquity and the traditions of the ancestors.

The Russian shirt, the pattern of which has been worked out for centuries, is not only simple, but also practical, because it provides complete freedom of movement, which is so necessary for a man both in work and in battle.

For decor, embroidered ribbons or braid are usually used, the main locations of which are the collar, wrists and the bottom edge of the shirt. Another decoration is the "underlying" - the area from the neck to the solar plexus was decorated with embroidery or insertion from another material.

Authentic samples often contained swastika symbols. These decorative elements can no longer be called a simple decoration of a men's shirt - it is rather a powerful amulet that protects the owner from evil forces and black energy. The same protective power was possessed by a belt, or a sash, which was an invariable and obligatory addition to a man's attire. Therefore, the word "unbelted" means not onlyloss of restraint and decency, but also defenselessness against evil spirits.

Women's one-piece and composite shirt

A spacious Russian shirt for a woman was sewn from a whole longitudinal panel. In different provinces, such clothes had their own name:

• in Arkhangelskaya she was called a whole woman or a healer;
• in Vologda - checkpoint;
• in Kaluga and Orlovskaya - solid or single-walled.

In the 19th century, such shirts were considered rare - they could only be found at weddings and funerals.

Composite shirt (Russian) suggests the presence of the upper and lower parts. The first was supposed to be visible from under a sundress or poneva, so linen or hemp was used for its manufacture, and then cotton or silk fabric. Thick homespun canvas was used to make the lower part.

Shirts of the XIX-XX centuries were mostly compound. Mostly, when sewing, very economical patterns were used, which did not leave behind scraps, waste, since the width of the fabric was taken as the cutting modulus.

The composition of the shirt included rectangular and wedge-shaped parts. The cut of the front and back - the basics of the shirt - was made in such a way that the share thread was located along these parts. If necessary, the hem of the shirt was expanded by means of a side panel or a wedge.

A right angle was used to connect the sleeve to the central piece.

Most shirts contained a gusset - a square or wedge-shaped piece locatedunder the sleeve and providing freedom to the hands.

Cut types

Russian folk shirt can be tailored in various ways.

The tunic cut is considered the most archaic. Many peoples resorted to it, and in our tradition it was also reflected in other clothes, for example, in a deaf sundress, a curtain and a bib.

The most common type is a shirt with polyk - shoulder inserts that expand the neck of the shirt, and also connect the front and back. Among them are:

• shirt with straight stripes, which were sewn parallel to the weft of the main part of the camp;
• a shirt with straight polka dots that were connected in parallel to the base of the camp.

The former were popular in the provinces located in the northern and central parts of the country, and the latter in the Ryazan, Moscow provinces, as well as among the population of the upper Oka.