Slafrok is a home outfit that came to Russia from Germany. Its history is connected with the reign of Tsar Peter I. Everyone knows the sovereign's love for everything foreign. This concerned not only crafts and shipbuilding, which Peter was so fond of, but also fashionable traditions in clothing and accessories. The tsar wanted Russian officials and nobles to look no worse than European ones. In the article we will look at what it is - a dressing gown, how it looked and who wore it.
The background of the home robe
By the Decree of Peter the Great, issued in January 1700, all boyars, nobles and senior officials were required to replace national Russian attire with fashionable European dress. At first, Hungarian fashion was used as the basis of fashion traditions, then the tsar turned his attention to German and French outfits. This, of course, caused a wave of indignation among the residents of Russia who did not want changes in fashion. For a sample, mannequins with outfits were put up right on the streets.
Disobedience was punished to the fullest extent. Ancient long robes were cut off in public with scissors, and their owner was dishonored by putting them on their knees. If a person could not afford new clothes, he was given two years to accumulate funds. For an accurate count of time, an old Slavic dress was stamped with a date. German clothes were to be worn as daily wear, and French outfits were recommended for holidays.
Clothes dressing gown
If men wore white shirts with jabot collars, short knee-length trousers called culottes with stockings and a camisole on the street, then at home they had to wear a robe, the name of which was preserved as German - Schlafrock. It was called both dressing gown and dressing gown.
This is a home wide robe, which was usually sewn from silk, satin or expensive velvet. It was girded with a twisted cord with lush tassels at the end. It was very comfortable and warm, so many people liked it. It was allowed, according to the rules of etiquette, to even receive guests in such a bathrobe.
Description in literature
The dressing gown was worn in the 18th and 19th centuries, so references to this clothing are often found in the literary works of famous Russian writers. So, Oblomov, the hero of the novel of the same name by I. A. Goncharov, walked in a dressing gown at home. And in I. S. Turgenev's story "Two Landowners" one of the characters never took off this warm bathrobe stuffed with cotton, neither in winter nor in summer.
Now you know it's a dressing gown. This is an outdated concept, but such bathrobes are well known to us from movies andtheatrical productions. Everyone knows what it looks like, but, alas, many simply did not know its name.