An old women's headdress, like all the clothes of those times, reflected the customs and worldview of the Russian people, as well as their attitude to nature and the whole world. Some elements of clothing in the old days were borrowed from other peoples, although to a greater extent Russian costumes had their own, special style.
How women dressed in Russia
The main component of women's clothing was a shirt or shirt. The first was a kind of underwear and was made exclusively from thick and coarse fabric. The second one was always sewn from thin and light materials. Shirts were mostly worn by rich women, while the rest always wore shirts.
At the same time, the girls wore canvas clothes called "zapona". In appearance, it resembled a piece of fabric folded in half with a small cutout for the head. The zapona was worn over the shirt and girdled.
In the cold season, the inhabitants of Russia wore fur coats. In honor of various celebrations, they dressed in long sleeves -special shirts. Around the hips, women wrapped a fabric of wool, intercepting it at the waist with a belt. This piece of clothing is called "poneva". Most often it was made in a cage. The colors of the poneva differed in different tribes.
Antique women's hats in Russia
In the days of Ancient Russia, men always wore the same hats, but women's hats were classified into girls' and intended for married ladies. Each girl had to strictly observe the style and rules of wearing clothes. All types of vintage women's headwear are listed and described below.
Headbands and ribbons
The traditional girl's headdress was not designed to cover the crown of the wearer. He left a fairly large part of his hair open. From the earliest years, girls in Russia wore ordinary ribbons made of cloth.
At an older age, they had to wear another girl's headdress - a bandage (bandage). In some areas, it was often called faded. This element completely covered the forehead and was fixed at the back of the head with a knot. As a rule, such headbands were created from birch bark, silk ribbons, and also brocade. Their owners decorated their hats with glass beads, embroidery, precious stones and gold.
In the census of the property of the daughter of one of the Russian tsars, Alexei Mikhailovich, "a dressing strewn with pearls" was mentioned. Often there were bandages, the forehead part of which was distinguished by a special decoration,made in the form of a figure or a patterned knot.
Whisk
Another type of ancient women's headdress is a crown (corolla). It originated from a wreath, which was made up of different flowers. According to the beliefs of the ancestors, this dress protected from evil spirits.
They made whisks from a thin metal ribbon, the width of which did not exceed 2.5 centimeters. Bronze and silver were also used for this. In appearance, such a headdress was similar to a bandage, but the only difference was the hooks for a ribbon or lace to tightly tie the whisk on the back of the head.
Often the crown was decorated with patterns with teeth at the top. On big holidays, girls wore dresses decorated with strings of pearls hanging down along their cheeks - the so-called cassocks. It was this decoration that was at the wedding of Tsaritsa Evdokia Lopukhina.
Warm hat
In the cold season, on the heads of the girls one could see hats, which in those days were called stolbunts. A long girl's braid fell out of them on the back, decorated, in turn, with a red ribbon.
Cleaning after marriage
Ancient women's headdresses performed not only an aesthetic function - they served as a kind of indicator of both the status and marital status of a beauty. As soon as the girl got married, this element of the outfit immediately changed. This happened for the reason that after marriage, all the beauty of the wife belonged only to her husband. Foreigners who visited Russian lands described the wedding custom as follows:during the celebration, the man threw a scarf over the head of his chosen one and thereby demonstrated that from now on he became her legal husband.
Scarf, or ubrus
This ancient women's headdress was especially liked by the girls. It was called differently in different regions. Among the most common names: fly, towel, underwire, basting, veil and so on. This scarf consisted of a rather thin rectangular cloth, the length of which reached a couple of meters, and the width was about 50 centimeters.
One of the ends of the ubrus has always been decorated with embroidery with silk threads, silver, gold. He hung over his shoulder and never hid under clothes. The second end was intended to tie their head around and chip off at the bottom of the chin. In the 10th and 11th centuries, it was customary to place a beautiful set of small jewelry items on top of such a scarf - hanging rings and all kinds of jewelry.
Some time later, the ubrus began to be made in a triangular shape. In this case, both ends were cleaved under the chin or tied at the crown with a curly knot, but this required a special skill that not every Russian woman owned. Also, the ends could go down to the shoulders or back and were richly embroidered. This fashion of wearing headscarves came to Russia only in the 18-19 centuries from Germany. Earlier, the scarf simply wrapped around the girl’s neck, and the knot was located at the very top of the crown and was tightened rather tightly. This method was called "head". One of the contemporaries of the 18th century wrote thatthe expressiveness of the headscarf was necessary in order to "elevate the beauty and give even more color" to the women's faces.
How they hid their hair
When compiling their own headdress on ordinary days, women used a lingerie, or volosnik (povoynik). It was a small mesh hat made of thin material. This headdress consisted of a bottom, as well as a band in which lacing around the head was provided - especially so that the cap was tied as tight as possible. The povoinik, as a rule, was decorated with a variety of stones, pearls, which women independently sewed onto the forehead area. Such a patch was unique and special, as each craftswoman took care of it and passed it on to her daughter, attaching it to her headdress.
The main purpose of the lingerie was to hide women's hair from prying eyes. There were also women who were too zealous, pulling off the headdress so that they could hardly blink. On top of the warrior in winter, a hat or scarf was always worn. Starting from the 18th century, these headdresses began to change and eventually acquired the shape of a cap. Sometimes it was worn along with an ubrus, put on over it. It hung mainly on the beauty and degree of decoration of this element. Each woman treated her clothes and headdresses with trepidation, because it was they who spoke of her as a mistress and faithful wife.
What married women wore: what is a brocade kichka
After the woman went outmarried, along with a scarf and a warrior, she had to wear a special headdress - kiku (kichka). Now few people know what a brocade kichka is, but in those days it was a real privilege of married ladies. It is for this reason that the historian Zabelin called this dress the "marriage crown".
Kiku could be easily recognized by the horns or shoulder blade that stuck out directly above the forehead and were directed clearly upwards. The horns had some connection with beliefs in protective power, since through them a woman was likened to a cow, which, as you know, was a sacred animal for our ancestors. The main function of the horned kichka was to protect the newly-made wife and her child, and she also contributed to fertility and procreation.
The headdress was worn over the warrior and consisted of a hoop that did not close at the back and was sheathed with fabric. This hoop looked like a horseshoe or crescent. The height of the horns attached to the dress reached 30 centimeters, and they were made exclusively from tightly twisted canvas. In addition to the front, the back was also of great importance. It was made of fur or expensive material and was called a slap. This element was always decorated elegantly, because it replaced a long girl's braid. Rather rich embroidery was placed here, as well as a wide decorative pendant, on which long chains of plaques were attached. On top of the kichka was attached a special cover-blanket, which in the old days was called a magpie.
It was in this attire that she should have walkedmarried woman. At the same time, she should keep her head high, and make her steps beautifully and gently. Thanks to this, the expression "to boast" appeared, which meant "to ex alt oneself above other people."
Koruna was created by the type of kiki. It was a headdress for persons of the royal and princely family. The main difference between the Koruna was its shape. It was a richly decorated crown, which had to be worn over the ubrus. As a rule, various ornaments in the form of duckweeds, kolts, pearl undershirts were added to the dress, and special fabrics soaked in various smells were put inside.
Kokoshnik
Many people are interested in the name of an old Russian women's headdress, which can be seen on modern girls. Despite the fact that it is quite difficult to wear it due to its weight, it was only a joy for our ancestors (women) to wear such an ornament on their heads every day.
Russian folk kokoshnik got its name from the ancient Slavic word "kokosh", which in translation meant "chicken", "rooster", "hen". Its distinguishing feature was the front part - the crest. The entire Russian folk kokoshnik was made on a solid basis, which allowed him to better stay on his head. The crest rose high above the forehead and was visible from a fairly large distance. At the back, a Russian folk headdress was fixed with ribbons and tightened with a cloth.
Despite the fact that initially the kokoshnik was the prerogative of only married women, after a while young girls began to wear it. But they already had the top open.
Such a Russian folk headdress was covered with cloth or leather. It could be decorated with metal thread, beads, pearls, and glass beads. A special coverlet made of expensive patterned fabric was attached to the dress. From above, as a rule, a veil or a scarf was worn, always folded into a triangle.
In ordinary people, the kokoshnik became widespread in the 16-17th centuries. He became an excellent replacement for kichka. Representatives of the clergy fought against the "horned", categorically forbade attending church in it. They welcomed the more convenient, safer and more beautiful option.
Hats
Starting from the end of the 16th century, during the transition from winter to spring, women, "going out into the world", put on a hat over the ubrus. It was created from felt of different colors and was quite similar to what Orthodox people wear on a walk.
Fur hats
Velvet hats trimmed with fur should also be referred to old winter women's headdresses. From above, they were made of fabric or glued paper. The cap itself was cone-shaped, round or cylindrical. It differed from men's headdresses in the presence of jewelry - pearls, sewing, stones.
Since the hats were quite high, in order to keep warm, light fur or satin was placed inside them. Women were treatedtake great care of your clothes. From some sources it is known that at the end of the season, the royal daughters had to deposit their hats in a special Master's chamber. There they were placed on blockheads and covered with covers.
Winter hats were made from different furs - fox, beaver, sable. For young girls, the squirrel or hare version was considered ideal. One of the few similarities with men's attire was the name. Women's hats were also called "throat" hats, which is why they were worn in several layers at once.
Threeukh
Another great headdress that women were able to successfully adopt from men is three. Its top was covered with fabric, and the part in the frontal region was pubescent, as a rule, with sable. Such hats were decorated with lace or pearls.
Kaptur
An equally interesting winter hat called "Kaptur" was especially popular among widows. She protected the head of its owner from the cold, because it looked like a cylinder with fur that covered both the head and the face on both sides. A beaver hat was sewn, but the poorest had to wear sheepskin hats. From above it was necessary to put on a bandage.
