Quick and Dirty Russian Garb

Russian Garb

Basic Overview the Quick and Dirty Way by Lady Seraphima Iaroslava (courtesy of the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

Russian garb is one of the most ornate costumes you see in the Society. It also seems to have a reputation for being one of the most difficult to create. I hope that this page clears up some of these rumors. My effort in this writing is to make Russian garb a little bit easier to tackle. As such, I am relating the descriptions to clothes you (or the person who is sewing for you) may have already made or encountered. I have listed a few sources at the end for you, so that you may look for more descriptions and pictures of what I am describing. When I teach a class on Russian garb, I call this the quick and dirty way to Russian. A disclaimer: This is my interpretation of the research that I have done. I heartily encourage everyone to do a little more research on their own. Also, I have in no way covered everything concerning Russian clothing. This is merely an overview according to me. The clothing styles can be separated into three distinct sections: the Kievan Rus', the Mongolian Occupation, and the Muscovite Era. The Kievan Rus' period stretches roughly from the beginning of Russian history to roughly 1240, the Mongol Occupation is roughly from 1240 to the early 1400s, and the Muscovite Era follows past the 1600s.

Kievan Rus' At the beginning of Russian history, the people lived in small villages and in loose tribes. Gradually, the villages and settlements began evolving, mainly through trade with other Slavic people and with the Vikings, who had passed through the region on their way to Constantinople. In 988 CE (Western date), Vladimir the Great converted the Rus' to Christianity and Kiev became the head of the Greek Orthodox branch. This branch answered to the Church in Constaninople. As a result of this and the marriage of Vladimir to the Emperor's daughter, Byzantine influences began to invade the Russian culture. More and more ornate clothes became the fashion. As with most cultures, the more expensive the fabric the higher your social status tended to be. Most clothes were made from wool or linen. The Rus' also imported fabric whenever they could. For the men clothes consisted of the shirt (rubakha) and pants. The shirt usually fell to the knees and had no collar. Most of the pictures that I have seen have the front neck opening in the middle of the front of the shirt. There is also a popular version of the side opening (off to the side of the neck). The sleeves were long and only sometimes had cuffs. The pants tended to be drawstring and were tapered to the ankles. I have also seen "poofta" pants worn. I have not found any documentation for this style of pants, but I have to admit, they are very comfortable and easy to make. To be warmer more layers were added on. An outer coat was also donned. This coat, called a svita, is very much the same pattern as a t-tunic, but usually falling to mid-calf. The svita was loose and gradually broadened downwards by means of gussets. The neck opening never dropped below the waist during this time period. Over the svita, the men would sometimes don a cloak. This cloak is shown as fastened on the right shoulder with a brooch of some kind. In colder weather, which was quite a bit of the time, the men also wore hats made out of fur, broadcloth, or felt. They also wore belts over their outer clothes. The women wore a dress (a long version of the men's rubakha). Usually there was more than one. A thin fabric belt was usually worn over the rubakhas. Married women donned a skirt (panova). This skirt is made of three panels (same size) and was not sewn shut. It was gathered at the waist with a drawstring. For festivals or special occasions the women would wear a navershnik, which was a shorter tunic that was lavishly decorated. The navershnik was not belted. Women, if married, always kept their heads covered in some form. If not wearing their ornate hats, the married women would wear a povoinik, a hat that fit closely over the head and covered the hair, and an ubrus (veil). The maidens could get away with a simple band or fillet and having their hair braided. Footwear for both sexes consisted of boot and sandals. For the most part they were made out of leather. A lot of the pictures that I have seen show all kinds of heights for the boot top -- from near the ankle to the knee.

Mongolian__ __Occupation For the most part, the Mongols (actually it was the Golden Horde, which was a tribal faction within the greater Mongolian Empire) reinforced the stubbornness of the Russians. The Mongols took little to no direct control over the Russian people, preferring the Princes of each city to bring to them the tithes. Virtually the only interference the Mongols gave was to settle disputes or correct errant Princes. The rest of the time the Rus' were left to their own ends. Very little happened in the way of advancements and changes. The Mongols cut a fierce path of destruction through the Russian lands during their conquest and impressed many artisans and skilled laborers into service at the Golden Horde capital at Sarai. The Rus' spent much of their time during the Mongolian occupation trying to recover from the invasion.

Muscovite__ __Era As the Mongol power recedes the might of the Principality of Moscow grows. At long last, the Russian people begin to rise from the ashes and begin to grow. Trade also began to flourish and the Russians now had access to much silk, brocades, velvets, samits, and satins. During this time costumes changes dramatically from that of the Kievan Rus'. More and more layers are added on, until it is unheard of to travel outside of the house in anything less than five layers. The clothes also became longer for men and women and were worn to show wealth, regardless of the weather. The most noticeable difference is in the length of the sleeves. The sleeves reach to the ground, with a narrow opening for the arm to pass through at the elbow or at the shoulder. The rest of the sleeve is allowed to hang or is tied behind the back to keep it out of the way. Also, a lot of the decorations reside along the openings of the garments, which now descend all the way down the front (no longer stopping at the waist as with the Kievan Rus' clothes). Fur is still very popular as trim. The garments are still loose and gradually broaden downwards. Caftans and shubas come into fashion at this time. Caftans are loose garments that tended to be worn for comfort within the home. The shubas were long narrow garments with the long, floor-length sleeves. The women could wear some of the same garments that the men did. At this time the sarafan became a popular overdress. The sarafan was a garment worn over the rubakha. A popular version had false sleeves and hung down behind the arms. I would like to thank Master Mikhail Nikolaevich, Tatjana Nikonovna, and Akitsuki Yoshimitsu for their help, ideas, and support in my research.

Bibliography This includes a lot of books I have come across in my research. There are some books here that have little references to actual clothes, but they are good resources for the why and how of the clothing and other aspects of Russian life.

Primary Sources The Nikonian Chronicle. Translated by Serge Zenkovsky. Princeton NJ: Kingston Press, Inc., 1984.

The Russian Primary Chronicle (Lauretian Text). Translated by S.H. Cross and O.P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor. Cambridge MA: Crimson Printing, 1953.

The Secret History of the Mongols. Translated by Francis Woodman Cleaves. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN: 0-674-79670-5.

Ibn Batuta. Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354. Translated by H.A.R. Gibb. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul LTD, 1957.

Kireyeva, E.V. The History of Costume: European Costumes from Antiquity To The 20th Century. Moscow, Russia: Enlightenment, 1970. (Translated from the Russian by Tatiana Niklaevna Tumanova, O.L. -- I don't think that this translation is in print -- I have a photocopy of the paper that Mistress Tatiana did.)

Polo, Marco. The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian. Translated by William Marsden. Revised. New York: The Modern Library, 1953.

Stamerov, K.K., An Illustrated History of Costumes. Kiev, Ukraine: Avenger, 1978. (Translated from the Russian by Tatiana Niklaevna Tumanova, O.L. -- I don't think that this translation is in print -- I have a photocopy of the paper that Mistress Tatiana did.)

Secondary Sources Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales. 2nd Ed. Translated by Serge A. Zenkovsky. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1974. ISBN: 0-525-47363-7.

Allsen, Thomas T. Mongol Imperialism: The Policies of the Grand Qan Mongke in China, Russia, and the Islamic Lands, 1251-1259. Berkley: University of California Press 1987. ISBN: 0-520-05527-6 (alk. paper).

Chambers, James. The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe. New York: Atheneum, 1979. ISBN: 0-689-10942-3.

de Hartog, Leo. Russia and the Mongol Yoke. London: British Academic Press 1996. ISBN: 1-850-43961-3.

Gernet, Jacques. Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion 1250-1276. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1962.

Halperin, Charles J.. The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History: Russia and the Golden Horde. Bloomington: Indiana University Press 1985.

Kaiser, Daniel and Gary Marker. Reinterpreting Russian History: Readings 860-1860s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN: 0-19-507857-8.

Kwanten, Luc. Imperial Nomads: A History of Central Asia, 500-1500. University of Pennsylvannia Press, 1979. ISBN: 0-8122-7750-3.

McKay, John P., Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler. A History of World Societies. 3rd Ed. , Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. ISBN: 0-395-47292-6.

Pushkareva, Natalia. Women in Russian History: From the Tenth to the Twentieth Century. Translated by Eve Levin. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1997. ISBN: 1-56324-797-6 (c:alk.paper).

Silfen, Paul Harrison. The Influence of the Mongols on Russia: A Dimensional History. Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press 1974. ISBN: 0-682-47969-1.

Vernadsky, George and Michael Karpovich. A History of Russia: The Mongols and Russia. Vol III. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.