Kazakh national costume

Kazakh national costume embodies the long history of development and formation of the people of Kazakhstan. Modifying and improving over the centuries, he preserved the ancient traditions of his ancestors.

As in a mirror, it reflects all aspects of life: a difficult climate, geographical location, economic status, social environment, lifestyle, the main activity of the population. The subject of national pride of the Kazakhs, he embodied the national flavor and bright identity.

A traditional costume always reflects the style and lifestyle of its people, therefore, the costume of each nationality has its own nuances, features and differences from other peoples. The Kazakh national costume was no exception.

• Both male and female, the clothes are fitted, oar, with a smell on everyone on the left edge.
• Women's outfit was richly decorated with chic ruffles and ruffles.
• On high hats flaunted jewelry, feathers, patterned embroidery.
• Discrepancies between festive and casual clothes were minimal: the festive had a cut looser, and jewelry and accessories were more voluminous.

• The minimum range of colors in a suit with the optimal number of shades.
• Clothing was necessarily decorated with a kind of “logo” - unique original stripes, patterns, weaving, and ornaments in the national style.
• The suit was very convenient and practical, it was suitable for horseback riding, and for spending the night in an unpleasant steppe, and for walking and for work.
• Kazakhs have a tradition that has survived to the present day - to present a dressing gown richly embroidered with a national ethnic pattern - “shapan”.

The most ancient ancestors of the Kazakhs made clothes from leather and fur. Having taken up nomadic cattle breeding, they added to this meager selection of felt, felt from sheep and camel wool, which they learned to make themselves. These materials have become the most popular and inexpensive, as their suppliers have always been at hand.

Due to the fact that the “Silk Road” ran through the territory of Kazakhstan, merchants began to supply the Kazakhs with cotton fabrics, silk, brocade, velvet, satin. By the presence of expensive fabrics in a suit, one could judge the financial situation of its owner.

The Kazakh national costume has always stood out with colorful bright colors, as proof of prosperity and prosperity. Women's clothes, as well as men, shone with all shades of green and gold, red and blue.

• Male

The men's set includes voluminous trousers, a body shirt, a dressing gown, a high hat, a belt, and boots. The peculiarity of the trousers is in the inserts of the skin of the sheep, which serve to protect the skin while riding on long drives of the herd. A similar function is performed by long boots in which trousers are tucked. A shirt made of cotton fabrics like a tunic with a stand-up collar or a turn-down collar.

Outerwear for the poor part of the male population was a quilted robe made of camel, sheep’s wool or suede. Wealthy and wealthy Kazakhs wore camisoles or beshmet, for which they used silk, brocade, fine cloth, velvet.

• Female

In the past, when women, on a par with men, rode horses, their suit was different from the man's one except for the presence of a skirt that swings open on both sides. The rest of the kit was the same, but differed in style and cut. Later, another ensemble was added to this ensemble - a dress with a flared skirt.

Women's attire was set according to age. For girls and girls, common clothing was the most fitted bright dress with several rows of frills along the hem, bottom of the sleeves and collar; colorful velvet camisole; pants, hat and belt, embroidered and decorated with all kinds of patterns and jewelry.

The costume of the married woman was distinguished by a headdress, and the elderly - by a belt and coloring of a camisole. If the young girls have colorful, bright, juicy camisoles, then in the camisoles of mature women shades of exclusively dark colors. The clothes of the Kazakh women are saturated with beauty, wealth and luxury.

The wedding dress of a Kazakh girl deserves a separate description. To create this masterpiece of magnificence, only expensive materials and fabrics were taken. The dress was made of satin, silk, taffeta, organza. To produce a national ornament, which must have been present, beads, gold cords and ribbons were used.

The choice of fabric color for the wedding dress was far from accidental. Preference was given to red, as a symbol of youth and the flourishing of life, as well as blue, as a symbol of a cloudless sky, warmth, purity and purity. A camisole was put on the dress, which was in tone with the dress and was also decorated with embroidery, ornament, jewelry.

The main attribute of the wedding attire is a phenomenal headdress called “saukele”. He was part of the dowry, had to be expensive and luxurious, because this cone-shaped hat, decorated with a huge amount of jewelry, was a measure of the welfare of the bride.

The abundance and luxury of jewelry is of no small importance. They are present in almost all clothing items. The difference in the types, forms, materials, techniques for making jewelry could be a hallmark of people by age, social and marital status, regional sign.

An important fragment that gives the national ensemble an identity is the ornament. For the girl was obligatory training in the art of embroidery. Comprehending the techniques of embroidery with a tambour, stitch, using a needle, an awl with a hook, hoops of various shapes, they became skilled craftswomen and needlewomen over the years.

Embroidered with silk, gold threads, lurex, beads. The embroidery pattern can be the most varied: the relief pattern is a natural pattern depicting representatives of the local fauna and flora. Sometimes embroideries, stripes, appliques depicted a whole plot.

There were a lot of decorative elements in the clothes. These were rings, rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, as well as lining, buckles, plaques and plaques of the most diverse shapes. Depending on the wealth of the family, bronze and silver, copper and gold, stained glass and pearls, coral and mother of pearl, agate and turquoise were used to make them. And of course, the traditional nuance is the decoration of the outfit with bird feathers and valuable furs.

Kazakh hats are famous for a variety of styles, a lot of materials for their manufacture and even more accessories and jewelry that make each piece unique.

Skull-cap is a recognized Kazakh headdress. It was worn by children, adolescents, the elderly, men and women. It was sewn from cotton fabrics, satin, velvet, cloth, silk.

In summer, the most popular among men was a hat with fields bent up, made of felt. In the winter cold, hats made of sheep’s fur were considered indispensable; children’s sewn from fox. The cut of the cap protected the shoulders and neck from frost.

The girls had only two types of hats, this skullcap and winter hat, trimmed with a fringe of fur. But a wide range of colors and a great many decorations.

Over the centuries, Kazakhs have changed and improved their national shoes, adapting them to nomadic life, until they have achieved the optimal result. Shoes that meet all the requirements of practicality and comfort are high boots, which are comfortable to ride, with wide shafts, in which it is convenient to tuck pants.

Summer boots featured heels and curled toes. Shoes, like all elements of the costume, were richly decorated, especially women. The boots of young girls and women were decorated with embroidery and appliqués. The elderly wore boots without a heel. In winter, boots were put on warm felt stockings. The poor and shepherds walked in leather-soled felt boots.

Without a description of winter clothing, a story about Kazakh clothing would be incomplete. The fur coat is of no small importance if we take into account how inhospitable and severe the Kazakhstan steppes are.

Over time, the Kazakhs perfectly mastered the art of making furs, leather and sewing clothes from them. Sheepskin, goat, camel coats were the most inexpensive and in demand. The fur and skin of wild animals have always been valued.

The owners of expensive skins were tigers, saigas, and kulans; among fur animals, the fur of a ferret, muskrat, fox, and raccoon stood out. Fur coats were made from the down of a loon, a swan and a heron. But marten and sable were valued the most. Fur coats covered with cloth, silk or brocade were the pride of wealthy Kazakhs.

With swinging and non-fastening outerwear, the belt was its integral element.

The male belt was made of leather, sometimes silk or velvet. Leather belts were decorated with decorative embossing, shaped metal inserts, interspersed with precious and semiprecious stones, elaborate strips of bone. Buckles were made in the shape of figures of animals or birds.

Women's belts resembled men's ones, but were wider and more elegant: silk and velvet, embroidered with gold thread and pearls, woven from the goat’s fluff or camel’s wool.

The modern look of the Kazakh traditional costume has been forming for a very long time.

But juicy, vibrant colors, a national unique ornament, subtlety and grace, which were always inherent in the sacramental costume of the Kazakh people and distinguished it from other nationalities, are becoming increasingly popular with today's residents of Kazakhstan, giving Kazakh fashion designers and inexhaustible sources of imagination.

The national costume for girls is becoming very popular today. He is put on for performing on stage, and on days of state and national holidays, when small Kazakh women in traditional dresses march along the streets.