How did Russians dress up for special occasions 200 years ago?

The Moscow Historical Museum (Ploshad Revolyutsii 2/3) is currently showing an extensive collection of traditional festive clothing of the peoples of Russia for the first time. / Female outfit. Province of Ryazan. End of the XIX century.

The fabrics and costumes collected demonstrate the history of textiles in Russia from the 12th century and the history of costumes from the 16th century. / Female outfit. Village of Tengushevo, province of Penza. Second half of the XIX century.

The collection includes examples from the end of the 18th to the 20th centuries, including traditional clothing for people living in the European part of the country. / Female outfit. District of Baltasi, Tatarstan. End of the XIX, beginning of the XX century.

The festive costumes of people from the Caucasus are represented by one of the last arrivals to the museum's collection: the Adigeni full parade costume. / Female outfit. Adigeni. Beginning of the XX century.

The collection continued to be enriched during World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917: items of clothing were brought in from ethnographic expeditions, acquired on commission or received as gifts from collectors. / Female outfit. Village of Chokh, Dagestan. End of the XIX, beginning of the XX century.

It is interesting to note that fashion trends in Russia did not appear from out of nowhere. For example, multicolored shirts and aprons reflect the influence of Kazan’s Tatar population. / Female outfit. End of the XIX, beginning of the XX century.

In addition to dresses, head coverings, belts and accessories will also be on display: there are kokoshniki (headwear) decorated with pearls and golden embroidery from the end of the 18th century, as well as silk sundresses from the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. / Female head covering “kalfak” (for married women). Province of Kazan. Beginning of the XIX century.

Chuvash female head covering. Tsivilsk, province of Kazan, middle of the XIX, beginning of the XX century.