Traditional Ukrainian clothing has conquered the hearts of the world’s most fashionable people, thus making it popular beyond the traditional concept of it. The reasons for such hype include a simplicity in form, a slender silhouette, a variety of symbols and ornamentation, and the rich colours used. Common features of traditional Ukrainian clothing Traditional Ukrainian apparel — the roots of which trace back to the times of Kievan Rus — has many stylistic varieties. Its look depends on the ethnographic region, even though a homemade shirt, made of homespun cloth, has always constituted the basis for both male and female wardrobes.
The main feature of this shirt (vyshyvanka) is the embroidery on the neck, cuffs and hem. A girl is supposed to wear a shirt without outerwear, while a married woman has to cover her head with a shawl and supplement the outfit with her waistcoat and maxi skirt. Meanwhile, the highlight of the clothing are accessories like belts, jewellery and headdresses (a shawl or a floral wreath), decorated with ribbons and fresh and artificial flowers, not to mention the abundance of beads and ducats (coins), which determine the women’s status. Men’s traditional clothing is simpler: they resemble the outfits of other Slavic nations but differ in the way they are worn. Thus, there are two main elements: a linen shirt and cloth pants, distinguished by the kind of embroidery.
Southern Ukraine
The fashion of the southern regions differed in certain details; for example, the bright embroidery of red, yellow and green colours was placed on the shirt’s open neck. In addition, the clothing was elaborated with a significant amount of jewellery and belts. Quite often the patterns had plant and floral ornamentation: grape branches and Malva flowers were popular. Therefore, in Southern Ukraine, you can see the particularities of traditional clothing through their different way of life and through the ethnocultural interaction between Ukrainians and Moldovans.
Western Ukraine
Western Ukrainian apparel reflected its Polish and Hungarian historical past and was distinguished by complex geometrical patterns. The richness of decorative elements like embroidery, weaving and appliqué prevailed in the Carpathian region. However, the geometric ornamental motifs of rhombuses, triangles and crosses were implemented in the multicoloured embroidery with a predominance of red and black. The clothing was also decorated with coloured beads, silver or gold thread and metal elements. Hutsuls (an ethnic group of Ukrainians that inhabited the Carpathian Mountains) decorated the bottom edge of trousers with embroidery from the inside — yellow and green woolen threads — and folded it upwards.
Сollection of Ukrainian traditional clothes of the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine as a part of the project StandbyUkraine for saving and digitization Ukrainian heritage of TOP PROJECT company. The head of the project is Vlad Tiunov, 3D computing, modeling and texturing by Vitaly Yevsovich , managing partner of the project Diana Hrynyuk
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