A sarafan ( rus, сарафа́н, p=sərɐˈfan, from fa, سراپا ''sarāpā'', literally " romhead to feet") is a long, trapezoidal

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n jumper dress (

pinafore dress A jumper or jumper dress (in American English), pinafore dress or informally pinafore or pinny (British English) is a sleeveless, collarless dress intended to be worn over a blouse, shirt, T-shirt or sweater. Hemlines can be of different len ...

) worn by girls and women and forming part of Russian traditional folk costume. Traditional Russian costume consists of straight, flowing lines. Beginning at the turn of the 18th century, the sarafan became the most popular article of peasant women's clothing in the Northern and Central regions of Russia. Sarafans were regularly worn until well into the 20th century, having first been mentioned in chronicles dating back to the year 1376. The origin of the term Sarafan lies in Persia, but the structure of the sarafan was inspired by Viking women clothing. Old Russia cultivated especially during the era of

Grand Principality of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

strong ties to

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

and Southwest Asia and served also as an intermediary in the trade between European countries like Sweden, and Asian countries like Persia, and what is today Turkey. The sarafan most likely originated from a

kaftan A kaftan or caftan (; fa, خفتان, ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's ...

-like costume that was worn in Russia by women and men. Sarafans became most popular in the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Northern Russian regions. Through trade with Central Europe, the quality and colour of clothes grew. Sarafans had originally a tighter form but became wider through the influence of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. After the reforms of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

, which also introduced various Westernised or modernised cultural standards to Russia (with contention), only peasants wore the sarafan for daily use, while the upper classes switched to Central European fashion. In many areas of the former

and today's

Southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia (russian: Юг России, ''Yug Rossii'') is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Feder ...

the poneva costume was also worn by women. Today the garment is most often seen at performances of Russian

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, and is worn on Russian folk and religious holidays. Designers from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine are re-imagining the sarafan style with its old national heritage for the 21st century as a summertime light dress that can be with its modern shape a part of today's woman's wardrobe. The outer layer of a Matryoshka doll is traditionally depicted as wearing a sarafan.

Gallery

File:Fort Ross Woman wearing Traditional Russian Costume b.jpg, Sarafan worn with a

Kokoshnik The kokoshnik ( rus, коко́шник, p=kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk) is a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls to accompany the sarafan. The kokoshnik tradition has existed since the 10th century in the ancient Russian city Veliky No ...

for a Russian folk festival File:Сарафан Шебекинский район.jpg, A simple black sarafan from

Belgorod Oblast Belgorod Oblast (russian: Белгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Belgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. Population: History At the turn of the 17th c ...

File:Traditional Russian Folk Costumes 02.JPG, Ethnic Russian clothes File:Osenins 0152.JPG, Russian women with

treshchotka A treshchotka ( rus, трещо́тка, p=trʲɪˈɕːɵtkə, singular; sometimes referred to in the plural, treshchotki, rus, трещо́тки, p=trʲɪˈɕːɵtkʲɪ) is a Russian folk music idiophone percussion instrument which is used to i ...

and

Russian spoons Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

in their hands. The two women on the right are wearing Sarafans.

References

External links

{{Russian souvenirs, state="expanded" 14th-century fashion 15th-century fashion 16th-century fashion 17th-century fashion 18th-century fashion 19th-century fashion Russian folk clothing