The national Tatar costume reflects the individual traits of this freedom-loving people. Each element tells about certain cultural characteristics, beliefs, national traits. Folk costume is the most obvious indicator of a person's nationality. It reflects the whole essence of the people.
Features of the national Tatar costume
It is difficult to define a single type of Tatar national costume, because there are many subgroups of Tatars. The formation of the national image in clothing was influenced by the oriental peoples, Islam, and the peculiarities of the national costume of the Volga Tatars.
Like the traditional costumes of all other peoples, the Tatar national dress has passed a long and difficult path of historical development.
In the national costume of the Tatars, fabrics of bright "oriental" colors, hats with complex ornaments, shoes of various types and purposes, elegant and complex jewelry are presented in a harmonious combination. Due to all these elements, a special character of the national Tatar clothing is formed.
Elements of the national Tatar costume
The basis of the traditional costume of the Tatars is made up of wide trousers (yyshtan) and a shirt-dress (kulmek). A caftan or a robe was traditionally worn over the shirt. Moreover, the word "robe" itself has Arabic roots and is very consonant with a similar element of Arab clothing - khilgat.
Also, the Tatars often wore choba. It was a light, unlined outer garment that reached a length just below the knee. Usually it was sewn from linen or hemp fabrics.
Usually, the upper swinging clothes of the Tatars did not have fasteners, therefore, the belt is an undoubted attribute of the national costume. It could equally have been sewn from fabric or knitted from wool.
Another distinctive feature of Tatar clothing was its trapezoidal shape. As well as the large size and amazing brightness of the fabrics. It was typical for the Tatars to wear a large number of jewelry, which only added brightness to the image.
Women's traditional clothing
Tatar women's clothing was more diverse than men's. It differed not only by seasonal periods, but also by purpose (everyday, festive), and even by age. It was in women's traditional clothing that the territorial features of a particular subgroup of Tatars were more clearly visible.
The basis of the women's traditional costume was a shirt, trousers and a lower bib. Camisoles and bishmets were also often used. Camisole was called short sleeveless clothing, most often fitted, in contrast to the male version of the camisole. And with bishmet - a caftan with long sleeves and a fitted back. It was often sewn from velvet and trimmed with fur. It was fastened with a large silver clasp, which also served an aesthetic function.
