The first mention of the Kazakh costume dates back to the end of the 15th century, when not only the cultural values of this people were formed, but also the way of life. Women's and men's Kazakh costumes have unique differences that are not characteristic of the clothes of other peoples.
Features of the female Kazakh costume
The Kazakh costume is luxurious, full of wealth and originality, especially for women's clothing. A woman's Kazakh costume consists of the so-called "keilek", in other words, a dress-shirt. Young girls, who are not yet tied by the knot, have worn and are wearing light dresses decorated with waves and frills. Special attention is paid to the hem and sleeves.
There are festive and everyday Kazakh costumes. Festive ones are sewn exclusively from expensive fabrics; cheap fabrics are used for everyday wear. An obligatory addition to the dress is a camisole. This is the so-called jacket, fitted at the waist, and expanding downward. Camisoles can be with or without sleeves.
The peculiarity of the camisole decoration is the embroidery exclusively with gold threads, in another way the traditional ornament. In addition to gold ornamentation, the camisole can be decorated with luxurious beads or a lurex patch. But for young girls and mature women, camisoles are different. A woman can afford to wear a camisole only in dark shades, girls wear bright, colorful, varied camisoles of various colors.
Pants, which are called "dambal", are put on the feet. Of course, they cannot be seen from under the dress, so they can be sewn from various fabrics of any color and shade. In cool weather, a straight robe with long sleeves is worn on top of the dress. A woman's Kazakh costume is complemented by an original, often pointed takiya hat. The cap can be decorated, like a camisole, with beads, ornaments, embroidered with gold threads, a tuft of owl feathers.
Features of the male Kazakh costume
The male Kazakh costume, if compared with the female attire, is simpler and of the same type. It consists primarily of body linen (shirt and pants), which is called jade. The next element is a chapan (men's dressing gown), which is worn over all clothing in the cold season. As a rule, chapan is sewn on camel hair, which is why it is considered very warm. From above it is covered with velvet or corduroy. Instead of a chapan, a shekpen from the homespun cloth of the same name could be worn.
Wide wide trousers made of sheepskin, which are called shalbar, are traditional. Trousers must be tucked into the boots of the saptam yetyk, which are characterized by high tops and felt stockings inside. Ayyr kalpak is considered a traditional men's headdress - it is a cap with brims curved to the top, trimmed with dense fabric inside, and expensive material outside.
Male Kazakh costume was complemented by a typesetting belt made of leather, velvet or suede. Can be supplied with a wallet, knife case and other hanging items.
