The history of the national costume of Georgia
The traditional costume of the Georgian people takes its beginning in the 9th century. It was during this period, in the times of the Khazar Kaganate, that outerwear of the Caucasian peoples called Chokha appeared., which translates from the Turkic languages as "cloth, cloth for clothing". Such outerwear was common among both men and women, and was worn all year round.
It is rather difficult to judge the appearance of the national costumes of Georgians of that time, as well as of other Caucasian peoples, since no accurate descriptions of the clothes of the inhabitants of the Caucasus were preserved.
It is noted that up to the beginning of the 19th century, the chokha had a looser style. Over time, the costumes became more closed and more rigorous, and they found a tight-fitting silhouette, smoothly widening from the waist.
A distinctive feature of the Georgian costume is the presence of gas tubs on the chest on both sides. Such a name are special chest pockets, which have small compartments for storing powder charges - gazyry. These pockets appeared on the upper clothes of Georgians not so long ago with the spread of firearms. Initially, the gasyries were stored in bags over the shoulder or at the waist, but later, for convenience, these pockets were invented, which became a characteristic feature of the Georgian costume.
The Georgian national costume in the modern world plays an important role in various ceremonial events requiring the respect of the traditions of its people. At the beginning of the last century, traditional clothing in Georgia, as in many other countries, began to fade into the background. Young people preferred elegant and slightly frilly national costumes to simpler and more comfortable clothes. However, even today many young people and girls wear modern clothes with traditional Georgian motifs with pleasure as a sign of respect and reverence for their people.
Feature Description
Color spectrum
For the national clothes of Georgians, 6 chokha colors are characteristic.
The purple color of the costume is quite attractive for modern tourists; locals like black and white clothes. In addition, there are still costumes of gray, blue and burgundy colors.
Black color in clothes was the prerogative of noble people. Wealthy people wore black clothes not only in everyday life, but also preferred them for special occasions.
Features cut and decor
Regardless of gender and social affiliation, the Georgian costume looks rather strict, but at the same time elegant. Fabrics were chosen quite strong and durable. Wealthy people could afford silk and velvet suits. Lace could become the decoration for such luxurious outfits for the warm season, and in the cold months noble furs.
The wedding dress of the bride was especially luxurious at all times. Although outwardly he was similar to the everyday female costume, the wedding dress was always made only from white fabric. An important component was the precious decor of clothes for the bride.
Wedding dresses were embroidered with gold or silver thread, as well as decorated with various appliqués. Regardless of the financial situation of the family, the bridal outfit had to look rich.
On the head of the bride they wore a national velvet headdress with a light scarf, with which the bride covered her face.
Women's Georgian costume
The Georgians, who wore traditional costumes of their people, looked pretty smart even in everyday life. The dress called kartuli, though it hid the legs of women, but it had a rather tight-fitting style at the top. The corset part of the dress was decorated with various decorative elements. It could be braid or beadwork and stones.
In addition to the dress, women's outfit necessarily assumed the presence of a belt. He could be silk or velvet. The belt was also decorated with the help of decorative original embroidery or pearls and tied so that all its charm fell along the female silhouette and was in a prominent place.
For women from wealthy families, dresses were sewn from expensive fabrics that were specially brought from afar. Silky and satin national women's suits looked elegant and luxurious
Outerwear Georgian women has the name Katibi. It was usually sewn from velvet and silk fabrics of bright colors, natural furs or cotton wool were used as insulant, the lining of such clothes was made silk.
The women used a thin veil called the healers as a headdress. The fabric on the head was fixed with the help of a silk roller of the mine, filled with cotton, and also the rim of chikhta made of cardboard covered with velvet fabric. On top of all this, they put on a veil, which was later replaced by a kerchief called Baghdadi.
As footwear, women from simple families wore tough-leather boots called calamani. For women from noble families there were velvet shoes with heels and no backs. The noses of such shoes called koshi were bent up.
As decorations, products made of natural stones, such as coral and amber, were widely distributed. Women's hairstyles consisted of weaving braids and curls, which covered the temporal part.
Also, Georgian women widely used blush and henna for coloring eyebrows, nails and palms, which was very fashionable.
Children's costume in Georgia
The national costume for the girl was sewn in the image of a woman’s dress, but without too much luxury.
Since children are very active, more shortened versions of the costume were allowed for added convenience. The color scheme could also differ from monotonous adult clothing and be complemented by bright hues.
For boys also sewed costumes in the image of men.
Georgian men's suit
The traditional costume of the Georgian consisted of the bottom pants of a Shendish and top-up trousers or sharwals made of black or burgundy color, which did not restrain movement. Above they wore a shirt called peranga.
Outerwear was selected in accordance with the season and social situation and was divided into several types:
- Circassian or chocha Georgians call it. This item of men's wardrobe was considered mandatory at any time of the year. Cherkeskos were put on over the caftan and girdled with silver or ordinary metal chasing belts. The belt in this case served not just a decorative function; men fastened a dagger or a saber to it, which were also part of the national costume of the Georgians.
The characteristic colors for these clothes are black, brown and gray, there are also white and blue chokes.
Initially, this piece of clothing was made from sheep or camel wool. Today, lighter fabrics such as cotton are used. Circassian length is usually just below the knees, the cut is rather loose, but emphasizes the male silhouette. Chokha has fasteners from the top and to the waistline. On the chest are pockets for storing gunpowder, which today distinguish the Georgian costume among the rest.
The chokha usually does not have a collar, but in some variations there may be a collar with a stand. The sleeves of this garment are usually wide and elbow-length, which made it possible to move freely during the battle. For the elderly, long sleeves for chokhi were acceptable.Today there are different types with different lengths of sleeves.
- Kaba. Wealthy people from noble and princely families wore this type of outerwear, made of silk of dense structure. Black silk cord was used to finish the cabs, and fasteners were also created from it.
- Kuladzha. This item of men's wardrobe was intended for immigrants from the nobility. for special occasions. Kuladzha was a dress of small length, which was worn over clothing. Velvet of different colors was used for tailoring of ceremonial dresses. Natural fur could be used as decorative elements. With kuladzhey necessarily put on a fur hat from astrakhan.
- Cock and pabadi. For the winter months the Georgians used the trigger. She was a fur coat decorated with embroidery with gold and silver thread. Also in the cold season they wore pabadi.
This name was given to a cloak without sleeves, which was made of felt with goat hair.
Such clothes of white, black or brown color are also called burqa. In the winter months, the head was covered with a fur hat, which was sewn from astrakhan fur or sheepskin.
In addition to the cap, which is characteristic of the mountaineers, Georgians wore other headgear, depending on the geographical location. Thus, in different regions they wore felt hats, and a hood, called kabal akhi, and even hats with small fields.
As footwear for the men's national costume, Georgians were also common: the koshi - among the rich classes, the kalamani - among the poor. For rich people, there were still leather revenge on a flat sole, as well as tsaga - leather boots, which were often decorated even with the help of precious stones.
