Many modern young people in Ukraine are fond of the national costumes of this country. Of course, you can buy a modern embroidered shirt called “vyshyvanka” without any efforts at all. But in Ukraine, today it is prestigious and stylish to have a full set of authentic clothing: a shirt embroidered by a great-great-granny, garments made from a homespun cloth, vintage hand-woven pieces, etc. Here is a nice modern fashion show of vintage Ukrainian outfits organized by several students. All the costumes were collected in different villages around the country piece by piece.
These are male and female costumes used in the end of the 19th century – the beginning of the 20th century.
Male and female authentic outfit from Western Polissya: Sarny district, Rivne region. It is the northern part of Ukraine, a woodland. Bast shoes were used in this part of the country
Married woman’s costume from Western Polissya: Sarny district, Rivne region of Ukraine. A unique headdress called “namitka” is typical for this region and shows the marital status of a woman
Male and female outfit from Western Polissya: Sarny district, Rivne region of Ukraine. Back view. You can see the female headdress called “namitka” – it is a very long piece of cloth with embroidered ends. Another typical woodland garment is the women’s striped long skirt
Vintage attire of unmarried woman from Kyiv region, northern Ukraine. It is the clothing of a rather wealthy woman (a lot of expensive fabric is used)
Female attire of an unmarried woman from Borshchiv district, Ternopil region (western part of Ukraine). The most typical feature of this particular district is a shirt richly embroidered with black threads
Male and female clothing of a married couple from Myrhorod district, Poltava region (central part of Ukraine). The women’s sleeveless outerwear (called “kersetka”) in this district has a distinctive appliquéd pattern typical only for this area
Female vintage costume of an unmarried woman from Pereyaslav district, Kyiv region (central part of Ukraine). This district used to belong to Poltava region, that’s why the embroidery on the shirt is “white on white”. Such embroidering technique is a typical feature for Poltava region
Authentic outfit of a married woman from Novohrad-Volynskyi district, Zhytomyr region (northern part of Ukraine). You can see a lot of floral embroidery patterns on the garments
Female clothing of an unmarried woman from Khmelnytskyi region (western part of Ukraine). The shirt is embroidered with bright-blue threads (expensive indigo dyed threads) which is rather rare for Ukraine
Women’s costume of an unmarried girl from Hadiach district, Poltava region (central part of Ukraine). The most unique piece of this outfit is a pocket that was belted to the waist. Such pockets were used in some areas of Poltava region
Women’s costume of an unmarried girl from Hadiach district, Poltava region (central part of Ukraine). Back view
Male and female (unmarried) outfits from Bukovyna: Chernivtsi region (western part of Ukraine). The typical feature of western Ukraine is using a sleeveless fur-coat called “keptar”. Both men and women wear it over a shirt
Traditional costume of a married woman from Volodymyrets district, Rivne region (northern part of Ukraine). The woman is wearing an unusual vest, not typical for Ukraine. Also, the headdress is rather interesting. It is called “namitka”, and it is a piece of cloth with a little embroidery
Authentic attire of a married woman from Volodymyrets district, Rivne region (northern part of Ukraine). Side view
Vintage attire of a married woman from Volodymyrets district, Rivne region (northern part of Ukraine). Back view. You can see different embroidered patterns on the headdress. The headdress itself is rather interesting. It is called “namitka”, and it is a piece of cloth with a little embroidery
Man’s and woman’s clothing of a married couple from Zakarpattia region (the very western area of Ukraine)
Male and female costumes from Zakarpattia region (the very western area of Ukraine). Man’s attire – front view, woman’s attire – back view
Man’s and woman’s outfits of a married couple from Zakarpattia region (the very western area of Ukraine). The male costume consists of a very wide trousers and a very wide shirt, not belted
Male and female costumes from Zakarpattia region (the very western area of Ukraine). Woman’s attire – front view, man’s attire – back view. You can see the width of the male shirt
Vintage outfit of a woman from Baturyn district, Chernihiv region (northern Ukraine), the beginning of the 20th century. The woman is wearing a long embroidered undershirt, a jacket, and a skirt. During the beginning of the 20th century, Ukrainians started to give up wearing the folk clothing
Vintage clothing of a woman from Baturyn district, Chernihiv region (northern Ukraine), the beginning of the 20th century. Side view
Vintage costume of a woman from Baturyn district, Chernihiv region (northern Ukraine), the beginning of the 20th century. Back view
Authentic clothing of an unmarried woman from Chyhyryn district, Cherkasy region (central part of Ukraine). Coral necklaces were very widespread in Ukraine; women used them in all the regions of the country
Traditional attire of an unmarried woman from Chyhyryn district, Cherkasy region (central part of Ukraine). Back view. You can see the design of a sleeveless outerwear called “kersetka”. It is loose at the front and folded at the back. Such design lets the women wear this garment when they’re pregnant instead of buying new clothes. Kersetka was used in many regions of Ukraine
Authentic clothing of an unmarried woman from Chyhyryn district, Cherkasy region (central part of Ukraine). Side view
Bright female clothing of an unmarried woman from Sosniv district, Chernihiv region (northern part of Ukraine). The dress looks rather bright and modern, embroidered shirt and apron add an authentic flavor to the set
Female attire of an unmarried woman from Sosniv district, Chernihiv region (northern part of Ukraine). Back view
Vintage women’s costume of an unmarried girl from Chernihiv region (northern part of Ukraine)
Vintage female costume of an unmarried woman from Chernihiv region (northern part of Ukraine). Back view. You can see the design of a sleeveless outerwear called “kersetka”. It is loose at the front and folded at the back. Such design lets the women wear this garment when they’re pregnant instead of buying new clothes. The woman is also wearing a wrap-around skirt called “plakhta”. This particular design can be translated into English like “plakhta with wings”. It is worn in such a way that two ends of the skirt hang at the back and the fabric flops while walking
Vintage women’s costume of an unmarried girl from Chernihiv region (northern part of Ukraine). Side view
Traditional male and female costumes of an unmarried couple from Sharhorod district, Vinnytsia region (west-central Ukraine). The man’s shirt is embroidered with red&black threads, and the girl’s shirt – with black threads
Vintage male and female outfits of an unmarried couple from Sharhorod district, Vinnytsia region (west-central Ukraine). Back view
Traditional male and female costume of Crimean Tatars (the Crimean Peninsula, the very southern part of Ukraine). Both the man and the woman are wearing the traditional embroidered Crimean Tatar fez (headdress); the female’s fez has a long veil and a tassel attached to the headgear. The woman also has an embroidered velvet jacket on which is typical for Crimean Tatar people
Traditional male and female attire of Crimean Tatars (the Crimean Peninsula, the very southern part of Ukraine). You can see the typical Crimean Tatar embroidery on the garments
Traditional male and female costume of Crimean Tatars (the Crimean Peninsula, the very southern part of Ukraine)
Thank you for the question, Hiran. It was traditional to be barefoot during everyday activities. People used leather boots only as a festive footwear (celebrations, Sunday church, etc.) or if the family was wealthy. Even in winter, the most poor Ukrainians often walked barefoot. In some regions of Ukraine, people used bast shoes in day-to-day life.
Are the ladies in this part of the world regularly barefoot ?
I am putting together a wedding fair booklet for the non-profit organization by the name of the Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts.
I was wondering if you would give me permission to use some of your photos for some articles and showing the different outfits of the different regions. Of course your site and the photographer would be credited in the booklet.
Thank you