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Vintage Christmas season folk clothing in Ukraine: jackets, coats, sheepskin vests, etc.

Originally published 25 December 2019 · 2 min read
Vintage Christmas season folk clothing in Ukraine: jackets, coats, sheepskin vests, etc.

It’s Christmas time now, the ideal time to remember your traditions and folk culture. This winter is not very harsh and cold, but in the past, winters often were severe and freezing, especially in the northern hemisphere. Also, you must understand that there were no or very few synthetic fabrics 100-150 years ago, so winter outerwear was mostly made from fur, sheepskin, and wool. Here you are a selection of photos that depict Ukrainian vintage winter clothes.

Female sheepskin coat called “kozhukh”. It is warm and heavy. This garment is festive, it is decorated with colorful embroidery

Women’s coat called “yupka”. It is a demiseasonal piece because it is made from several layers of fabric (cotton, linen, hemp, wool). Yupka is usually comparatively long, with long sleeves

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Male woolen coat called “manta”. It is a festive garment, adorned with embroidery and cording. Also, it has a warm hood

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Woolen coat with long fur called “hunia”. This one is short and is tied at the front with a cord

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Hunia2

Woolen coat called “svyta”. This one is rather simple, without any embellishments, but it looks elegant belted like this and with a beautiful woolen apron

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Vintage woolen short jacket. It is tight-fitting and decorated with 4 fasteners at the front. This garment is festive but not as embellished as some winter wear is

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Male woolen outerwear called “chuhania”. It has unique sleeves with long fringe

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Long woolen coat. The front is very simple, without any embellishments. And also, there’s no buttons or any other fasteners – this coat was closed one flap over the other and belted. The back of the garment is embellished with colorful yarn pom-poms and, as you see, is composed from several pieces of woolen cloth

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Woolen outer garment called “serdak”. It is unisex, worn by both men and women and richly decorated. It has cute yarn pom-pons, usually colorful

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Women’s woolen coat with a beautiful pleated skirt. Otherwise, it has a very simple design

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