Traditional Ukrainian
Regional Folk Costume
An online exhibit on loan from the D.Dmytrykiw Ukrainian Ethnographic
Research Collection, Library & Archives of Westlake,
Ohio
Curator: D. Dmytrykiw
(All images are of artifacts from the
D.Dmytrykiw Ethnographic Research Collection, Library & Archives of
Westlake, Ohio.)
The traditional clothing (often referred to as “folk costume”)
of every nation is one of the greatest manifestations of its aesthetic
endeavors. The traditional folk attire of the Ukrainian nation
is distinguished by simplicity of form, trimness of silhouette,
richness and variety of embroidery, as well as by the use of particular
color schemes on a region-to-region basis. In it clearly
appears the diversity of folk creativity and freeness of spirit
for which the Ukrainian people are well known. Ukrainian
folk apparel brings together into one artistic and practical ensemble
folk tailoring, weaving, embroidery, appliqué, leather working,
and metal craft.
A great deal of artistic innovation and imagination has gone into
the creation of traditional Ukrainian regional folk apparel. It
is as if the people have translated the very wonder of the Ukrainian
landscape into their outfits, the usually joyous range of colors
having evolved carefully throughout the centuries. The work
and time spent on making their folk clothing provided people with
an outlet for their creative spirit, often lifting them out of
the mundane reality of their day-to-day lives. Although the
actual embroidering was not a simple task -- as it demanded innate
talent, native craftsmanship, and commitment, it was a time in
the busy life of a villager when she or he could experience the
joy of creation.
The style of traditional Ukrainian folk apparel varies from region
to region, district to district, village to village, and sometimes
even among neighborhoods within an individual village. Much
of this variation is the result of the differing economic, geographic,
political and social circumstances in which the
particular regions found themselves over the centuries. People living in a high
mountainous territory, or marshland, for instance, required a different
style of clothing than those living in the seemingly endless stretches
of the steppes. And those living in a remote, isolated locale
were dependent on their own resources and tended to be more conservative
than those living along well-traveled byways and in areas to which
factory-made goods were easily accessible. Ukrainians living
in border areas in close proximity to peoples of other national
and/or cultural traditions sometimes took a liking to certain details
they found in their neighbors’ dress and incorporated them
into their own. However, in spite of the obvious differences
in color preferences and variations in cut and design that characterize
individual regional or local folk apparel, taken together, they
represent a definite Ukrainian style.
The stark white color of many of the numerous Ukrainian regional
folk costume ensembles was colorfully enlivened with woolen skirts,
aprons, belts, wreaths, red necklaces, ribbons, and countless other
accessories. The emphasis on red, red-black, or red-blue,
coloration is very archaic and typical for many areas of Ukraine,
especially the more remote and conservative Lemko, Boiko, Polissya,
and Transcarpathian (Zakarpattia) Regions. Other regions -
e.g., the Volyn, Podillja, Poltava, Kyiv, and Chernihiv Regions
-- also utilized these same color palettes in the older, more traditional
variations of their folk clothing; however, with the passage of
time and ever increasing influx of outside
stimuli, people of these areas gradually accepted and added other
colors and styles that had been previously unknown to them, making
them their own
All styles of traditional Ukrainian regional folk apparel can be
divided into five main groupings, namely: 1) Northern (Pidliashshia,
Polissya, Volyn); 2) Carpathian (Lemko, Boiko, Hutsul, Transcarpathian);
3) Greater Podillia (Pokuttia, Podillia, Bukovyna); 4) Steppes
(Central and Eastern Ukraine); and 5) Black Sea/Southern Territories. Within
each of these groupings distinctive sub groupings are also recognizable. In
many instances, particular styles of regional apparel are of a
transitional nature and embody traits of more than one of the main
groupings.
* © 2009. This exhibit in all of its aspects, textual
and illustrative (images), except as noted, copyright by D. Dmytrykiw
with all rights strictly reserved. All materials contained
herein are proprietary and owned by the D.Dmytrykiw Ukrainian
Ethnographic Research Collection, Archives & Library of
Westlake, Ohio, and may not be reproduced or utilized in any way
without express written permission by D. Dmytrykiw.
Ethnographic Map of Ukraine from Ukrainian
Arts, (Edited by A. Mitz; published by the Ukrainian Youth’s
League of North America, Inc., New York, 1955; pg. 17).
|
