Each nation has its own traditional clothing as an attempt to stand out among other people. This clothing is usually formed by the historical background of the state and the worldview of the nation. Let’s go into details about traditional clothing of this country, as this nation has its own special style you are destined to love.
Folk Ukrainian Clothing
Folk costumes differ from region to regions, as Ukraine is a large state, but they have many common features. Thus, remember that their clothing is usually decorated with embroidered patterns.
Embroidery is a Ukraine’s brand identity. The dress for women in this country is covered with embroidered flowers, trees and other natural ornaments. The embroidery was taught at every home: mothers made sure their daughters mastered this skill, as it was a sign and a quality of a good hostess. Their dressing in Ukraine was usually made of bright colors, mostly red, green, yellow and black. Each color symbolized something special: thus, red stood for love and sacrifice, yellow for joy and wealth, golden for holiness, green for youth and nature, blue for trust and faithfulness, black for evil and pain.
Ochipok is a part of female Ukrainian dressing. It was used as a headdress and also had embroidered patterns on it. At first ochipok was worn as a sign of being married, while single girls used to have their head uncovered. With time, this tradition changed and beautiful ochipok became a part of daily outfit for women in Ukraine.
Men of the noble origin as well as Cossacks (Ukrainian warriors) used to wear Zupans in the period between 16th and 18th century. It is believed to be a part of male traditional costumes both in Ukraine and Poland. Depending on the social background of a person wearing it, Zupans could be made of different fabrics and sometimes even had golden buttons. In other words, Zupan is a long-sleeve coat made in a special manner.
Another part of a male traditional costume is sharovary. These pants were worn by men and became popular in the times of Cossacks. These trousers were free to hips and collected on one’s waist and ankles. Normally they were red, but could be of different colors depending on the region of Ukraine.
You may have heard of Kozhushanka, which is another Ukrainian coat made of sheep skin. Usually Kozhushankas were worn on top of other clothes in Ukraine and were sometimes decorated with pins (for women) or belts (for men).
Ukraine’s traditional dress
A traditional shirt that is still worn in Ukraine by both men and women is called vyshyvanka. It is a shirt or a dress (depending on the length of the clothing). It was decorated with embroidery of all kinds and colors. You can still see Ukrainians wearing their Vyshyvankas as a reminder of their Ukrainian identity. Finally you will be interested to know that there is a whole special day dedicated to the traditional Ukrainian shirt called Vyshyvanka Day.
This was the basic information on clothing traditions in Ukraine. And as you could see, the Ukrainian costumes are diverse, bright and yet extremely beautiful.
