Russian Costuming: Medieval and Otherwise

This is my first love in all things Russian. I used to build theater costumes as a job and I still make SCA costumes as a hobby. I like making clothing from all different time periods and cultures, but I find Russian costuming the most challenging. While there is quite a lot of info about Russian costume from the 18th century to the present, very little documentation exists for the time period I like to play in. I try not to simply look at 18th and 19th century sources and say "things didn't change all that much in Russia's past", but it is hard.

I will try to put anything I find out about period Russian costuming here, but I don't like to publish anything until I am absolutely sure about the accuracy of my research. I am planning on putting up a dictionary of Russian costuming terms that should prove useful and I have some other ideas I'd rather not talk about until I actually get off my butt and start working on them. Meanwhile, here are some sites you might want to visit.

Male Rus' Costume: This is the absolutely BEST re-creation of a Russian costume that I have seen. Go to this site NOW!!! There is a clickable image-map that will open new pages of information. Have fun clicking on the very attractive Rus' gentleman's clothing. Be sure not to miss anything! A non-Java version is also available. This has lots of archaeological research and it includes PATTERNS! Hopefully the site will put up something on Women's costume soon. If you have problems with the text, change the language encoding in your browser to Unicode or Central European.
Patterns and Instructions for Medieval Russian Costumes: The name says it all. Thank you, Predslava!
The Dress of the Rus': Mistress Nicolaa's article on the clothing of 1036 Novgorod.
Articles on costuming, Jewelry and much more: Some good stuff courtesy of Predslava
1903 Winter Ball: a collection of photos from a book about the 1903 Winter Ball in St. Petersburg Russia. Some of the costumes are not in period, but a few are. I wish the quality of the pictures was better, but hey, at least we can take a look at them!
Russian Costume Links: From the Costumer's Manifesto site
The Costumer's Manifesto includes many good Russian costume links, most of which I have already linked to from here
Byzantine World: A good deal of Russian culture and costume shows Byzantine influence. Costumes, pictures, and links

Costume Decoration and Accessories

Russian Beadwork: Nothing period, but a good site to look at if you are interested in beadwork

The History of Costume Pages

These are taken from a Victorian costume book (which means that it is of questionable accuracy), most of these pictures are out-of-period but they are fun to look at. I have only linked to the costumes I consider useful to my research but there are many other pictures. Be aware that the images are LARGE

Plate 45C -- Russian Nobleman (16th Century)
Plate 66 -- Russia (17th-18th Centuries)
Plate 112 -- Caucasus (Late-19th Century)
Plate 113 -- Central Asia (Late-19th Century)
Plate 124 -- Siberia (Late-19th Century)
Plate 125 -- Russian Folk Dress (Late-19th Century)

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This page last updated March 23, 2001