Kazakh National Costume- a source of pride and identity. It reflects the features of the historical development and formation of the Kazakh nation. The outfit is both simple and eye-catching, but attracts attention and attracts interest all over the world due to its incredible patterns, paintings and fabric materials.

National Kazakh clothing began to take shape approximately 5–6 centuries ago. Since then, it has been changed and improved many times, but has retained the traditions and characteristics of the culture of Kazakhstan. Peoples and nationalities close in their territorial location contributed to the development of costumes: Russians, Tatars and other representatives from Central Asia.

Features of the Kazakh national costume

At all times, Kazakh clothing was distinguished by an abundance of decorative elements, embroidery, and hems. All this is not without reason, because they believed that patterns protect the body and mind from evil spirits.

What materials is it made from?

In ancient times, Kazakhs mainly used the skin and fur of fox, camel, raccoon or beaver to sew clothes. When the people began to develop nomadic cattle breeding, felt and cloth were used - fabrics made from sheep or camel wool. The people made them themselves on home machines, and they were available to all people.

The famous “Silk Road” passed through the territory of modern Kazakhstan, so residents began to be supplied with silks, velvets, brocade and satin fabrics. However, only large feudal lords had the opportunity to buy such materials from foreign traders. That's why It was fashionable to judge the financial situation of the owner of the suit by the type of fabric.

In the 12th - 13th centuries, costumes were made from:

• thin cotton fabrics such as chintz, calico or calico;
• Central Asian fabrics: bekasab, mata, adras;
• velvet;
• silk or brocade;
• atlas.

Traditional colors in a suit

One of the main features Kazakh costume- richness and brightness of colors. The wealth of the family is indicated by clothing in the following colors:

Moreover, the shades of these colors may differ and are used to make suits for both women and men.

Characteristic features of the Kazakh costume

Male and women's suits have both similarities and differences. As for the general things:

About the men's suit

If we turn to the set of traditional men's clothing, then it usually consists of a light shirt, harem pants, a robe with a belt, boots and, of course, a headdress. A robe is usually the clothing of the poorer sections of the population. Wealthy people preferred camisoles made from rich fabrics.

About women's suit

At first, women's traditional costume differed only in the bottom - a swinging wide skirt. The fact is that before, women, just like men, rode horses. Over time, the costume changed, and its basis became a fitted dress with a flared skirt. In the cold season, a robe with a warm wool lining or a fur coat was added to the look. From the Turks, Kazakh women received headdresses with or without fur trim.

Children's suits for boys

The boys' clothing consisted of narrow trousers, a light shirt and a vest or frock coat with a belt. The headdress was also a mandatory element and could be similar to a skullcap, or an adult cap.

Wedding national costume

The wedding image of a Kazakh girl is an example of the use of the best fabrics and materials, the richest decorations and accessories. The dress has a fitted silhouette, but especially full skirt and is sewn from satin, organza or silk. As for the color of the dress, it was chosen for a reason:

Over the robe was worn a camisole or robe embroidered with magnificent patterns to match the main dress. Later, this tradition exhausted itself, but some girls still wear it to weddings.

With all my heart wedding suits The bride is presented with her headdress - saukele. It is a cone-shaped cap, which is decorated precious stones, fur, patterns, possibly a veil.

This splendor began to be made long before the wedding ceremony, because it was part of the dowry and an indicator of wealth and wealth.

Jewelry, belts, hats and shoes

Ornament is the main decoration of the Kazakh costume. Embroidery can be completely different: animalistic patterns of nature and fauna, geometric lines, solid subjects. The ornaments were embroidered with golden lurex threads, beads, pearl beads, and colored glass were used.

There are a great variety of decorative or precious elements in a costume.. These can be earrings, rings, bracelets and necklaces, belts with plaques or buckles different shapes. They were made from different material depending on the financial situation of the owner: copper, silver or gold, ordinary metal.

The headdress is a unique element of the Kazakh costume. They were very different:

The shoes are high, wide boots, which are convenient for tucking into trousers. They were practically the same for males and females. The only thing is that the boots for girls were much more richly embroidered. They could also be decorated with leather appliqués. Summer shoes were distinguished by a beautiful curved toe and heel.

Modern Kazakh girl costume

Nowadays, traditional clothes are worn on a daily basis only by elderly residents of certain Kazakh villages. Modern girls wear traditional costume only for weddings or other holiday events . However, for many Kazakh designers traditional style and ornaments are still a source of inspiration, so they use them in their shows and fashion collections.

Since I now live in Kazakhstan. then I want to talk about the Kazakh dress of girls and women.
When I was little. then I often came to see my grandmother in Alma-Ata. As part of “helping” the local Polish community, I even had to dance the Kazakh girlish dance Kamazhay at various summer events.

I really liked the Kazakh dress! Firstly, it was white, which means it was somehow fabulous, secondly, it had a lot of frills, and thirdly, such additions as a red camisole and a hat with feathers made the outfit completely irresistible!
Then I already knew. that for most dance numbers they use a stylized bride's outfit.


In general, the most important thing in the bride’s outfit was the headdress - saukele.

Saukele was made “not according to the rules,” that is, without “headphones” and “back of the head.” It should be very high. When the bride entered the yurt to her future husband and bowed, it was necessary that the tip of the saukele touch the hearth. Saukele was worn only in the first time after marriage - about a year, and then they took off and put on a simpler, practical and comfortable headdress, which had a solid frame in the shape of a truncated cone, which was trimmed with glazet or wrapped in foil, decorated with pendants made of gold and silver plaques with inserts gems.


These are reconstructions of ancient saukeles (and these are Kalmyk outfits, not Kazakh ones)

Kazakh saukeles began to change very quickly.

Currently, this stylized model is common.


A zhelek was also worn with the saukele - a smooth transparent white veil, which was attached to the top of the head and which was usually used to cover the bride’s face or wrap her completely during the performance of the ritual wedding song “Betashar”.


The bride's dress was white. His story is quite interesting. At first, koylek was a type of underwear (under a caftan, chapan, etc.). But gradually under the koylek they began to wear sleeveless undershirts (ish koylek), which were made from light white fabric without sleeves, with narrow shoulders and a wide neckline, less often with a small neckline and a slit in the front, which was tied with ribbons. The shirt-dress was made from different fabrics: for everyday wear - from cheap ones, for holidays - from expensive ones. The dress was made from a single piece of fabric folded in half. From the armpits to the hemline it was sewn along the side sections. Sometimes triangular wedges were sewn into them. The sleeves were also made from a rectangular piece of fabric folded in half. They were made straight and wide. The dress had a full collar, a turn-down or stand-up collar and a straight slit in the front, closing to the sleeves, and two or three rows of frills were sewn to the bottom. By the end of the 19th century, a new cut of this dress arose, gradually replacing the old one. The dress began to be cut off at the waistline. The bodice was still sewn tunic-shaped, the width of one panel, and a straight, very wide skirt, gathered or folded, was sewn to it. The neckline was decorated with a standing collar with a slit, which was sometimes trimmed with a placket and fastened with three or four buttons with slotted loops. At the beginning of the 20th century, innovations appeared in the cut of Kazakh women’s dresses, characteristic of other types of clothing: a beveled shoulder, a cut-out armhole, a cuff on which the bottom of the sleeve was gathered, darts or pleats on the back and shoulders that made the bodice more fitted to the figure, a skirt made of oblique flaring wedges



The camisole, a light swinging garment, tailored to fit the figure with flared flaps at the bottom, went very beautifully and harmoniously with the dress.



Sleeveless clothing was sometimes called a camisole, and a beshmet with sleeves.


Other names are also known. Camisoles were made of velvet and other bright fabrics, with a single lining of fabric or wool. Young girls wore camisoles of brighter colors than middle-aged or older women. Festive camisoles were distinguished by decoration, rich embroidery, and braiding.

Before the wedding, Kazakh women have a good opportunity to shine in two dresses. It is traditional to wear a national dress for Uzatu (seeing off the bride). It turned out that not all girls dream of a dress from Vera Wang or Elie Saab. This is evidenced by the popularity of ateliers that accept orders for Kazakh wedding dresses.

By the way, before putting on that same dress, you should understand the sacred meaning of this robe and look at photographs from antiquity and compare modern options.

You probably noticed that the original appearance of the Kazakh dress is different from today’s version. In the original, the dress was not so bright, and there were not so many patterns. But in terms of the “richness” of the outfit, this version was superior to the current one, since the stones on the saukele were precious.

“The Kazakhs wore such a headdress for about a year before the girl’s marriage. The richer the father was, the more richly the saukele was decorated. At the very top, in a place called taj (I suspect from the Arabic word “taj” - translated as “crown”), precious stones, pearls, corals, gold and silver coins were sewn on. In addition, it was decorated with gold threads, brocade and velvet. A “zhaktau” trimmed with fur and precious stones was sewn along the edges. and the ends of the zhaktau were tucked into pockets sewn to the bride’s dress. So that they do not break under the weight of decorations. In a word, saukele was a symbol of family well-being. Something like a business card." (Aizhan Khamit)

It is also worth noting that there are speculations that the long sleeves of the shapan meant that the girl was from a rich family and was not burdened with household chores.

“The Kazakh wedding headdress saukele is 100% borrowed from the Sakas, for whom the pointed high cap served as the “crown” of the ruling elite.” (From the facebook group “National Clothes Day”)

Below are the basic attributes of wedding clothing:

Kosetek - a light dress with frills, cut 5-6 cm below the waist and very fitted. A wide flounce was sewn to the skirt of the dress, onto which several rows of gathered frills were sewn - zhelbezek . The bottom was also decorated with frills. long sleeves and collar. In some areas, instead of a frill, they made two or three folds. The dress was worn over an undershirt chikoylek , which was usually sewn from white material, with narrow sleeveless shoulders and a collar neckline tied with ribbons.

Camisole – outerwear, It was made mainly of brightly colored velvet. Its length was below the hips, the silhouette was fitted, usually lined. The neckline, floors and bottom of the camisole were decorated. Most often it was embroidery: satin stitch, vestibule, gold and silver thread, or border, lurex stripes, braid or beads.

Saukele consisted of two parts. A conical cap made of fabric, quilted, with a lining, up to 25 centimeters high, was placed directly on the head. Sometimes a forehead and back pad were sewn to it. The saukele was worn directly over it. The material for this beautiful and ceremonial dress was thin felt, trimmed with bright, most often red, fabric. The back of the cone was 10 cm higher than the front. There is a hole in the upper part. From below, and sometimes in the middle, the saukele was trimmed with fur. The front part was decorated with all kinds of stripes: braid, corals, beads, silver plaques, precious stones. Long pendants made of threads of coral, turquoise, silver plates, and silk tassels that reached the waist were attached to the sides.

The Kazakh national costume is not only a source of pride for the local population, but also an object of increased attention from both Russians and guests from near and far abroad. What's so unusual about this outfit? And how does it differ from the sundress or kokoshnik we are used to?

This article is aimed at telling in detail about such an original element of culture as the Kazakh national costume, a photo of which can now be found in any directory or guidebook dedicated to this corner of the globe. We will try to answer all readers' questions in a simple and understandable manner.

general information

According to experts who study the costumes of different peoples, the Kazakh national costume is a true embodiment of the entire history of this semi-nomadic community.

Of course, over time it has been modified and improved, and now we can say with confidence that it is fully adapted to the living conditions of modern Kazakhs and the difficult climate of the region. But that's not all. The fact is that the Kazakh national costume has its own very interesting aesthetics.

Modern materials for manufacturing

Many people know that the Kazakhs have long valued the skins of tiger, saiga and kulan, dark furs of marten, raccoon, sable, muskrat and white furs of ferret and ermine.

Of course, to this day, products made from marten and sable are considered the most popular here. By the way, from time immemorial these people have mastered many techniques for making fur coats.

The Kazakh national costume is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Sometimes a visiting person has no idea what is what. For example, warm sheepskin coats made from the skins of large animals are called “ton”, but “ishiki” are made from the skins of small fur-bearing animals. Even now, the local, mostly rural, population often sews outfits from the down of swans, herons and loons.

How did people get by before?

In the old days, when making fur coats from goatskin, the Kazakhs plucked long hairs from them, leaving only the undercoat. Such winter clothes was called “kylka zhargak”. In addition, suede was made from goat skins, from which pants, robes and even light raincoats were then sewn.

The top was always covered with brocade, cloth, silk, etc.

All fur coats differed in the type of fabric and its color. For example, only noble people could wear a fur coat covered with blue cloth and trimmed with beaver. And the most valuable thing in a Kazakh bride’s dowry was a fur cape called “bas tone,” covered with high-quality silk.

What tools did local craftswomen use?

The Kazakh national costume was decorated with special silk embroidery. When embroidering small patterns, needlewomen used special hoops, which, depending on the shape of the product and the outline of the embroidered ornament, could be round or rectangular.

Kazakh women have always been great masters of tambour embroidery, loop to loop, which is carried out with an awl with a hook and needles.

Kazakh headdresses, breast decorations and frills of women's dresses were embroidered with tambour embroidery.

Decoration of Kazakh national costumes

The Kazakh national costume for girls, photos of which have recently been quite often found in open sources, was decorated with satin stitch embroidery. By the way, they also used it to embroider cloth called kimesheki.

When embroidering with satin stitch and tambour, floral and geometric patterns, contour images of animals and people were mainly used. And sometimes the embroidery even represented a whole plot.

The meaning of felt and wool

What else can surprise the Kazakh national costume? Photo (women's and men's outfit in in this case almost identical) from ancient times prove that felt, sheep and camel wool were especially popular.

Outerwear was made from felt. An ancient shekpen was rolled out of camel hair. It was a wide, long cloak for protection from any weather. The ceremonial shekpen were rolled from dyed fabric with galloon-trimmed seams.

Features of local outfits

In general, the national costume of any community has always been distinctive feature these people.

The costumes of the upper class of the population of this state were characteristically distinguished by a stronger emphasis on elegance, using large quantity embroidery and fur trims.

The Kazakh national costume is very convenient not only for a feast or some kind of celebration, but is also great for work, for spending the night in the steppe on a cold night, and for long horse riding. Basically it consists of a man's trousers or a woman's skirt, a camisole and a robe or fur coat on top. There must be a headdress on the head, which also emphasizes the social status of the owner of the outfit.

Clothes for special occasions

I would like to emphasize that in different zhuzes of Kazakhstan there are no fundamental regional differences in the national costumes, although in some places more archaic elements have still been preserved.

The Kazakhs never had special work clothes. There was also no line between festive attire and everyday attire, but the ceremonial costume had to be cut more freely, and the decor and headdresses had to be more voluminous. was made of silk, velvet, brocade and expensive furs, and everyday clothes were made of simple and cheaper materials.

Kazakh mourning women's outfit was ordinary everyday clothing, from which all decorations were removed. At a man's funeral, his wife had to let her hair down, and his sisters and daughters had to take off their maiden caps and throw black shawls over their shoulders. Men at funerals were girded with a 3-4-meter mourning sash made of dark calico fabric.

A mandatory element of the Kazakh national costume was a belt - beldyk. It was made of wool, silk, velvet and leather. Hanging wallets, knife cases and powder flasks were also attached to the belts of adult men. The boys' belts did not have any pendants. The belt also had heart-shaped animal buckles and overlays. Belts for women's clothing, nur beldyk, were usually made of silk, were wider and more elegant. In most cases they were sewn with decorative stitching.

Kazakh men's costume

One of the main elements of a male Kazakh costume is a pointed headdress. It resembles the saki or cap of the ancient Scythians and is called murak, or ai-yrkalpak.

Do children wear Kazakh national costume? In this case, a photo for boys will look much more presentable than for girls. Why? The thing is that men, regardless of their age, dress not only more beautifully, but also more functionally. For example, Kazakh men's trousers have so-called wedges, represented by special inserts made of sheepskin, and are called “shalbar-sym”. These elements greatly help with long-term horse riding, as they protect the skin from abrasion during long journeys. By the way, when wearing bloomers, they tuck them into boots.

The camisole of Kazakh men is called a beshmet. It is tied at the waist with a shekeln belt. In ancient times, kaftans were made of leather and dyed in bright colors. In the cold season, an insulated type of camisole - kokreshe - is worn.

The caftan and trousers are worn over underwear, which is made of silk or fine cotton fabric.

An invariable part of any Kazakh costume is a fur coat. And its substitute among the poor continues to be a long-skirted felt robe, which perfectly retains heat.

Kazakh shoes for men and women have never been particularly different. Everyone wore boots decorated with embroidery with a small heel or leather ichigs that resembled socks or shoes.

Kazakh women's costume

The Kazakh women's headdress is the zhaulyk. It is sewn from white silk fabric and was inherited by the Kazakh people from the ancient Turkic tribes.

Once upon a time, for a wedding, women wore a special headdress - a saukele, which was richly decorated with gold and silver fringe. Sometimes it took a whole year to prepare. Girls from good families they also wore a borik - a warm hat trimmed with fur.

Kazakh women's skirt, beldemshe, swings open on two sides. Over it, women wear a robe or camisole. Sometimes Kazakh women, instead of a skirt, wear a dress with a flared skirt at the bottom - “kulish koylek”, or “jak-koylek” - a long outfit with a turn-down collar and a pleated yoke.

It's called a chalan. In winter it is worn with a wool lining. By the way, even now girls in Kazakhstan sometimes wear a red robe to a wedding.

Women's winter outerwear is represented by a fur coat - a coupe. It is sewn from fox paw fur and covered with patterned satin on top.

All types of women's clothing had to be richly decorated with lurex, embroidery and various decorative elements.

Children's outfits

Today, the Kazakh national costume for girls is especially popular and has some special folk love, the pattern of which is quite simple, which means it can be sewn at home. By the way, recently there has been a tradition of wearing such an outfit not only during stage performances, but also on days public holidays, when the streets are filled with small Kazakh women in traditional decoration.

What does a children's Kazakh national costume look like? Photos for girls, as well as for boys (and from the outside, unfortunately, we can only judge by the picture), are not much different from adult decoration. In general, it repeats the shape and appearance of the parents’ clothes, only in a smaller size.

The only exception is the outfit for newborns - it koilek. It is sewn slightly elongated, without edging and shoulder seams, from solid cotton fabric (calico, calico or cotton wool).

Kazakh shoes

Everyone has long worn leather boots - koksauyr, made from green shagreen. It was obtained by spilling millet onto softened skin and pressing it all down with some heavy object.

Elderly Kazakh men wore igich - shoes on which leather kebeh galoshes were put on when leaving the house. By the way, not everyone knows that ancient Kazakh boots never differentiated between left and right and had pointed toes and curved toes. The most primitive and poor shoes were shokai - sandals made of rawhide.

Kazakh national costume: photo, women's and men's style, main features

Traditional outfits of Kazakhstan have several characteristic features. Let's list some of them:

• Swing and fitted outerwear that wraps on the left side, regardless of gender.
• Tall hats decorated with feathers, precious stones and embroidery.
• Women's dresses are richly decorated with frills, fringes and borders.
• There are very few colors in the costume ensemble.
• Clothing is complemented with a unique national ornament - embroidery, lurex stripes, patterned fabric and various types of jewelry.
• Tailoring is done using leather, thin felt, fur, cloth made from lamb and camel wool.