7 interesting facts about embroidered shirts

— The ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the Scythians decorated their clothes with embroidery. These words are confirmed by metal figurines found in the Cherkasy region and dated to the VI century — they demonstrate the similarity of patterns on traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts and ancient artifacts.

— Vyshivanka is a festive garment, which the master took an average of two weeks to three years to create. In everyday life, Ukrainians wore shirts called "Budenki". Ukrainians often had different embroidered shirts for different occasions — in some before sowing they asked for a good harvest in the land, in others they went to get engaged.

— For a long time only women had the right to embroider a shirt, and before the start of work there was a separate ritual — the girl fasted, prayed and washed her hands. This was due, in particular, to the sacred meaning of embroideries — for Ukrainians, they were not clothes, but a strong amulet, on which each symbol had its own meaning.

— Traditionally, embroidered shirts were decorated with geometric ornaments, and flowers appeared only in the XX century, for example, poppies, which previously symbolized loss and pain.

— Today, experts have about 20 different embroidery techniques (smooth, goat, spikelet seam, bottom, punching, knots, lace, etc.) and about 200 old seams. At the same time, the most common type of cross-stitch came to Ukraine from Europe only in the XIX century.

— Each region of Ukraine has its own traditional embroidery techniques, combinations of colors and patterns, so this thing without words told everything about its owner. For example, white embroidery on white canvas was popular in Poltava region, in the south of the country coarse thread and wide stitches were most often used, and colorful patterns "gave out" a resident of western Ukraine.

— Ivan Franko was the first one who make an embroidered shirt a part of the city image. He wore his embroidered shirt together with a trouser suit — today such a combination is absolutely familiar to us.

According to Vogue Ukraine

Photo: Roma Lansky / @ rl35mm

Model: Nana Ruskevych / @nana_ruskevych