Married women in Russia were supposed to wear headdresses that covered their hair completely.

A kokoshnik, a headdress with a convex or flat top and a high crest, is first mentioned in written sources of the 17th century, although it had emerged earlier.

The kokoshnik of Kargopolsky uyezd is a single structure consisting of a frontlet with tailored “ears” (‘poushy’), a pear-shaped bottom and a back piece with a straight projection on the back. The narrowed part of the bottom and the frontlet protruding forward form a characteristic cone-shaped crest, sticking out slightly upwards and forwards.

Kargopol kokoshniks can be identified by common techniques and decorating methods: string pearl, gold and cord embroidery. The composition, decorating the frontlet, is also quite typical: a stylized frog with a round maw, accentuated by large half pearls. The sides are embroidered with stylized plants, which were traced with gold thread to enhance their visual expression.

On the lower part of the sides there was a half rosette, higher — a rosette with petals or a trident, one of the elements of a stylized zoomorphic figure. The back also featured similar images, lined with a cord. The initials of the owner were often embroidered with golden threads on the sides.

The decoration of the bottom of the Kargopol kokoshniks is varied. The bottom could be simply sewn up with strips of braid, but there are also examples of small flowers made in foil and arranged in a chessboard pattern on the braid, or large ones, in a complex composition — on gold embroidery. The bottoms were also covered with lace made of gold threads or gold embroidery on a velvet base, with varying techniques and styles.

The front part and the sides were mostly decorated on the edge with a beaded string, woven in the form of an oblique net. There could be from one to four of such strings (3.5–10 centimeters long); their number indicated how well-to-do the family was. On top of the kokoshnik, wealthy Kargopol women wore a muslin shawl, the corner of which was decorated with a large gold-embroidered pattern.