This women’s kosoklinnyi sarafan (Russian for sundress) was made in the year 1880 in the village of Nizhmozero, in the Onega Uyezd of the Arkhangelsk Governorate (kosoklinnyi means “with panels cut on the bias”). This garment combines such elements as crimson damask fabric, galloon, metal buttons, tinsel and printed cotton. The sarafan is hand-made.
It is known that from the late 19th to early 20th century, women in Pomorye wore old types of kosoklinnyi sarafans, such as kitainik, kostych and shtofnik. However, only a few examples of Pomorye sarafans have survived to this day.
A few old kostych sarafans can be found in the local history museum in the city of Petrozavodsk. Two of them are made of black and gray woolen fabric and originate from the Pomorye coast and another one is from the Karelian coast. On the Onega and southern shores, such sarafans were mostly worn by elderly women. Instead of a shirt, they often wore two sleeves that were connected at the back and front with straps. In the village of Nyonoksa, kostych sarafans were worn with a kabat — an apron with sleeves.
Festive kosoklinnyi sarafans were sewn from red damask — wool or silk fabric in various shades, ranging from cranberry to crimson — and decorated in the front with a wide galloon and several round silver or gilded buttons. Two examples of such dresses originate from Una and Luda on the southern coast, and they can be found in the collection of the State Museum Association “Art Culture of the Russian North”. Another example is a kosoklinnyi sarafan from the village of Nizhmozero that made its way into the collection of the Onega Historical and Memorial Museum.
This exhibit was decorated with large floral patterns, galloon, and metal buttons. On the southern coast and the Onega coast, as well as in some villages in Pomorye and on the northern coast, women wore damask sarafans to participate in round dances. They matched such sundresses with white puffy sleeves, brocade short fur coats, brocade headbands, strings of beads, and earrings. On the southern shore, they also wore a collar decoration embroidered with pearls and beads. In the 1920s, kosoklinnyi sarafans were superseded by straight sundresses and skirts.
