Chuvash clothes were notable for their beauty, originality and gorgeousness among the clothes of the Middle Volga region people. The dress, footwear, head-dress, adornment – everything was mainly produced at peasant’s homestead. Canvas and leather were the basic production materials. The Chuvash weaved multi-coloured cloth and linen and hempen canvas of different sorts – thin (katan pir), surpan, even, canvas for foot-binding, flimsy canvas for lining (shala pir), etc., as well as woolen girdles and belts of various colours. At the end of XVIII century two-coloured cotton cloth production (pestryad) and cloth dyeing became widespread among Lower Chuvash (Anatry). Almost every homestead had spinning and weaving equipment. In order to make festive and celebratory dress well-to-do peasants bought imported cloth, silk, red calico, cotton fabric – kitayka, vyboyka, bermet, various tapes, beads, etc. Women skillfully embroidered festive attire, made different adornments.

The base of the traditional women’s dress is a tunic-like kepe, a shirt trimmed with embroidery. Viryal and Anat-Yenchy made shirts from thin white linen with embroidery, Anatry – from pestryad with two or three frills of different colour without embroidery and very often without any belt (up to the middle of XIX century Anatry also wore white shirts). The Chuvash wore hempen and linen canvas shirts and trousers as underwear and personal attire. Upper Chuvash as well as Lower Chuvash wore white canvas shirts and trousers; collars, sleeves and laps of men’s shirts and collars, breast part, sleeves, laps and side stripes (at sides) of women’s attire were trimmed with embroidery and tapes.
Over the shirt women wore embroidered aprons (sappun), canvas loose overalls like a wide gown without a lapel. Usual men’s trousers worn under clothing were also made of canvas. In winter people of moderate means wore warm homespun cloth trousers, rich ones wore trousers made of green and blue cloth.

In summer cool days men and women wore caftan-like shuber and pustav made of thin cloth, in autumn they wore woolen underwear (sahman). People also wore epanchy (clothes like a loose and long coat) made of white or grey, rarely of blue cloth. In winter they wore slim line fur coats made of sheepskin (kerek). For the trip over their fur coats or caftans the well-to-do Chuvash wore chapan (as’am) made of homespun cloth or sheepskin coat.

In summer men wore felt black or white hats (yalkas), in winter – caps (s’elek) with wide cap-band and oblong cupola-shaped top.

Women’s head-dress and adornments were notable for their diversity and elegance. On ordinary days girls and unmarried women wore linen and hempen shawls. Married women wore surpan – a kind of a long towel, the ends of which were embroidered and decorated with lace. As a celebratory head-dress girls wore tuhya, a spherical soft cap trimmed with beads and small coins, women wore hushpu, a cap with truncated cone, trimmed with beads and coins or tin circles – tukhlankkas. A long tail (hyure) trimmed with beads, coins and lace was sewn to hushpu from the rear part.

Among other women’s adornments one should also mention a necklace (sharscha), a neck-back adornment made of coins (suha), breast adornment (ama), a belt (tevet) worn over shoulders, back adornment (puschu hyscha), belt pendants – sara, yarkach, breast adornments (shulkeme) and surpan pendants (surpan s’akki). All kinds of head-dress were trimmed with embroidery, beads, silver coins, shells, lace, red calico, etc.

Leather boots, bast shoes and valenki in winter were the common footwear. The Viryal Chuvash wore bast shoes with black cloth onoochas, Anatry Chuvash – with white woolen stockings knitted or sewed from cloth (tala chalha).

From the middle of XX century Chuvash men began wearing Russian jackets, short fur coats, shirts, boots and peaked caps. As for women’s clothes, especially the Anatry Chuvash’s, white canvas clothes trimmed with embroidery were replaced by pestryad and manufactured cloth; purchased shawls and kerchiefs appeared in addition to surpans and head-bands. The ancient embroidery was enriched with appliqué work and braids made of colored manufactured cloth.

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