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# Sarafan, shugay and lunnik kokoshnik in the women's costume of northern Rus
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/vdumaites-eto-obraz-suzdalskoi-gorozhanki-rubezha-xviii-xix-vv/
- Published: 2019-07-15T11:26:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:01:42.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Art, Observations, Ethnography

Consider this: the image of a townswoman of Suzdal at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Before us is a northern costume. The boundary between the Great Russian North and South is usually taken to be the present-day Moscow Region, so the northern lands are generally held to include Tver and Vladimir, and therefore Suzdal, while Ryazan and Tula belong to the south.

The chief element of northern dress, the sarafan, is known from at least 1376, by its mention in the Nikon Chronicle. Beneath the sarafan was worn a long chemise with an embroidered hem. Over it went the shugay, likewise a garment of pre-Petrine women's dress.

Particular attention is due to the kokoshnik, a purely northern element. The name probably derives from the word “kokosh”, that is, a hen, after the shape of the headdress. The Petrine reforms forbade noblewomen to wear the kokoshnik, but among the common people it only grew more popular and even made its way south. Many forms of kokoshnik are known; here we see the crescent-shaped lunnik, especially popular in the 17th century, richly embroidered with precious thread.

With all my heart I dream that Russian costume might return not only to haute couture, but to prêt-à-porter as well.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_1562@15-07-2019_14-26-46.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_1563@15-07-2019_14-26-46.jpg)