It is unlikely that there will be at least one women's wardrobe in which there would not be one or a pair of women's blouses. This piece of clothing is so versatile that it is a must in a business trouser or skirt suit for women, it will decorate any romantic look.

The prototype of a blouse is a chiton, a very popular ancient Greek outfit, which consists of two loose panels fastened on the shoulders with decorative buckles.

Later, such panels are transformed into wide shirts with sleeves. Such clothes were worn by northern peoples as home clothes or underwear. Sleeves did not appear immediately, at first such shirts had only armholes, then short sleeves appeared, which then lengthened.

Linen shirts as a luxury item become popular by the 16th century. Blouses, being the subject of women's underwear, are decorated with lace, lacing, and have pleated details. And only in the 17th century the blouse becomes an independent piece of clothing.

At the beginning of the 20th century, when the skirt becomes noticeably shorter, the blouse lengthens significantly. Blouses are tucked into skirts and trousers. The styles of blouses are changing, bows, ties, ribbons are added to them.

Emphasizing the fragility and tenderness of their mistress, blouses at that time became very popular. At that time, blouses were noticeably different from modern ones. A feature is that the fasteners of most blouses are located on the back, so that you can unfasten it only with outside help.

The famous Coco Chanel in the 50s introduces a simple style of a white blouse with a bow instead of a collar. This model instantly becomes popular and does not go out of fashion for a long time.

Conventionally, all blouses can be divided into types:

Batnik - a blouse, resembling a man's shirt in appearance, is sewn from thin, dense materials. The classic silk blouse is very popular.

Top - blouse with thin straps. The top appeared in the 80s and is very popular now.

Tunic - an elongated blouse that resembles a dress. These blouses are worn with both trousers and leggings.

Today, a blouse is an integral part of a woman's wardrobe, as it plays a very important role in creating a business image of a woman, emphasizing that a woman remains a woman in a business suit. Every woman should have a white plain blouse in her closet that matches any business suit. But with translucent and tight styles, you should be very careful, since such models do not always withstand the dress code adopted at business meetings.

Well, for a casual outfit, there are many styles with and without buttons, with embroidery and trim, with different fabric densities, cuts, and colors.

So who invented the blouse, when did it happen and where? What is the difference between a blouse and a shirt? Let's figure it out. According to the encyclopedic definition, a women's blouse is a fitted thin outerwear. They are similar to shirts, as they are also fastened with buttons, although they can also be loose in the form of tunics. The history of their appearance is closely connected with the history of the shirt.

The roots of the origin of the blouse go back to ancient Greece, when in the XIV century BC. e. wore a tunic. This is something like a shirt that was worn on the body.

Unlike the Greeks, the peoples of Northern Germany in the 4th century BC wore a blouse under their outerwear, like underwear.
This type of clothing, along with trousers, was later adopted by the ancient Romans. At first, the Roman tunic was considered home wear, as it was very comfortable and practical. At the same time, the tunic began to be sewn on the sides and put on over the head. A little later, tunics with sleeves up to the elbow began to appear.

Blouses became separate clothing only in the 19th century, when women's dress was separated into a skirt and, accordingly, a blouse. Massively wearing blouses began only by the end of the 19th century.

Blouse today

Throughout their history, blouses have changed a lot in terms of styles, finishes and fabrics. So what does a women's blouse look like today? What has changed and what remains. We will talk about this further.

Today, perhaps every woman has in her wardrobe several different blouses for every day. They are also made of thin fabrics. True styles and shades appeared a huge variety. It should be noted that the basis of the white classic silk blouse was laid by Coco Chanel.

Blouses can be worn everyday or for special occasions. It all depends on the colors and models, as well as on the selected accessories (brooches, necklaces, detachable collars).

When choosing a blouse, you should also consider some generally accepted rules. So, for example, a business blouse should be plain and simple. Blouses are tight-fitting, translucent and with a deep neckline are more suitable for an evening promenade.

It goes without saying that a blouse can be worn with both puffy or tight skirts and trousers. However, here one should take into account the combination of a monophonic bottom and a multi-colored top, or vice versa.

If you are short, then V-neck blouses are better for you. If you want to hide the flaws of a magnificent figure, then pay attention to blouses with puffed sleeves and a large neckline trim. And if you want to hide thinness or small breasts, then blouses with ruffles and small frills on the chest are perfect for you. They create visual volume.

It is unlikely that there will be at least one women's wardrobe in which there would not be one or a pair of women's blouses. This piece of clothing is so versatile that it is a must in a business trouser or skirt suit for women, it will decorate any romantic look.

The prototype of a blouse is a chiton, a very popular ancient Greek outfit, which consists of two loose panels fastened on the shoulders with decorative buckles.

Later, such panels are transformed into wide shirts with sleeves. Such clothes were worn by northern peoples as home clothes or underwear. Sleeves did not appear immediately, at first such shirts had only armholes, then short sleeves appeared, which then lengthened.

Linen shirts as a luxury item become popular by the 16th century. Blouses, being the subject of women's underwear, are decorated with lace, lacing, and have pleated details. And only in the 17th century the blouse becomes an independent piece of clothing.

At the beginning of the 20th century, when the skirt becomes noticeably shorter, the blouse lengthens significantly. Blouses are tucked into skirts and trousers. The styles of blouses are changing, bows, ties, ribbons are added to them.

Emphasizing the fragility and tenderness of their mistress, blouses at that time became very popular. At that time, blouses were noticeably different from modern ones. A feature is that the fasteners of most blouses are located on the back, so that you can unfasten it only with outside help.

The famous Coco Chanel in the 50s introduces a simple style of a white blouse with a bow instead of a collar. This model instantly becomes popular and does not go out of fashion for a long time.

Conventionally, all blouses can be divided into types:

- Batnik - a blouse, reminiscent of a man's shirt in appearance, is sewn from thin, dense materials. The classic silk blouse is very popular.

- top - blouse with thin straps. The top appeared in the 80s and is very popular now.

- tunic - an elongated blouse resembling a dress. These blouses are worn with both trousers and leggings.

Today, a blouse is an integral part of a woman's wardrobe, as it plays a very important role in creating a business image of a woman, emphasizing that a woman remains a woman in a business suit. Every woman should have a white plain blouse in her closet that matches any business suit. But with translucent and tight styles, you should be very careful, since such models do not always withstand the dress code adopted at business meetings.

Well, for a casual outfit, there are many styles with and without buttons, with embroidery and trim, with different fabric densities, cuts, and colors.

Sweatshirt blouses, hats, eiderdown robe, Caucasian ichigi, bear fur coat and French coat! The clothes in the wardrobe of the great Russian writer are unique, and many things have been perfectly preserved to this day. Narrated by Nadezhda Pereverzeva, curator of the Leo Tolstoy Memorial House.

Nadezhda Pereverzeva, curator of the Leo Tolstoy Memorial House

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, especially in his youth, liked to dress well and always followed the concept of comme il faut (French comme il faut, literally - as it should, as it should).

Once, while in Kazan, Lev Nikolaevich saw a gentleman without gloves and looked at him with disgust. The elder brother of the writer, Nikolai Nikolaevich, even reprimanded him. But for Lev Nikolaevich, the absence of gloves on a man was unacceptable. At that time, for Tolstoy, even such a trifle characterized a person.

He always tried to be exceptionally fit, paying maximum attention to appearance and clothing. Of course, by the mid-70s of the XIX century, the writer began to dress more simply, but still, Tolstoy always remembered that he was an aristocrat.

The museum-estate "Yasnaya Polyana" has preserved a lot of things from the writer's wardrobe, starting from the 70s of the XIX century. There are things “to go out”, ceremonial ones, in which Tolstoy went to the Assembly of the Nobility, the theater, to meetings, and there are absolutely home ones ...

It should be noted that the height of the writer was 182 cm, in old age - 176 cm. Well, the writer wore shoes of the 42nd size. Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya sewed most of the things for her husband with her own hands. The countess needleworked on the English sewing machine WHEELER & WILSON, which she inherited from her mother, Lyubov Alexandrovna Bers. Sofya Andreevna sewed things for her husband, for herself, and for the children ... There is a known case when Sofya Andreevna was with her eldest daughter Tatyana at a ball. The dress, in which the girl was, attracted the attention of the guests. The ladies began to ask Tolstoy, where did she order such beauty? To which the countess modestly replied that she sewed it herself!

Leo Tolstoy and Alexei Gorky, Yasnaya Polyana, 1909. The author of the photo is Sofia Tolstaya. The count is dressed in an absolute novelty of those years - a rubberized raincoat and wet shoes!

Most of Leo Tolstoy's wardrobe consisted of light-colored blouses made of different materials. On the shirts of Lev Nikolaevich, which later became known as "hoodies", there are "talking" details. For example, a special pocket for a pencil and a small notebook. In the last years of his life, Leo Tolstoy wrote a diary, which he called "A diary for oneself." He liked to write with a pencil, which he hung through a loop on a canvas thread.

In the mornings at home, the writer wore dressing gowns. In the 70s, Tolstoy's office was located on the first floor, and the bedroom was on the second. Every morning the count had a ritual - he woke up, put on a dressing gown, washed himself and, as his son Ilya recalled, "went to the office with a matted beard." There, behind the wardrobes, were his clothes. In the office, he changed clothes and went out to breakfast. Well, in the evening, behind the closet, he again changed into a dressing gown and went up to his bedroom.

It was always cool in the Tolstoy house, no more than 18 degrees - the count did not like heat and closeness. The house was even heated every other day, and then in parts, and not entirely. Especially for the winter, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya sewed for her husband a blue eiderdown robe, which she took from old children's blankets that had become unnecessary.

One artist told how, already in the late autumn, Lev Nikolaevich asked him to take a walk to the neighboring estate. The writer then dressed very lightly: trousers, a shirt and a knitted sweater on top. And the artist himself wrapped himself in a fur coat. Tolstoy said: "You got excited, you will have to undress" ... And indeed - the count walked quickly and did not freeze at all. But already on the way back, Lev Nikolaevich got into the sleigh and wrapped himself in his favorite fur coat, which he bought for himself as a gift for a fee from Anna Karenina. The count rarely wore a fur coat, preferring a Romanov sheepskin coat to her.

Leo Tolstoy had a rich collection of shoes, and all of them were exclusively handmade. Checkered home shoes, the softest shoes made of elk skin, canvas shoes, in which he probably played tennis ... At home, Lev Nikolayevich walked in boots - ichigi. Tolstoy simply adored his ichigi - made of very thin leather, with a soft toe and an internal hard back. They do not have such a difference as right or left, and you can move around the house in them absolutely silently. The writer filmed ichigi with the help of a special object - lackey. It was inconvenient to take them off with your hands - remember, in films, wives usually took off their husbands boots!

Another unique exhibit of the museum is Tolstoy felt boots-cloaks. They were probably brought from America by Tolstoy himself, or by his son Sergei, or by one of the Tolstoyans who escorted the steamer with the Doukhobors to a settlement in Canada.

The cloaks are made of thin felt, lined with felt, the leather on the socks is very finely stitched. For the production of such boots, a special block was used. The museum wanted to make a duplicate of felt boots, invited different craftsmen for this. But nothing happened.

By the way, cloaks became widespread in the USSR in the 1940s-1960s. Burki can be seen in the film "Operation" Y "and other adventures of Shurik", in which Evgeny Morgunov's Experienced flaunts.

When they talk about the simplicity of Leo Tolstoy, they always forget that the writer had all the newest and most unusual things. A phonograph, a mimograph (an apparatus for making copies), a pencil with electric illumination, a self-writing pen, an American pencil sharpener - the house is literally full of "gadgets" of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Tolstoy was in a good way very curious! As for clothes, the absolute novelty of those years in the count's wardrobe can be considered a very expensive rubberized raincoat, and even with a hood! Such raincoats in Russia were made only in St. Petersburg and only in a single factory in small quantities. In addition to the raincoat, the writer had wet shoes - heavy rubberized boots lined with wool.

Fact

In the 1950s, Leo Tolstoy lived in St. Petersburg. During this period, he became close friends with members of the circle of the Sovremennik magazine Nikolai Nekrasov, Ivan Panaev, Alexander Ostrovsky, Dmitry Grigorovich ... Then Tolstoy dressed at the well-known and popular French tailor Sharmer in those years. He had a very elegant Charmer coat in his wardrobe. It is interesting that another great Russian writer, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, also dressed at the same tailor. And although Tolstoy and Dostoevsky did not know each other, they wore the clothes of the same master.

By the way

The Yasnaya Polyana Museum has three Tolstoy silk hats in white, gray and black.

All of them are sewn by hand by Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya. After the death of the writer in 1910, Sofya Andreevna realized that people were going to Tolstoy's house, that they were interested in his life, and it was necessary to create a museum of Tolstoy. Sofya Andreevna began to describe all the items in the house, including clothes. So it was the countess who wrote the first custodian notes in the Yasnaya Polyana Museum. The following note has been preserved, attached to these silk caps: "Lev Nikolayevich's caps, sewn for him by his wife."

Exclusive: Count's Wardrobe

Leo Tolstoy liked to wear simple blouses, sewn on the basis of blouses. Material - flannel, cotton, expensive raw silk (there were mother-of-pearl buttons on such blouses). The blouses were cut by Sofya Tolstaya herself and the Yasnaya Polyana peasant woman Lipunova.

A unique item from the writer's wardrobe is felt boots made in a single copy.

A straw hat that Leo Tolstoy, who did not like the heat, did not part with in the summer. In it, he went to swim in the Funnel.

Noiseless, soft and very comfortable leather Caucasian ichigi. The writer used them instead of slippers and walked around the house in them.

Writer's towel. It was this towel that Leo Tolstoy used in the morning after washing. It bears the monogram "L. T., embroidered by Sofia Andreevna.

An absolute novelty of those years in the count's wardrobe can be considered a rubberized raincoat with a hood, made in St. Petersburg. The raincoat has reached our days in a deplorable state, because rubber is the most capricious material during storage. But thanks to the efforts of the restorers, it was restored.

At home, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy liked to walk around in dressing gowns. In his wardrobe were bathrobes of different colors. Most of them were sewn by his wife Sofya Andreevna. The blue robe is interesting - the countess sewed it and lined it with eiderdown, which she took from old children's blankets that had become unnecessary!

Sheepskin coat from the Romanov sheep of the late XIX-early XX century. Sheepskin from Romanov sheep is considered the best in the world.

In the last years of his life, Tolstoy wore this sheepskin coat very often. It was in it that he left Yasnaya Polyana on the night of October 28, 1910...

A bearskin coat by the French tailor Aye, bought by Leo Tolstoy with a fee from the novel Anna Karenina. One of the most expensive items in the count's wardrobe. Above is cloth. The coat has no buttons. The writer did not just walk in it - he wrapped himself in it when he traveled in a sleigh in winter.

Photos provided
Museum-Estate "Yasnaya Polyana"

For the beautiful half of humanity, blouses and shirts that are tucked into a skirt or trousers have returned to fashion. They look incredibly feminine and sexy, focus on the waist and create an incredibly fashionable silhouette. Bodysuit blouses are perfect for everyday use for any occasion. And that's why.

Shirts similar in cut were worn by representatives of the northern peoples in the 3rd century BC. But their purpose was somewhat different: shirts were used as underwear, and were worn under clothes in the winter season.

Over time, shirts have changed, for their tailoring, various fabrics have been used from wool to cotton. And only in the XIV century did this thing become an instrument of aesthetics. During this period, women's blouses begin to be sewn from the finest fabric - cambric. Accordingly, not every beauty could afford to flaunt in a blouse. Some young ladies, unable to wear expensive blouses, went to the trick - they sewed lace cuffs and collars to their costumes, creating the effect of the presence of a blouse. By the way, modern clothing designers have adopted this trick and not so long ago, the two-in-one effect adorned women's fashion sweaters.

For a long time, blouses were not a very popular element of the wardrobe. They were either demoted to the rank of underwear, then again elevated to the status of clothes of aristocrats.

It was only in the 19th century that the fashion for blouses spread throughout Europe and women's blouses became the dominant element in the wardrobe of fashionistas.

Modern blouses are an incredible variety of models, styles, materials and finishes. Here are just the most popular types of this thing:

1. Batnik. This is a fitted blouse with a zipper on the placket. She is worn loose.
2. Blouson. A distinctive feature of this model is a belt or drawstring at the waist. The blouson is also worn loose.
3. cowgirl. According to the cut, this is a men's style shirt with chest pockets, most often in a large cage, but it can also be monochrome.
4. Kosovorotka. The prototype of this model is the Russian national shirt without fasteners and collar.
5. Top. A characteristic feature is the absence of sleeves.
6. Tunic. This model of an elongated blouse is usually worn with trousers, leggings, leggings. If you want to buy a warm women's jacket, you should pay attention to this practical model.
7. Chemisier. Another model of a blouse, reminiscent of a men's shirt in cut. It has a loose fit and is worn loose.
8. Peplum blouse. This model has a flirtatious extension downwards - peplum. She is able to turn any female figure into an ideal hourglass, emphasizing the waist line advantageously. If you need figure-hugging clothing, women's sweatshirts with a peplum are ideal.
9. Kombidress. This is a very practical and comfortable model that does not restrict movement. If you do not like to straighten the sloppy looking corners of a blouse from under a skirt or trousers, get a combidress. The top is a regular blouse, but the closure between the legs provides comfort and convenience.

Fashion for this element of the wardrobe has changed repeatedly. If you want to replenish your closet with a thing that is relevant this season, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with a selection of models that stylists predict the greatest success this year:

• Transparent blouses. The wardrobe of fashionistas has long ceased to be dictated solely by weather conditions. Designers offer to combine light blouses made of chiffon, lace or silk in the autumn-winter period with woolen fabrics or dense textured knitting. So if you prefer transparent fabrics, do not forget to buy women's knitted sweaters or a jacket.
• Lurex. Shiny threads on blouses are back in trend. Moreover, the stylists of Fashion Houses offer to boldly include such models in the office style of clothing.
• Loose fit. Lovers of oversized style will appreciate the trend for loose-fitting blouses. Such models will give the missing volume to the figure and hide the “excess” in the right places.

Blouse as a female must have

A white blouse, like a little black dress, is a must have for every woman. However, like a black dress, a white blouse was elevated to the rank of must-haves by the legendary Coco Chanel. In 1950, she gave fashionistas a very simple and practical model of a white blouse with a collar in the form of a silk bow.

In the closet of a fashionista there can be a wide variety of beautiful women's sweaters, but only a white blouse remains out of time. It will not go out of fashion and will suit any style, unless it complements a sporty look.

Despite the modest and rather simple look, this basic thing will make its mistress seductive. It is unlikely that you will be able to buy a women's knitted sweater, in which you can look equally appropriate when going to a business meeting or shopping with girlfriends. A white blouse can do it!