Armenian traditional dress

Armenian traditional dress “TARAZ”

Karby secondary school named after V. Tekeyan

ARMENIA

One of the most prominent measures of expressing and maintaining cultural identity of a country is traditional dress. Armenian traditional dress is called “TARAZ”.

Classic women taraz is a free wide dress with jag in the middle and on the sides.

Every color in Armenian taraz has a special significance. Black is a symbol of the earth, white is of the water, the red is of the air and yellow is of the flame.

Taraz is not just a dress, it also expresses the person's lifestyle.It was a symbol of belonging to a particular class.

Depending on the social status, woman’s dress could be decorated with gold or silver threads. Women’s dresses were made of satin, plush, silk and brocade.

The male costume consisted of a shirt and wide trousers. Collar shirt was decorated with embroidery. Shirt was made of cotton fabric or of goat fur. Kaftan had fitted shape with narrow sleeves and a high collar.

At the waist trousers had wrapped wide scarf. Scarf has served not only as a belt but also as a pocket; in scarf layers men carried wallet and a knife.

Men of high society wore light colored coats, men with lower status wore garments of dark tones.

The most important part of the national costume was the headwear for women and men. Men wore fur, woven and knitted hats.

Female headwear was more complex and diverse.Women of high society wore headbands adorned with precious stones, gold and silver.

Nowadays, national design elements are presented in fashion, that reminds us of their rich history. Also, taraz is used in the national dance groups as a traditional dress…

Special thanks to Teryan Cultural Center