Schlafrock is a home outfit that came to Russia from Germany. Its history is connected with the rule of Tsar Peter I. Everyone knows the emperor’s love for everything foreign. This applied not only to the crafts and shipbuilding that Peter was so keen on, but also to fashion traditions in clothing and accessories. The tsar wanted Russian officials and nobles to look no worse than European ones. In the article, we will consider that this is a slurrock, how he looked and who wore it.
The history of the appearance of a home dressing gown
By decree of Peter I, published in January 1700, all the boyars, nobles and senior officials were required to replace national Russian clothes with a fashionable European dress. Hungarian fashion was first used as the basis of fashionable traditions, then the tsar turned his attention to German and French outfits. Naturally, this caused a wave of indignation among those who did not want changes in the fashion of the inhabitants of Russia. For the specimen, mannequins with outfits were exposed right on the streets.
Disobedience was punished in all severity. Ancient long robes were cut off with scissors, and their owner was disgraced by kneeling. If new clothes were too expensive for a man, he was given two years to accumulate funds. For an accurate countdown, an old Slavic dress was stamped with a date. German clothes should be worn daily, and French outfits were recommended for the holidays.
Clothing slafrock
If men wore white shirts with a frill collar, short knee-length pants called a culott with stockings and a camisole, they should wear a robe at home, the name of which is preserved as German - Schlafrock. He was called both slafrock and slafor.
This is a home-made wide bathrobe, which was usually sewn from silk, satin or expensive velvet. He was belted with a twisted cord with lush tassels at the end. It was very comfortable and warm, so many people liked it. It was allowed according to the rules of etiquette in such a dressing gown to even receive guests.
Description in the literature
Schlafrock was worn in the 18th and 19th centuries, so references to this clothing are often found in literary works of famous Russian writers. So, Oblomov, the hero of the novel of the same name by I. A. Goncharov, walked in the house closet. And in the story of I. S. Turgenev, “Two Landowners,” one of the heroes did not take off this warm, cotton-filled robe either in winter or summer.
Now you know that this is a slafrock. This is an outdated concept, but such robes are well known to us from films and theater productions. Everyone knows what it looks like, but, alas, many simply did not know its name.