The national costume of the Samarkand women at the end of the 19th — 20th cc.
The history of the Uzbek national costume testifies that it developed and modified much faster under influence of the urban culture in the large centers of Uzbekistan - Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent and others than on the periphery. In Samarkand, the permanent contacts of the Uzbeks and Tadjiks and mutual influence of their cultures were reflected in the traditional costume.
The economic and cultural contacts of Samarkand with the other cities, especially with Bukhara and Tashkent, also promoted the new forms and elements of the female costume. The traditional female costume consisted of capacious dress, trousers, overclothes - munisak, veil, robe, headwear and footwear. The daily and ceremonial clothes did not differ in the cut. However, the ceremonial costume was more expressive in the color, texture of the fabric and ornamentation to accent its ritual purpose.
The female costume was sewed from home-made silk and cotton fabrics: striped alacha, bekasab, adras, etc. Samarkand was one of the oldest weaving centers. According to historian...