Mongolian traditional clothes

Hats: One of the most colorful and original items of Mongolian national dress is the traditional head wear. The Mongolian head dresses differed in shape and purpose; there were hats for the young and old, summer and winter & men & women, holidays and ceremonies & fashionable and everyday hats. Their fashion and trimmings & colors were amazing varied depending on the sex of the person wearing it his or her social position or to who's tribe or nationality they belonged. There are 400 different styles. For ex; the cone shaped top of the hat (blue or red) had 32 stitching symbolizing the unification of 32 Mongolian tribes. The middle ages women & men wore summer hats made of plush wet velvet upturned brim &brocaded pointed tops. The hat was crowed with a fanciful knot. In ancient times it symbolized power capable of frightening enemies. In summer Mongols wore either the hat or flat topped “toortsog” hat consisting of six gores. The toortsog had an upper and a lower part. The upper part was not one piece but was sewn from six separate pieces. Married women were not permitted to wear this hat only girls & men. Women's holiday headwear was noted for it is original style and richness of adornment. It consisted of a holiday silk and velvet hat and a complete decorative set for the hair the lower part of the hat was made from velvet and the upper part from red silk. The hair holder was covered with coral, pearl, and mother pearl. The Shanaavch the temporal adornment with little silver bells was fixed to the hair holder. The tolgoin boolt was a headdress usually made of silver and studded with a precious stone and semiprecious stones. Women's hats were more fashionable than men's, and the ribbons on them were decorated with turquoise.

Del: The Del is loose calf-length tunic made of one piece of material. It has long sleeves, a high collar and buttons on the right shoulder. The Del buttons. If they are not commercially produced from decorative stones or silver, are narrow strips of cloth tied into intricate knots. Each ethnic group living in Mongolia has its own individual Del , distinguished by its cut, color and trimming. These distinctions go unnoticed by foreigners but are obvious to Mongolians. Before Revolution, all social strata in Mongolia had their own manner of dressing. Live stock breeders for instance, wore yellow dels with a cape thrown over it. There are basically three types of dels, each worn during a particular season. The “Dan Del” is made of light, thinks bright materials and is worn by women during the late spring and summer. The “terleg” is a slightly more padded version and both men and women. The winter Del is serious, padded tunic lined with sheep skin, or layers of row cotton. Dels have the same cut whether worn by men or women. Male dels are just wider and in more somber colors. The Del for everyday wear is gray, brown or some other dark color, white the holiday Del is a bright blue, green or claret silk with a silk sash of contrasting color several meters long. The sash is not simply adornment. It also serves as a soft corset facilitating long riders on horse back. A Del has wide, cup-shaped sleeves nicknamed “hooves”. There is a legend that the Manchu's introduced this style to make the Mongols the same as their horses. But it is a highly useful feature of the Del protecting the hands from the cold and from injures while doing hard work. Also shape is same golden and silver ingots. The khantaaz is a shorter traditional jacket, often made of silk, which is also buttoned to the side, and usually worn over the Del.

Boots: The toes of boots are upturned, and several explanations have been offered for this unconventional style. If boots had upturned toes pre 1578 when Buddhism introduced to Mongolia , then this would be an example of religion using indigenous customs, beliefs etc. to support advance their own religion. Another explanation is that the upturned tip prevents a rider's feet from slipping out of the stirrups. However it's also true that boots are so thick and rigid that if they were flat, they would be almost impossible to walk in. these hefty boots are still worn in UB and are particularly popular in countryside. The boots are tall boots made from thick unbending leather “buligar” and the tops are decorated with leather appliqués. The right and left boots are the same shape. They do not have laces or zippers, making them easy and quick to slip on or off in a hurry. And they can be worn in all sessions with thick felt socks added in winter and removed in summer.