Who are there people? Is it a tribe or sect or just hillbillies?
I lived in Oregon and we have a large Russian population there. The women wore dresses and head scarfs that were so beautifully hand embroidered that it would take your breath away. The men wore buttun up traditional shirts with the same beautiful embroidery up the front and around the collar. They always wore bright colors also. They are a religous people. very kind. I dont know if they are a different religion or just a what. But I had a wonderful friend named Antionia who was a great, fun, smart girl.
With the head scarfs I would assume muslim. Need area of Russia. Are you sure it was not people going to a wedding or such? Sometimes the native dress is broke out for special events. I see it were I live were they get out the old native dress and go to special events. That does not make it every day dress. And work cloths are usually not fancy. But yes for weddings, new years, and such they do wear such.
I've seen these traditional Russian garments, I concur with your sentiment that they are rather exquisite and prepossessing compared to the distasteful shabby schmatte that became prevalent and exorbitantly conventional in 'Western' (promulgated International) ladies' (and men's) attire today. How exceptionally adorned do the primacy of Millennial generation (which incorporates me) dress/present themselves as? Too nonchalant and grotesquely casual....
Brodudes/Brodettes, wiggers, uncouth sleazy-girls/women, and adherents of the hook-up cultural mainstream are the target consumers.
Members of Russian Orthodox and Mennonite churches still wear traditional dress in some communities. If the clothing was more ornate than plain, they were probably some form or Orthodox.
Russia's a big place, so I wouldn't doubt it has small little religious sects away from the main civilisation in the west. Russia is also a pretty poor place, so these people could be very poor with nothing else to wear through the winter as it were.
Basically, they could be poor people, they could be a religious group, or they could be travellers. One shall never know.
The only people who wear traditional clothes on daily basis are Gypsies. There is also Islamic fashion among young generation of Muslim girls who are 20-30 y.o. (while their parents wear regular European clothes). All the rest people wear exactly the same what you and people surrounding you wear.
You could also see workers of ethnic restaurant/museum/cultural center/etc... Or you happened to see people visiting some sort of cultural event (fair, festival, holiday etc...) - those could be dancers of folk ensemble, singers, kids, taking part in performance, etc... In this case it can be anyone of more than 100 ethnic groups living in Russia or up to 200 from former USSR. In many cultures of Europe and Asia women wear some sort of head scarfs/hats/shawls/kerchiefs/etc...
Old Believers? (Староверы)
https://www.google.com/search?q=russian+...
If yes, then it's not something extraordinary, since lots of their ancestors immigrated from Russia decades ago.
It'd pretty helpful if you gave a bit more details esp concerning their beliefs/religion.
As for "modern fashion vs. traditional clothes", then there are actually people (ethnic Rus') who wear them pretty often, incl headscarves.
http://etno.environment.ru/news/data/upi...
http://i077.radikal.ru/1308/16/1ce4f1cb1...
http://cs425131.vk.me/v425131598/4882/-9vyGrwI3B0.jpg
In Ukrainian/Russian/Belarusian ethno-festivals you can see something more "flashy"/luxurious:
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4522/108287837.2c/0_69825_127e550c_L.jpg
http://media.vorotila.ru/ru/items/t1@d9437ae7-cfba-43c6-9fad-1bae3450148a/Russkiy-nacionalnyy-kostyum.jpg
And btw...
I, for one, mix different fashions of different time periods (it's usually long skirts/dresses, hats/headscarves etc - nothing too revealing). Since it's mostly a blend of gothic, vintage, might be something à la victorian and some folk motives (North/Eastern European), I'm never accused of being old-fashioned, rather "beyond fashion". Some people even get astonished when I wear, say, high platform shoes (New Rock and the like) + long satin half circle skirt embroidered with ribbons and/or pearls.
=> Everyone has their own preferences, style etc, and maybe (less likely but...) people you saw just don't like modern pseudo-fashion (I don't either... human body looks so disharmonious in those tatters). Although many other individuals (most I believe) just blindly follow a kind of "fashion" they were told to follow.
Maybe Tatarstanians.
I love Russia, because there are two republics that look REALLY Asian.
Being a lost soul in America I sometimes think this is the missing link, lol. My mind wanders.
If you goa street in russian national dress, then people will twist a finger to his temple about you. Even in a village. So, probably you seen clother of other nation. I don't sure, i just heard, that tatars, bashkirs sometimes wear national clother.
