Invented traditions

What are these breast pockets in the costume meant for? Bullets? I found different versions of the supposedly “national” costume, one as a stage costume for folkloric dansers and another as formal dress for military veterans. They come from a book about Georgia made in the 80’s, during the soviet period, a book written in russian, made to encourage tourism.
This imagery is being taken over by religious fundamentalists. They think it’s their own past!