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Jul 21, 2020 18 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Today in pulp I look back at the world of Soviet women's fashion!

It's not all berets, but it mostly is... #TuesdayThoughts Image
Now you may think that fashion and the Soviet Union go together like Groucho Marks and Friedrich Engels. However that is to misunderstand the nature of the Commad Economy: if she commands it, you'd better buy it for her. Image
So there is a rich history of fashion and fun (along with the tractor factories and endless ballet performances) in the old USSR. Let's take a sashay along it... Image
At the start of the Soviet years women's fashion, let's face it, tended towards the functional. Red was popular, as were headscarves, sensible boots and the ability to field strip a 3-line rifle.

But all that was about to change... Image
...because Russia had a new fashionista in charge: Stalin! He hated the peasant look of War Communism because it made socialism seem synonymous with poverty. He ordered Soviet Woman to spruce herself up. Image
And what Stalin wants, Stalin gets. Sort of. Certainly the apparatchiks of the 1930s were given a taste of graceful modernism: tailored jackets in fetching colours etc.... Image
...but for the lumpenproletariat it was still all headscarves and hobnail boots. Uncle Jo's five year plan of fashion was strictly for the aristocracy of labour. Image
Khrushchev was having none of it. The socialist republic would hold it's head high, and compete on equal terms with the Western divisions of Dior and Chanel. A floaty skirt, a cigarette pant and a working refrigerator would be the inalienable right of every Soviet woman. ImageImage
But there would be rules: chasing fashion trends was out, timeless classics were in. A well cut dress should last a lifetime, and would probably have to. Image
So what was the 'Soviet Look'? Well it wasn't headscarves: they were relics of the bad old years, suitable only for children and babushkas. You could wear a headband at a pinch, but only if you had the cheekbones to carry it off. ImageImage
No, what Soviet Woman really wanted was a beret! French style or Basque style, it didn't matter. What mattered was paring it with a well cut blazer and a knee length skirt. ImageImage
A good coat was obligatory in the USSR: in patriotic colours or simple herringbone, belted and buttoned to the neck. Hoods were good, but collars were never popped. ImageImage
The ladies of Leningrad would also need a rollneck sweater or two. It was the quintessential knitwear statement of the modern Soviet woman. Image
And speaking of knitwear... big funky knits became a Warsaw Pact classic in the 1980s: the brighter the yarn the more fashion forward the wearer. ImageImage
The Russian cut was generous. Lots of material demonstrated the plentitude that collective planning bestowed upon the people. Plus it can get windy round the Urals so plenty of heavy wool was a godsend. Image
As the years rolled by, as detente came and went, the practical nature of Soviet womenswear adopted to the times... ImageImage
...and by the end of the Cold War Soviet fashion had fully collided with its Western counterparts. In its own way. Image
So here's to the fabulous fashionable ladies of the late CCCP. Whatever the weather - and it was mostly cold - they would strut their collective stuff as boldly as they could!

More #fashion history another time... Image

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This will be interesting... Image
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Image
Image
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