russian elegance

Russian ElEgancECountry and City Fashion

118 Urban CostUme in rUssia 18th–early 20th CentUries

133

In the 1780s, there was a growing tendency towards simplification of the

silhouette of women’s dress. Bulky panniers were gradually replaced by a

roll of horsehair attached to the waistline at the back. Striped fabrics came into

fashion and dresses made of pale fine fabrics began to appear. The new trends

became more pronounced after the French Revolution of 1789-1793.

The most fashionable silhouette in the 1790s was the chemise dress (from

the French word chemise, a shirt). Dresses of this type, in one piece or seamed,

had high waists, and externally they looked like a shirt – hence their name.

They were characterised by a low neckline, sometimes adorned with a frill, and

abundant folds and a train at the back. The dress is gathered under the bosom

by a belt. Such dresses were sewn from light linen and cotton fabrics – various

types of muslin, cambric, lace, crepe, tulle and gauze. Preference was given to

fabrics with a tiny floral pattern, stripes or single-colour, especially white. The

main part of a chemise dress was embroidered with gold and silver threads and

its hem was trimmed with strengthened edging and embroidered with a floral

pattern in chenille and tinsel featuring palm-trees.

Underneath these dresses women wore gauze shifts, and true ladies of fashion

wore only thin flesh-coloured underwear. Here is what S. P. Zhikharev writes in

his Notes about the impression that these dresses made on a Moscow elegante

during her visit to Paris: “You just cannot imagine what adorable chemises they

are: when you put one on and take a good look at yourself in the mirror, you will

be amazed at how easy it is to see through!”

Chemise dresses—favourite garments of Marie-Antoinette, the guillotined

French queen—almost simultaneously appeared in London, Berlin and St.

Petersburg. This completed the process of distribution of a single European

urban costume that meant the distinctive features of local and national dress

were disappearing.

132

Detail of skirt from a woman’s dress

1810s – 1820s, Russia

Cotton tulle decorated with embroidery

with colourful wire-ribbon, beaten

material, tinsel and glass beads.

133

Woman’s shoe made from pale pink satin, so-called “starling shoes”

1795 – 1805, Russia

Silk, leather.

134

Woman’s dress made from white muslin with belt

1790s, Russia

Cotton fabric, gold and silver tape,

embroidered with wire-ribbon, sequins,

beaten material, coloured silk and silver

thread.

132


147

145

Folding fan

Late 18th – early 19th century, Russia

Bone, silk band, steel plates, carving,

gilding.

146

Comb

1830s, Russia

Carved tortoiseshell.

147

Woman’s shoe of pink satin

1790s, Russia

Silk, leather, silk embroidery,

appliqué, trim

with bow.

145

146

Urban CostUme in rUssia 18th–early 20th CentUries 129

148

Woman’s dress made from silk blonde lace with “burnoose” cape

1840s, Russia

Cream-coloured silk blonde lace, satin.

In the 1840s, women’s costume was marked

by a new silhouette. Puffed sleeves were

replaced by narrow ones, fitting the arm

tightly. The narrow waist was lowered slightly

and the close-fitting bodice at the front and

rear ended in a narrow tongue in the centre.

As before, the neckline remained low and

round, revealing the shoulders. Sloping

shoulders of a marble whiteness were in

fashion. Ball gowns with such a neckline were

often decorated with ruches, lace or what was

known as the bertha—a wide deep cape-like

collar, which was made either of lace or of

the same fabric as the gown itself, or else of

ribbons used for trimming. The skirt became

ever fuller and longer, resembling a bell shape.

By the early 1850s, starched underskirts began

to be reinforced by longitudinal strips and

circular hoops of whalebone. Such a skirt was

known as a crinoline.

The gala dress of the 1840s was intended

either for a ball or for a wedding. The precious

blonde lace is elegantly arranged over an

underslip of white satin. Only a very rich bride

such as, for example, Olympiada Samsonovna,

the daughter of a Moscow merchant from

Alexander Ostrovsky’s comedy It’s a Family

Affair, We’ll Settle It Among Ourselves, who

mentions her “blonde wedding dress on a

satin underslip,” could afford to order such

a garment.

A woman of fashion could appear at a

ball clad in this gala dress wearing on top of

it a light silk cape hand-embroidered with

white silk using a tambour stitch. In keeping

with the fashion of the 1840s, the cape had

a decorative hood with tassels at the end and

was called a burnoose.

Uniform of private in Palace Grenadiers

1840s, Russia

Cloth, ribbon, metal, embroidery.

148


206

Man’s shoes

1910s, St. Petersburg, Skorokhod footwear

factory

Kid, leather.

The man’s shoes, made of light brown

kid, have wide and high toes, thick

leather soles, and stacked heels made

of several layers of leather.

207

Man’s suit

1900s, Russia.

The single-breasted frock coat of

black wool with rounded front skirts

is of a loose cut. The trousers of striped

wool with narrow grey stripes on a

black background are straight, without

turn-ups. The head covering is a

boater—a stiff golden straw hat with a

narrow straight brim and flat crown.

The basic types and forms of men’s costume hardly change during the

second half of the 19th century. The invention and introduction of sewing

machines made it cheaper to manufacture clothing and gave birth to the ready-

to-wear trade. Men’s clothing, began to be manufactured on a commercial

scale with the rise of a new kind of businessman. For him, clothing had to be,

above all, inexpensive, comfortable, practical and expedient. Thus the jacket—a

shortened frock coat, which was initially made of checked fabrics and worn with

single-coloured trousers—came into being. From the 1870s, suits consisting of

a jacket and trousers of the same material began to be made.

While this was happening, new changes were made to the frock coat. In the

late 19th century, alongside full-length frock-coats, a new, shorter version was

being made, which became known as a morning coat. It becomes customary

to wear black woollen trousers with a thin grey stripe, and a waistcoat with a

similar colour scheme, with a black woollen morning coat. The businessman

appeared as a recognisable type, occupied with the management of industry,

with finances and with trade. Members of the intelligentsia – doctors, engineers,

teachers and writers – also wore this type of clothing.

Workers’ costume consisted of a calico shirt with the collar fastening at

the side and belted, worn over dark trousers tucked into boots, a waistcoat,

and a jacket. All these articles of clothing were of factory-made fabrics.

On festive occasions, a worker donned a white hand-embroidered shirt and

a skirted woollen surtout.

Thus, workers’ costume, while retaining native elements, gravitated to

new standard forms oriented towards practicality, convenience

and functionality. These features of men’s dress came to the

fore after World War I. The October revolution of 1917

changed the structure of Russian society, and the suit

ceased to be an attribute of the social status.

206

Russian ElEgancEluisa V. YEfimoVa TaTYana s. alEshina

In Russian ElEgancE, Yefimova and Aleshina unveil and demystify a previously unfamiliar area of costume and fashion history. They provide a remarkable source using gorgeous images and formidable scholarship, creating a truly pleasurable learning experience for the costume historian and novice alike.

KaREn TRiVETTE cannEll Fashion Institute of Technology, New York

www.vivays-publishing.com

russian elegance

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