Figure 1.--Here we see a family in the early Soviet era. The picture appeared in a Soviet magazine called Chelnok, No. 8 (May, 1925), p. 13. I suspect that the photo is roughly contemporary with the publication.

One interesting aspect of fashions is assessing how the entire famuly was dressed. These images not only help to assess what kind of clothes the rest of the family was wearing with the different boys' fashions. These famly images provide views of whjat the other members of the famoly was wearing. The images also provide some interesting insights on social trends. Here we have just begun to collect images.

Platt Family (the 1900s)

The Platt family consisred of three brothers and a sister. We have a 1909 family portrait that we initially thought was British. The three boys all wear Eton collars, the younger boys wear suits with a touch of Norfolk styling. The older boy who we believe was named Arthur wears his Eton collar with a neck tie and a stabndard single-breasted suit jacket. The younger boys have bow ties. We could nt tell where they were from. We have a second image of Arthur, however, that was taken in Odessa. Again if we did not kbow that the portrait was Russia, we would guess that Arthur was English. Arthur is of course anb English name. We are less sure about Platt. We wonder if this was a foreign family living in Odessa. As all we have to go on at this time is the Odessa studio cabinet card identification we are archiving this in the Russian section. We are not, however, at all sure thatthis sas a Russian family.

Soviet Family (about 1925)

Here we see a family in the early Soviet era. The photograph first appeared in a Soviet magazine called Chelnok, No. 8 (May, 1925, p. 13). I suspect that the photo is roughly contemporary with the publication. This is a committed Revolutionary family in which the members work in textile factory. The factory made printed cotton fabrics. The mother sits at a table in the rear with two of her sons. A third son has joined the Young Pioneer group, and his father is cremonially tying on his red neckerchief. An older son, not in the photo, was a member of the Komosol. [Gorsuch, p. 35.] The photograph is interesting because the Young Pioneers were first organized in 1925. It was not yet a national mass organization, but only formed in a few factories. This is probably why such a young boy is a member. Subsequently induction in the Young Pioneers came later. The boys seem to be wearing knee pants. The boy with the neckerchief, who looks as though he is about 10, wears a suit with a loose jacket and knee pants. The Young Pioneers were founded in 1925. but for many yers most children only wore a red scarve as there was no standard uniform.] He wears white long stockings with hightop shoes. I'm not sure how common white stockings were for Young Pioneers since white long stockings are usually considered rather dressy for boys. Perhaps it was a special day at school, or more likely he is being outfitted in his best clothes for the photographer. I don't know the location of the family. They live near a textitle factory, so they are probably in one of the larger cities.

Apartment Scene (1930s)

Here is a snapshot which we thought was from a Russian home in the 1930s. The unidentified boys seem to be brothers, at least they are all dressed alike. A Russian reader agrress that the photograph was probably taken diring the 1930s. The three boys are in an apartment. Unlike similar images taken in the West, this is probanly not a family scene. Our reader reports that at the time, most Russian families in cities lived in communal apartments. So the boys here may not be brothers, but rather boys from different families living in one of the communal apartments.

Ukranian Family (1932)

A Russian reader has provided this family photograph taken in 1932. The family was from the Ukraine. The photographwas taken in Vastok. I'm not sure tet where Vastok is. I do not have the details, but we suspect that the family may have been Kulaks who managed to survive deportation from their farm in the Ukraine. They look like a farm family. Stalin decided to end individual peasant propretorship (1929-31). When the peasants resisted, he engineered a disatrous famine.

Middle-class Family (2005)

Here we have a modern Russian family. This is a successful moddle-class family, presumably in Moscow or other large city. The photograph is undated, but was probanly taken about 2005. Note the popularity of denim. The fact that even the mother wears denim jeans means is an indicator that they are a modern family. Another indicator is that there is only one child. Russia faces very difficulg demographic trends. The Russian population is declining and families having only one child is an important indicator of this. Besides the jeans another inteesting fashion seen here is the popularity of tights for boys. Notably this is not a residual traditional style, but a style popular with modern fmilies.

Sources

Gorsuch, Anne E. Youth in Revolutionary Russia (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000).

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Created: 10:08 PM 5/21/2005
Last updated: 9:04 PM 8/10/2006