Figure 1.-- This is an undated Soviet portarit, taken about 1960. It might be Ukranian rather than Russian. Tussian abd Ukranian styles are simkilar. The boy and gir are dressed in cordinated sailor outfits. Click on the image to see the inscription on the back. It looks like a family portrait, but could be a fashion magazine shoot.

At this time we ae unsure about the popularity of dressing chidren alike in Tsarist times. We do not yet have a substantial archive of Tsarist era. German fashions werevinfluential, we are not sure avout this convention. We have not noticed it in the images we have archived. Of course the Tsarina did dress the princesses alike. A factor here is school uniform which expalains why some children are dressed alike. Another factor is the popularity of the sailor suit. We alo do not notice this commonly in Soviets times as well. Fashion was not a high priority in the Soviet Union. Actually it was considered bourgeoisie. That said there were design bureaus that published fashion magazines. These were uniquely Soviet publications. People could not order the fashions depicted nor were they avaialble in stores. One largrly unitended impact of Sovuert rule was a decline in the size of Soviet families. And of course wityh sdmall famoliesd there was less oppotrtunity to dress children simaslarly. There was more interest in fashion in the later Soviet period. And even in Soviert times, it was hard to entirely difuse the fahion sence of Soviet mothers. During the Stlinist era it wsas dangerous to stand out too promonently. This was less true on the post Stalinist era. The Sovires even invited French fashion icon Christian Dior to Paris (1959). But we do not see a lot of children dressed alike in family portraits. Modern Russian families tend to be small.

Created: 1:17 AM 10/9/2021
Last updated: 1:17 AM 10/9/2021