Figure 1.--This is one of the children's pages from the 1937 issue of "Moda Leta".

"Moda Leta" ("Fashion of the Summer") is a Russian fashion magazine. It contained fashions for both children and adults. The children's fashions included both play and dress up garments, the adult fashions seem almost entirely dressy garments and outfits without casual garments. We are not entirely sure just what organizational theme used to order the children's clothing on the various pages. Perhapos they were submissins from the various sewung factories. Curiously despite the title, the catalog is full of coats and other cold-weather garments. The magazine was published in 1937 by the People Commissariate of Light Industry (NKLP), Department of sewing. Sewing factories apparently submitted models. The magazine included very fashionable garments illustrated. The styles would not have looked out of place in Paris. They were not, however, fashions that many many Soviet citizens would have worn. We do not know how regularly Moda Leta was published. All we have at this time is a single 1937 summer issue. A Russian reader tells us, "1) Soviet catalogs never had prices printed in it. All moderls have been supposed to be sewn by people themselves, not ordered. 2) As I can see, this file we have is only part of the catalog, I suppose sewing patterns have been printed in the end of the catalog. 3) All Soviet magazines and catalogs used one principle "Do it yourself" May it is strange for Americans, but in Soviet Union there were no another types of catalogs."

The Magazine

"Moda Leta" ("Fashion of the Summer") is a Russian fashion magazine. We do not know how regularly Moda Leta was published. All we have at this time is a single 1937 summer issue. We do not know when publication began and when it ended. Nor do we know what the press run was and how it was distributed. In the west\, magazines liker this had to be sold. In the Soviet Union the state paid foir publications. A publication like thisd might be distrubuted to libraries or to factories, but were not sold. How theygot to people weho might sew the garmemnts we are not sure. Nor are we entirely sure how the average citizen working in a fctiory or collective farm would hasve thought about it.

Fashions Illustrated

It contained fashions for both children and adults. The children's fashions included both play and dress up garments, the adult fashions seem almost entirely dressy garments and outfits without casual garments.

Publisher

The magazine was published in 1937 by the People Commissariate of Light Industry (NKLP), Department of sewing. Sewing factories apparently submitted the gasrments illustrated. The garments were supplied by: Gorky sewing trust, Kalininsk sewing factory, Kuybyshev sewing trust, Krymshweyprom (Crimea Sewing Production), Novosibirst sewing factory, Orszhonikidze sewing trust, Saratov sewing factory, Sverdlovsk sewing factory, Stalingrad sewing factory, Tatar sewing trust, Ufa sewing factory, and Sewing factories of west areas.

Organization

We are not entirely sure just what organizational theme used to order the children's clothing on the various pages. Perhapos they were submissions from the various sewing factories.

Seasonality

Curiously despite the title, the catalog is full of coats and other cold-weather garments.

Styles

The magazine included very fashionable garments illustrated. The styles would not have looked out of place in Paris. They were not, however, fashions that many many Soviet citizens would have worn. Curiously for a worker's paradise, we do not see clothes for workers such as overalls that were offered in capoitalist American catalogs.

Target Audience

The question arises as to just who in the Soviet Union would wear fashions like this. A Russian reader writes, "No doubt, wearing of such fashionable clothes in USSR, especially in Stalin times, were totally for priviliged part of the society: Wives and children of top Kommunist Party members, scientists, heads of factories & plants, top engineers, actors, singers, writers, diplomates. Stalin himself was an ascetic man, and wore only military-style uniforms, but he didn't forbid USSR "high society" to live in luxury."

Fashion in the Soviet Union

We had always thought the Soviets were critical of fashion as a kind of wasteful acuterment of capitalist society. A Russiasn reader writes, "Soviet propaganda been very critical of everything. From the one side, official propaganda wrote about "thousands of sorts of clothing" or "tens of sorts of champaigne" in Soviet shops as a prove of "prosperity" in the "society of victorious communism". From the other side, to wear some luxury openly in Soviet Union was considered as a challenge to society and "atavism of rotten capitalism". Since then, in most cases people of high society wore such a fashionable clothes and used other luxuries, but only when they were almost totally isolated from the low class people. For example some high-level bureducrat might wear a fashionable suit to visit a party in some embassy or opera theatre. But for official Communist party meetings among workers he wore either military-style, either a worker-style clothes."

Purpose

A Russian reader tells us, "1) Soviet catalogs never had prices printed in it. All models have been supposed to be sewn by people themselves, not ordered. 2) As I can see, this file we have is only part of the catalog, I suppose sewing patterns have been printed in the end of the catalog. 3) All Soviet magazines and catalogs used one principle "Do it yourself" May it is strange for Americans, but in Soviet Union there were no another types of catalogs." HBC would not say that the Soviet approach just seems strange to Americans, but to any country that had an economy that responds to consumer demands. Soviet bureaucrats did not have to be to concerned about consumer demands. In a capitalist economy, companies that do not respond to consumer demand go out of business and are replaced by companies that do. Our reader replies, "No doubt :))) In Soviet Union there were not any competition between factories and plants. There was a five-year plan, where were written - how may clothes must be sewn, what colour, what cloth and what price."

The Great Purges

This magazine was publishedf right in the middle of the Stalinist Great Purges (1936-39). We rather wondered if Soviet citizens during this period would want to dress all that fashionably so thsat they sttod out from the average citizen. A Rudssian reader writes, "You know, I dont think that there was some speciality in 1937. The name "Great Purge" and "1937" as a symbol of it - they were invented by Communists in Khruschev times. In fact, Communist terror against people began in 1917 and never canceled. Communists point out 1936-39 years as some "Great Purge" just because in those years terror crushed on Communist party members themselves. But as Paris fashions - oh yes, there is something devilish in it. Stalin allowed to Soviet "high society" to live in large flats, to eat expensive foods, to wear diamonds and Paris fashions - but there were enough a little suspiction that somebody isn't enough faithful to "Leader" - and your end in some dirty grave with a bullet in your head was as settled as a sunrise." Our understanding is that the level of arrests and executins escalsated during this period. It is true that Stalin targeted theOld Bolsheviks and Party leaders who would be those that couuld dabble in high fashion. This caught the attention of the world press because oif the dramatic Show Trials. But in additin to the Party, Stalin also targtted the military. He essentially gutted the military serbices of experienced comanders.

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Created: 12:21 AM 8/15/2009
LasFebruary 6, 2004AM 8/15/2009