In the 60s, a cultural revolution raged in the Western world. America has been going crazy about Presley for several years now, and Beatlemania is starting in Europe. The entire beautiful half of humanity exposes their indecently graceful legs, men begin to grow their hair, clothes are full of unusually bright colors and take on provocative shapes. The explosion of the cultural revolution in the West is so strong that its echo even penetrates behind the Iron Curtain.
By this time, only a small part of the population of our country had a real idea of ​​​​what was happening in the fashion world there - abroad. For most of the country, the very concept of fashion did not exist at all. Of course, held in Moscow International Festival of Youth and Students in 1957 and Christian Dior's first fashion show in 1959 they brought a fresh breath into the life of Soviet people, but, unfortunately, only a few citizens of the USSR had a chance to take part in these events “live”, while the rest had to get acquainted with them through the pages of newspapers and radio broadcasts, which at that time were thoroughly ideologically politicized. But even a small handful of eyewitnesses and the Khrushchev thaw standing on the street were already enough for our country to start talking about something that had been forgotten for several years. People in our country are starting to talk about fashion again. The desire to look beautiful has always existed in humans, this is especially true for women. Despite the time in which they live, despite the social system, status and other factors, women have always dreamed of being charming. Unfortunately, in the early 60s, the average Soviet woman did not have even a tenth of the opportunities to transform that Western beauties had. The light industry of the USSR seemed to continue churning out clothes for the soldiers of the Red Army, guided only by the State Planning Committee: a lot, the same and tasteless. Naturally, it was impossible to find good clothes on the shelves of Soviet trade. In addition, fashion itself and the culture of dressing well were not welcomed by the official ideology, and the most active fashionistas dudes were criminally prosecuted under Article 58 of the Criminal Code for anti-Soviet activities.

All fashionable items and magazines could only enter our country illegally from abroad and only thanks to the few trips abroad of diplomats, long-range aviation pilots and sailors. Very rarely, stores “threw away” products from friendly socialist countries of Eastern Europe, for which multi-meter queues immediately formed. Such clothes were sold almost piecemeal - “they released one item at a time” and called it the terrible word “shortage.” The shortage in the Soviet state was not so much fashionable clothes, but a beautiful and carefree life in general.
In those years, it was common for our country to export to the West not only natural resources, but also the image of a happy person living in a socialist country. For greater credibility, Soviet officials organized open exhibitions of national economic achievements, including fashion shows. On Kuznetsky Most there was a mythical experimental workshop where fashion masterpieces, albeit not loud, were created, which were applauded in Paris in 1962, and a year later in Rio de Janeiro. Semi-closed fashion shows were also held, with fashion models of the time walking down the catwalk, such as Yanina Cherepkova, Mila Romanovskaya, Liliana Baskakova, Regina Zbarskaya, Galina Milovskaya.

It is not known precisely thanks to or in spite of whom, but world fashion trends in the early 60s began to penetrate in thin streams into our country. In 1961, Soviet women “became acquainted” with stiletto heels for the first time. This name was given to elegant women's shoes with high thin heels, reaching a meager 6x6 or 5x5 millimeters at the base.

It was inconvenient to walk in stiletto heels; they left deep marks in the fresh asphalt; subway escalators stopped because fashionable heels got into the slot between the steps, but women stubbornly continued to wear pointed stilettos.

There was probably no sexier uniform for a woman in the 60s than a black tight sweater, a tight skirt and, of course, a stiletto heel. Even in winter, even to work and always on dates, girls ran around in stiletto heels to be shiny and fashionable. This was one of the first sacrifices to beauty that women of the 60s voluntarily agreed to. By the way, the once ultra-modern stiletto heel over time not only did not go out of fashion, but also turned into a classic.

The 60s are remembered by the entire fashion world and socialist fashionistas, including insanity due to everything artificial. New fabrics and new names: nylon, lycra, crimplen, vinyl, dralon and other “-lons”, “-lans”, “-lens”. Clothes made from new types of fabric were considered comfortable and practical. It did not wrinkle, was easy to clean and wash. And most importantly, it was cheap.

Beginning in 1962, Soviet citizens first became acquainted with dark blue Italian Bologna raincoats. The Italians used this material for work clothes.

It captivated us with its novelty and the fact that when folded, clothes made from such material took up almost no space.

In the mass consciousness of Soviet people there was a belief that every self-respecting person should have a Bologna raincoat. In the Soviet Union, Bolognese psychosis lasted a whole decade and gave rise to such an unthinkable concept throughout the world as a summer coat. Over time, the production of raincoats, which leak at the seams and at the same time serve as a greenhouse in any weather, was also mastered by the domestic light industry.

Now it’s hard to believe, but in the 60s there came a period when natural fur, inaccessible and unattainable for the majority of the population, began to seem boring, undemocratic and “mossy”. The fashion for artificial fur coats and fur has captured absolutely everyone, even people who have the opportunity to buy things made from natural fur. For just a few years, all Soviet fashionistas wore fur coats made of faux mink, and men began to wear hats made of faux astrakhan fur. The fashion for faux fur ended as suddenly as it began, and yet more fashion trophies joined the ranks of the ever-growing wardrobes.

In 1964, nylon shirts became widespread in the USSR. Unlike outdated cotton, strong and fashionable nylon seemed like the ultimate material. Shirts made of nylon did not wrinkle, were easy to wash and, in general, seemed to last forever. White nylon shirts were considered the most chic. A typical portrait of a fashionable young man of the 60s - dark trousers, a white nylon shirt and slicked hair.

In 1967, clothing made from a new synthetic material, crimplene, was released. Clothing made from crimplene does not wrinkle, it does not need to be ironed, just wash it, dry it, hang it carefully, and you can wear the item again. A significant drawback is electrostaticity. Crimplene can spark, crackle and stick to the body. They fought against electrostaticity by mastering the production of antistatic liquids.

Over time, thick woolen coat fabrics began to be produced under embossed crimplene.

Appearing in the late 60s, the mini instantly won the title of the most fashionable women's clothing for the whole decade. Where it was possible (in schools and technical schools), moral guardians and chairmen of Komsomol cells measured the length of skirts and the distance from the knees to the skirts with rulers in the morning and, if they did not correspond, sent the students home to change clothes. The short length of the skirt was condemned, ridiculed, prohibited, but it was all useless. In just a couple of years, under the onslaught of the beauty of bare female legs, bans on the length of skirts fell and older women could afford to wear minis. The fashion for short skirts, which so quickly conquered the capital and big cities, sometimes reached the remote corners of our country with a delay of many years. It happened that a young student returning home to the countryside for vacation could not only be ridiculed by her fellow villagers, but also receive a beating from strict parents.

At the end of the 60s, another disaster appeared on the head of fashion conservatives. A women's trouser suit is becoming an absolutely fashionable and relatively indecent phenomenon.

The cut of the first suits, as a rule, is not complicated - a jacket is straight or slightly fitted, trousers are straight or slightly flared, large metal buttons, a “Dog ears” collar. Along with the suit they wore blunt-toed shoes with thick and not very high heels. In all this outfit the woman looked like a “sailor”.

The women's trouser suit in the USSR is the beginning of emancipation. Wearing trousers, regardless of fashion, was condemned by society as women smoking in public. And wearing this suit was like a challenge, like audacity. Executive committees prohibited appearance in trousers, for example, in clubs. A woman in trousers might not be allowed into a restaurant, just as before she was not allowed into a miniskirt. The exception was the Baltic republics, famous for their loyalty to pro-Western fashion trends and to women's trousers in particular.

Since at the end of the 60s industrial knitwear was hopelessly behind the increasing demands of Soviet citizens, the most skilled half of the female population turned to the science of “two purl - two knit”:

“We knit ourselves” is becoming almost the most popular section in various publications. Both girls and grandmothers attend cutting and sewing courses, and sometimes you can see men there as well.

In 1965, an event occurred that simply cannot be ignored. Vyacheslav Zaitsev came to work at the All-Union House of Models.

Artist-fashion designer Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Zaitsev and famous fashion model Regina Zbarskaya. 1963

Artist-fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev and fashion model Regina Zbarskaya discuss new models. 1966

This was the first man in the nascent Soviet fashion business. A talented artist, unconventional designer, interested in modern Western fashion trends. He managed to embody the progressive ideas of Western fashion in an original style, adapted to the existing reality. Zaitsev became the first and main fashion designer in the USSR. Our stars began to dress with him. Many of the images he created in the late 60s have survived more than one decade.

Fashion turned out to be perhaps the only area where Soviet citizens were allowed to at least sometimes have a voice and express their opinions, which at times were even taken into account by the authorities. The Soviet style is a kind of dialogue between the authorities and civil society, similar to throwing a ball: first one side, then the other serves; the ball can be caught and sent back with a pass (it happened that the pass turned out to be a brutal blow) or missed, left unanswered. The history of fashion in the USSR fits into seven such rounds. In this war game, first one participant, then another, won, but the last word remained with civil society.

Down with shame!

Revolutions, as usual, are made by those who are stern in spirit, and Oktyabrskaya is no exception in this sense. Its creators forgot about the material side of life - this was also reflected in their style of dressing: the rebels did not invent any “revolutionary” fashion, but took from everyday life what it gave them. In Russia at the dawn of the twentieth century, this was a military uniform that came into use with the beginning of the First World War. The French jacket, tunic, overcoat, leather jackets and boots were functional and discreet, just matching the unpretentious tastes of the builders of a bright future. Any embellishment of clothing that was far from expedient was condemned as bourgeois excess. Thus, suits, bright ties, hats and lace were distributed. Of course, it was possible not to comply with the proletarian dress code, but this risked being labeled as a bourgeois. There were also radicals who generally proposed to eradicate traditional clothing as a relic of the past. They organized the “Down with Shame!” society. and walked naked through the city streets, covered only with small red bands with slogans: “Down with shame!”, “Down with bourgeois prejudices!”

No less radical, but more talented young Soviet artists proposed not to abandon clothing, but to make it fundamentally different. In the country of the victorious proletariat, it is necessary to create a new fashion, the models of which will be as modest and functional as the Bolshevik military, but at the same time embody the optimism of those who hope for the approach of a bright future. Thus, new fashion designers tried to offer a stylistic alternative to the dull tunics and gray jackets of the old Leninists.

The authorities had nothing against it, and a special art workshop was created at the First Calico Printing Factory. Later other artels appeared. The task of fashion designers was to create a new worker-peasant style. According to the plan, clothes should not be too tight, because the worker needs freedom of movement while working. And everything would have been fine if fashion designers had not become carried away by constructivism. At first, their geometrically tailored clothes, decorated with linear, geometric patterns, attracted the attention and interest of society. But not for long. As soon as the country recovered from the post-war devastation and the old factories resumed producing fabrics with classical designs, the demand for constructivists ceased. The authorities did not give a helping hand to young fashion designers. Gradually, their artels turned into ordinary ateliers, developing standard products for mass production. It is worth noting that interest in revolutionary experiments bypassed the wives of party functionaries and artists. The situation is paradoxical. For example, the most famous fashion designer of that time, Nadezhda Lamanova, enthusiastically experimented with constructivist fabrics at her workplace (in the Modern Costume Workshop), and at home she upholstered the Soviet elite in the traditions of old fashion, without innovation. In those years, it was very difficult to find good fabric, which the wives of party leaders had no idea about. So Lamanova had to sew from available materials: blankets, towels, curtains...

The authorities are ready to tolerate

The New Economic Policy, NEP, which replaced the policy of War Communism in 1921, again brought private enterprise back to the country. Along with foreign capital, Parisian fashion magazines also appeared, turning the heads of Soviet fashionistas. Models in the Charleston style came into use: straight-cut shirt dresses with a low waist at the hips. They were convenient for all fans of foreign style, since the cut hid the proportions of the figure. This was true for the NEP men, who were often unenviably overweight. Flirty bowler hats, coats, fur collars and muffs have also returned to fashion. The men once again put on tailcoats, carpet suits, felt boots and soft felt Borsalino hats. Of course, the majority of Soviet citizens could not even think of dressing so stylishly - only the Soviet bourgeoisie, who managed to open their own business and amass a small capital, could do it. French historian Georges Lefebvre, who visited Russia in the 1920s, wrote about ordinary Soviet citizens: “A crowd of tired-looking people in similar worn and identical clothes is seething around me. There are both women and men, young people and old people. All classes have been erased. At least in terms of their clothes.” Ordinary Soviet women then wore long straight skirts, headscarves and cloth shoes with a webbed strap, and men wore sweatshirts and blouses, caps, caps, canvas pants, boots or canvas shoes. It may seem strange that the party, which did not support the red constructivist artists in its time, tolerated bourgeois fashion for almost a decade. The fact was that young fashion designers in the eyes of the country's leaders looked only like romantics, soaring in idyllic fantasies. But the NEP was a serious matter. If the Bolsheviks had not backed down in 1921 and sanctioned a partial restoration of the old economic order, a new revolution might well have broken out in a country exhausted by the policies of War Communism. There was an urgent need to find a way to dialogue with society, and for this, the authorities could tolerate Parisian dresses on city streets.

Stalin's gift

NEP was abandoned by 1928. Now Soviet Russia was entering the era of the “great turning point.” It had to go through the crucible of industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. All the forces of the USSR were thrown into the implementation of these projects, and private capital, not subject to state control, lost its right to exist. Along with him, most fashion ateliers became a thing of the past, and those that remained fulfilled planned orders, producing a stream of roughly tailored coats, dresses and boots. The state again led ordinary citizens to severe asceticism. Any initiative was punishable and resulted in dramatic consequences: for example, in those years there was an organization called Soyuzkhlopkosbyt, whose artistic council was headed by Alexander Perelitsyn and Vera Munitsyna, perhaps the last representatives of Soviet constructivism in the textile industry. Not seeing any sedition in their actions, they produced fabrics with propaganda drawings: combines, threshers, smoking chimneys of factories, power lines... But on October 6, 1933, a feuilleton “Tractor in front, combine harvester in back” appeared in the Pravda newspaper. Its author, journalist Grigory Ryklin, wrote about the enterprise of Perelitsyn and Munitsina: “These are very “leftist” guys. They call any drawing artistic, but simple, without frills, counter-revolutionary... And everything that we carry with you... is all complete counter-revolution. A bunch of hacks and vulgarities, hiding behind pseudo-revolutionary phrases, stained matter... There were also sheep-like communists who obediently bleated, considering hooligan antics as innovation and a “step forward.” A kind of chintz platform was set up here, where people alien to us had the opportunity to speak, profaning and vulgarizing our socialist construction.” The further fate of Perelitsyn and Munitsyna is unknown...

For several years, the Soviet government was busy building giant factories and destroying the wealthy peasantry. By 1935, everything was completed, and the country's leadership decided to reward its citizens. “Life has become better, life has become more fun” - this phrase, uttered by Stalin on November 17, 1935 at the All-Union Conference of Workers and Workers, became the slogan of that time. Cafes and restaurants reopened, good wine and sweets, caviar, white and red fish appeared in stores, and mass production of cosmetics and perfumes began. And of course, many new studios have opened. But it was impossible to get fashion magazines. It was assumed that now Soviet fashion would be able to develop independently, without looking back to the West. However, society's response to the freedom provided did not coincide with the plans of the leadership. Soviet women began to become involved in world fashion through American films, which were then often shown in cinemas. Anne Harding (“Devotion”), Mildred Harris (“Cool Guy”), Rita Hayworth (“Only Angels Have Wings”) shone on the screen. Even the first Soviet film, pop and ballet stars imitated them: Lyubov Orlova, Klavdiya Shulzhenko, Galina Ulanova. Thus, dresses cut on the bias, with a high waistline, puffed sleeves and small turn-down collars began to come into fashion. A little later, the sports style gained popularity. Soviet people had to develop their bodies in order to defend their fatherland, surrounded by enemies. The shoulder line of a women's suit expanded, patch pockets, large turn-down collars, high-waisted skirts with vertical pleats came into fashion. Wide trousers with very loose jackets, blouses, sports jerseys and canvas shoes were popular among men. A certain combined Soviet style was being formed - partly borrowed, partly independent. It is unknown whether the authorities would have interfered in this spontaneously ongoing process, but the war began, which stopped the evolution of the Soviet costume for four years.

First protest

In 1941-1945 there was no time for outfits. But after the victory, Soviet women quickly forgot the gray everyday life of war. The time had come for the so-called trophy fashion, when citizens of the USSR wore clothes brought from Europe in soldiers' duffel bags. However, this period was short-lived, and after the start of the Cold War, domestic fashion designers again began work on creating an independent Soviet style. The task was political: the USSR could not lose face in front of the West. Now a streamlined silhouette has come into fashion: a dress below the knees with a high waist and padded shoulders. Men dressed in dark-colored double-breasted suits with wide trousers. Gabardine coats and wide-brimmed hats were popular. In the West, they laughed at the way the builders of communism dressed, noting that, no matter how good the products of Soviet light industry, they become terribly boring, since they are put into production and continue to be churned out for several years. However, most citizens of the USSR were quite happy with what the planned economy offered them.

At the same time, in Soviet society, youth ceased to be just an age group, but turned into a new social community. This was a fast-moving process due to the improvement in the quality of life in the USSR. Now in some families, after graduating from school, children did not go to work in order to replenish the family budget, but began to enter college. Thus, a community of young people with a relatively broad outlook arose, actively communicating with each other. It was in this environment that lovers of a beautiful life (hipsters) appeared - the first who dared to express with their appearance a protest against the leveling influence of Soviet fashion, and, in fact, the entire Soviet government.

From the gray mass of Soviet citizens, dudes distinguished themselves with flashy clothes, as if declaring: away with averageness, to hell with modesty, simplicity and a sense of proportion! Thus, individualism came into conflict with the state’s emphasis on asceticism and inexpressiveness. In the late 1940s, the look of a dude (styling was predominantly a men's fashion) was defined by wide, bright trousers, a baggy jacket, a wide-brimmed hat, bright socks and a “jungle fire” tie with images of palm trees, monkeys or butterflies. A few years later, the dudes changed their fashion: now they wore pipe trousers, a loose checkered jacket with wide shoulders, a narrow tie and an umbrella-cane. Bright shoes with “semolina porridge” - a rubber platform that craftsmen fused onto a regular sole - were considered especially chic. The dudes' head was adorned with long hair with a high greased crown above the forehead and long sideburns on the cheeks - opposition to the usual boxing and half-boxing. Soviet fashionistas either bought their foreign outfits from black marketeers or ordered them from private dressmakers, reproducing the models they had seen in foreign films (“Tarzan”, “Sun Valley Serenade” or “The Girl of My Dreams”). Soviet society immediately rejected “those who kowtow to the West.” Patrols of vigilantes caught fashionably dressed young people, shaved off their hair, ripped open their tight trousers, tore out the shoulder pads from their jackets, and cut off their ties. Hipsters were bullied at meetings, and those who were particularly disobedient were expelled from universities or expelled from the Komsomol, depriving them of their careers. The press ridiculed them as cheap speculators who sold their conscience for chewing gum and clothes (“Today he plays jazz, and tomorrow he will sell his homeland”). In response, the dudes closed themselves off, went underground, but did not renounce their ideals and continued to tease society at their own peril and risk. Thus, it was considered especially chic to stroll along Broadway, or Ford (the central street of the city), in the brightest and most provocative outfit. They remained unbroken and left the historical stage on their own by the mid-1960s, when they turned from youths into men. Many of them drank themselves to death or died from drugs, but with their persistence, the dudes showed the authorities how powerful an ideological factor fashion could be, and forced Soviet leaders to think about what the citizens of the USSR were wearing. That is why, during the Khrushchev Thaw, the question of creating a new Soviet style that met international standards was far from the last.

This was especially influenced by the Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow in 1957. According to the famous saxophonist Alexei Kozlov, the festival played a huge role in changing the views of Soviet people on fashion, behavior, and lifestyle. Before him, “the country lived by inertia in a kind of stupor and fear, despite the fact that Stalin seemed to be a thing of the past. The inertia and hostility of Soviet society towards everything new, especially Western, cannot be considered only as the result of Soviet propaganda. I have long been convinced from my own experience that even without any agitation, the Russian masses are characterized by intolerance towards everything foreign, as well as a reluctance to learn better and figure it out: what if they like it?

Fashionable communist

Since the late 1950s, Soviet fashion designers began to actively master the New Look style, created by Christian Dior back in the late 1940s and continuing to develop dynamically in the new decade. Soft silhouettes, long dresses with wide fluffy skirts, a wasp waist accentuated by a belt, kimono sleeves and stiletto heels became popular. Khrushchev liked the style, despite the fact that in the West it was considered clothing for the bourgeoisie. Our fashion designers continued to try to be flexible (though often belatedly), catching new trends in world fashion. In the second half of the 1960s, laconicism, clear proportions and smooth lines a la Coco Chanel became relevant: sweaters, jumpers, jackets, pleated skirts and shirt-cut dresses.

True, the quality of Soviet products left much to be desired. Therefore, those who wanted to dress stylishly were forced to sew new outfits from private tailors. “Self-tailoring” became a real underground business, evading taxes and undermining the principles of the socialist economy. The authorities understood this very well and tried in every possible way to eradicate the sprouts of private enterprise. Thus, the resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers dated March 6, 1959 directly stated: “The lag in organizing consumer services for the population forces workers to resort to the services of private individuals and overpay them, which causes great damage to the interests of the population and the state.” Khrushchev found a way out of the situation in his own spirit - let fashionistas sew their outfits themselves. A wide sale of ready-made patterns immediately began, and at school, during labor lessons, girls began to be taught the basics of cutting and sewing. It was a rare young woman of that time who did not know how to operate a sewing machine.

But the most important thing was something else. During the “thaw” period, both the authorities and the people realized that fashionably dressed citizens could be just as devoted to high ideals as those who dressed inconspicuously. In the fall of 1963, the magazine “Rabotnitsa” published a touching and very characteristic letter from Zinaida Balakh from Nikopol. Comrade Balakh repented that she and her friend had treated the girl, dressed in a short skirt and shapeless sweater, unfairly. “We couldn’t resist,” Zinaida worried, “we reprimanded her.” But it soon turned out that this girl had a kind heart: she helped the lost child and carried the bags to Balakh herself. “How unfair we are sometimes! - the woman exclaims at the end of the letter. - We approach a man with a bourgeois standard of clothing. I didn’t like the skirt, I didn’t like the hairstyle, and well, let’s go and judge: the dude! But let’s forget to look into the soul.”

Three Polish shirts and a civilian sheepskin coat

The new approach stimulated the further development of fashion. In fact, it turned out to be the only sphere of Soviet culture where at least some dynamics were visible in the era of stagnation. True, now two friends went hand in hand with fashion - deficit and cronyism. The fact is that in the USSR demand continued to significantly exceed supply. To buy anything more or less fashionable, you had to stand in huge lines, writing down your number on the palm of your hand.

It was easier to get scarce goods through connections if you had an acquaintance who worked in the trade sector. Only the Soviet nomenklatura provided everything. Dressing with taste had now become fashionable among Soviet leaders, who could shop in special stores, for example in the hundredth section of GUM or Beryozka. A “side effect” of the new trends was the birth of another youth community - the majors, the children of senior officials, who often traveled abroad and brought newfangled outfits to their children. Majors did not hesitate to demonstrate superiority over ordinary citizens, dressing in tightly fitted, narrow-shouldered corduroy jackets, tight-fitting flared trousers and shirts with frills, complemented by wide ties with polka dots or oblique stripes. As it was sung in the couplets of that time: “He is driving his father’s ZIM, / Drunk and smoking at the wheel, / And a girl in tight trousers / Painting her lips next to him.”

However, the golden youth were not subjected to any political obstruction - double standards were already firmly established in the country: what is allowed for someone and what is not allowed. It is no coincidence that the joke was popular in those years. Brezhnev meets Richard Nixon at the airport, who has flown to the USSR on an official visit, kisses him and asks: “Well, did you bring jeans?” Nixon kisses Brezhnev in response: “Of course, I brought it, both for you and Gromyko!”

During Brezhnev's time, the general international tension of the Cold War subsided noticeably and the process of détente began. Foreign fashion magazines and records began to appear in the Soviet Union, and musical culture determined the style of youth clothing. It was the time of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, ABBA. Soviet fashionistas cried for John Travolta, who then played the main role in the acclaimed musical film Saturday Night Fever - this picture was known in the Soviet Union from its soundtracks. Ten years late compared to America and Europe, miniskirts came into fashion, sometimes worn with fringed cowboy vests. But the main shock for Soviet citizens was the idea of ​​women's trousers. A woman in trousers might not be allowed to dance or go to a restaurant (they were allowed to wear a mini). The trousers were also accompanied by a jacket with a turn-down collar and blunt-toed shoes with thick heels. This outfit was only legalized in 1973.

There were few hippies in the Soviet Union, but they left their mark on history. It was the “flower children” who brought into fashion flared trousers of incredible colors (for example, light green or purple), as well as fitted shirts worn untucked. The fashion for jeans soon spread. Flared jeans with machine embroidery, floral patterns and numerous pockets decorated with studs were considered the most chic. More modest models, which were sometimes thrown onto the shelves of Soviet stores, were also in demand - light blue Yugoslav, Bulgarian or Greek. The ultimate dream remained the American Lee, Levi's or Wrangler. At that time, there were even ditties like the following: “Levis jeans will help you sleep with Angela Davis!” and “Don’t wear Levi jeans, Angela Davis was eaten in them, but wear Lee jeans, Angela wasn’t eaten in them.” On the black market, jeans cost from 120 to 160 rubles - a month’s salary Soviet engineer. By the mid-1970s, denim skirts with a slit came into fashion, which, as they said, “helps keep up with the times." Sundresses, body shirts, vests and caps with a large visor were also denim. All this splendor could be obtained only from black marketeers who bought or exchanged their goods from foreigners. It was not easy for the pioneers of Soviet entrepreneurship to get to the “client”, so they had to hide, pretend to be Bulgarian tourists in order to get into the hotel. There, the “entrepreneurs" managed to deceive gullible foreigners, slipping them instead packs of "doll" money. They performed a similar trick with customers, selling only one denim pant leg in a sealed package. But even if the item turned out to be of high quality and intact, it usually did not fit exactly in size. Therefore, fashionistas had to climb into a hot bath wearing new jeans - this is how the fabric “sat down” and stuck to the body. In Moscow, black marketeers usually sold their goods on Begovaya Street or in the toilet on the corner of Kuznetsky Most. The authorities were well aware of this and from time to time they organized raids, which, however, were rarely successful. The punishment for farts was up to seven years, but it was very difficult to prove the guilt of the person caught, so after a while he was released and he returned to his activities.

But still, farce things were expensive, and Soviet women, remembering the ancient precepts of Khrushchev, continued to sew fashionable clothes for themselves, according to magazine patterns. The most popular magazines were the Latvian Rigas Modes and the rare German Burda. At the same time, fashion designers often found themselves in difficult circumstances. Either one material is missing, or another. Or the ministry will receive an order to create a collection of stale “lining” fabrics, but no one cares that these fabrics cannot be ironed, since hot stains remain on them. But our stylists have learned to masterfully cope with difficult situations. They tell, for example, how young Vyacheslav Zaitsev, in a few hours, sewed swimming trunks for his comrades gathered at the sea from a curtain taken from a window.

An alternative to denim fashion was quite popular women's retro - knee-length knitted skirts, light shirts with turn-down collars and blouses. It was believed that this was a Russian style, but, as one of the leading fashion models of the time, Marina Blinovskaya, admitted, “at the Fashion House we quietly focused on foreign magazines. Of course, they “licked” everything! What else could we see? We had the Iron Curtain back then.” This tracing did not prevent Soviet fashion designers from performing very successfully at foreign competitions. Russian female models were considered the most spectacular (in the USSR at that time there was no such profession - model, fashion models were equated to laborers).

Last conversation

In the 1980s, the crisis of Soviet power entered its final stage. Fashion split into official and unofficial. The first was associated with the strict suits of party leaders and bureaucratic officials. This is exactly how the outdated models of women's two-piece suits worn by Komsomol workers and women from Rono were perceived. The novelty of Soviet fashion designers was also irritating - a businesswoman's suit a la Margaret Thatcher (straight-cut jackets with an English collar and gold buttons, double-breasted jackets and straight skirts below the knees).

Society, especially young people, again opposed the state standard with their way of dressing: miniskirts, leggings, large shapeless jumpers with huge shoulders, metallic synthetic jackets, sneakers and “moon rover” boots. The faux perm “explosion at a pasta factory” and provocative makeup came into fashion: bright shadows, eyeliner at an acute angle to the bridge of the nose, lilac or purple lipstick and dark lip contour. Men began to wear slacks, ripped jeans, moccasins and colorful shirts. The authorities tried to somehow stop the expansion of the destructive style through explanatory conversations in schools and articles on the pages of youth magazines, but this only caused smiles. They were no longer afraid of her, and the party no longer had enough teeth for repression. She passed away in 1991. The last round of the “fashionable” game was completely lost by the state vertical.

Quite a lot has been written about women's fashion of the 50s (including women's fashion of the 50s in the USSR). But not so much and not so often is written about men's fashion. Perhaps because in the 50s, men's fashion did not change as dramatically as women's. And yet, men's fashion of the 50s is worthy of attention, like any fashion that has its own history.

In this post I will not consider how dudes dressed - this is a separate subculture. I will simply describe how ordinary men dressed in the 50s in the USSR.

Military uniform.Although five years have passed since the end of the Great Patriotic War, many people dressed in military uniforms were encountered on the streets of cities. Overcoats, tunics with ragged shoulder straps, hats, caps, riding breeches, and boots were found in the street crowd quite often until the mid-50s. Due to the shortage of fabrics and clothing, men had to wear army uniforms in peacetime.

Cloth.
Men wore double-breasted and single-breasted suits of a semi-fitting classic shape, wide trousers (width 30-35 cm) with pleats at the waist and cuffs at the bottom, made of plain or striped fabric. The suit was complemented by ties, usually striped.

Shirts were mostly worn in white, as well as checkered or striped.

Caps were very common; they were worn with suits, raincoats, and winter coats. A little later, hats with brims began to come into use; over time, they became a necessary addition to the wardrobe of every elegant Soviet man. And then the fashion of walking without a headdress arose. In winter, many wore fur hats made of astrakhan fur and tsigeika.

Coats were worn as outerwear. They were made of thick drape, cloth with large roomy pockets, a large collar and were insulated with cotton wool, so the coats were very heavy.

Men's underwear of the 1950s included white long johns, T-shirts, and family briefs.
T-shirts were ubiquitous and for all ages. Mostly the T-shirts were bluish-faded or white.

And the panties were black. A little less often - from blue satin.A little later, such underpants will be called “family” underpants. In the official invoices they were called “simplified smooth panties.” There was a Soviet standard for family panties: length from the waist 48-50 cm, width of the leg at the bottom - 65 cm.

Melt they were, but not everyone had them, so men also wore family shorts to the beach.

Sock braces were an essential item in a man's wardrobe in the 50s. This was the only means of supporting sock on foot and preventing him from sliding down(the correct name is men's lift). IN At that time, in the USSR, socks were still produced without elastic bands. P problem with sliding and sock ami decided sock braces. They were a wide elastic band that was fastened under the knee. Cover this elastic band e danced another rubber band with clamp , to which the sock was attached.

Only in the late 1950s did the male silhouette gradually lose its heavy and massive shape, the shoulder line of jackets became more sloping, many wore short, slightly fitted jackets with wide trousers, and the waistline of the trousers of the 1950s was emphatically high. Fashion includes short coats, raincoats with belts, tracksuits consisting of leggings trimmed with wide elastic bands at the waist and ankles and sweaters, fitted sports jackets with a yoke on the back and a strap. Under the jacket, in the style of the 1940s, many wore knitted sleeveless vests, plain or with an ornamental pattern. In the mid 1950s The first nylon shirts appeared in the country and became super popular.

Fashionistas tried to buy boots with grooved rubber soles. A very common item in the youth men's wardrobe were jackets with a contrasting yoke and several pockets, which since the 1940s were popularly called “hooligans”; in addition, in Leningrad they were called “Muscovites”, and in Moscow “Leningradkas”. They were also called “beans”. Such shortened jackets with a zipper on the chest were produced by Soviet sewing workers in several versions, and those who did not get the finished product wore improvisations, sewn at home from old things. Particularly chic were short, sports-cut jackets with a zipper and patch pockets on the chest.

The clothes were worn for a long time. The trousers were mended as long as possible.Clothes made from expensive (relatively) fabrics - suits, coats - were re-faced(i.e. the inside of the thing became the front side), etc How did we get an almost new thing?. Shirts were often passed on to the younger members of the family. ye.

Shoes. Summer men wore sandals on bare feet or dudes. They also (rarely) wore canvas boots, light, summer ones. Such boots could be worn by someone who walked with a briefcase - a boss or an official (which, in fact, is the same thing).They also wore regular boots.

Here are the dudes.

Still worn canvas shoes. Shoes were rubbing s chalk, which is why they became white, “rich.”

And chrome boots. It was chic.In the most “chic” versionMove the deer's boots walked away down like an accordion. The “accordion” was often made with pliers, simply squeezing the skin along the lines of the diamonds, and then going through it with a mallet. These boots put on “on the way out” only. For work - tarpaulin or yawl, and chrome - for celebration and envy.

Chrome boots.

Boots: vamp made of yuft leather, boot made of tarpaulin.

In winter, many men wore leggings. There are mittens, and there are also leggings - clothing for the legs. The shape is like felt boots, only more lungs. Each leg consists of two quilted (stitched) halves of the same shape and size of the leg. These blanks are like a double sandwich: thick fabric - cotton wool - lining fabric, inner. The halves are sewn together, turned inside out like a stocking - that’s it, put it on. There are no left or right ankles; there is no division into “male” and “female” either. The leggings were also called “b” at hands." And they always wore them with galoshes. They also wore felt boots.

By the way, about galoshes. Galoshes were worn on their own, like shoes, with leggings, with felt boots, and also put on shoes or boots so as not to stain them with dirt. When entering a room, they took off their galoshes and wore clean shoes.

Another type of footwear that was worn over shoes or boots in wet, dirty weather was boots.

1. men's boots with a buckle with a fabric upper and rubber lining
2. men's boots without fastenerwith fabric upper and rubber binding

The rest are for children and women.
The main difference between bots and galoshes was that bots were taller. The boots were made with a fabric upper and a rubber lining or were all rubber, black or colored.

And this version of winter shoes, which was made from white felt and leather, was also called burkas. They cost much more than felt boots. Such burkas could be afforded by the top party leadership, senior-level officials and generals.

Everything about a person should be beautiful - both appearance and appearance. Beautiful clothes, a tastefully chosen outfit, a complete image - at all times remained the passion of almost all women and many men.

The historical period of the USSR was no exception: despite the harsh post-revolutionary regime and shortages, fashion lived on in the Soviet Union.

It is known that the period of existence of the Soviet Union was quite long, and, consequently, the formation of fashion in the Soviet period was quite diverse. Let's get acquainted with the main criteria and differences of Soviet fashion step by step.

After the revolution of 17, beautiful clothes were considered “the ghost of the bourgeois regime,” and if a woman allowed herself to look stylish, she was immediately labeled a parasite. At that time, there was one fashion designer for the entire Union - Nadezhda Lamanova, who worked exclusively for the Communist Party elite.

War times changed the priorities of the Soviet people, and in the 40s fashion temporarily “dies.”

The 50s were remembered for the appearance of dudes who drew ideas for creating their image from abroad and shocked the public with their originality. At this time, an increasing number of designers appeared, and the first fashion shows were organized.

The most famous Soviet designers in the 60s were Valentin Zaitsev and Alexander Igmand. In the 70s, imported items appeared for the first time, which provided more opportunities. Such coveted and unattainable jeans came into Soviet fashion in the 70s.

The 80-90s completely opened the door to the world of fashion for Soviet people; now being stylish was considered important. Leather jackets, short tops, denim jackets, acid colors, short disco-style skirts, voluminous chunky knit sweaters, “boiled” jeans, banana pants will forever remain in our hearts and memories.

I found a very interesting review on the history of Soviet fashion of the 1970s and 80s on the Fashiony website.

1970s

In the 1970s, the coveted items of fashionistas were stocking boots, a turtleneck, flared trousers, preferably denim, colorful dresses, checkered outfits, and artificial fabrics (crimplen) were held in high esteem.

Alla Pugacheva

Stocking boots

By the mid-70s, the mini length had captured the minds of women, but unlike the 60s, preference was given to flared skirts and dresses.

By the end of the 70s, fluffy fur hats came into fashion, not without the help of the heroine Barbara Brylski from the film “Ironies of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath,” and fox fur hats were especially popular.

Still from the film "The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath"

Model Tatyana Solovyova (Mikhalkova)

From the shows of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

Soviet fashionistas plucked their eyebrows into a thread, painted their eyelashes generously and applied light lipstick with a glitter effect.

1980s

The 1980s were accompanied by the breaking of stereotypes; this was a time of total shortage, which significantly affected fashion. The unisex style was in fashion, which significantly influenced the psychology of the youth of that time; the rude, defiant behavior of girls was often accompanied by fights at discos, and this was considered the norm of behavior.

The fashion of the 80s can be described as a sports avant-garde, clothes with a rectangular silhouette, with wide shoulders, there was a tendency towards geometricism, outfits are decorated with asymmetrical triangular inserts, countless pockets, fashionistas wear puffy raincoats, jackets, boots, men and women prefer clothes of the same cut .

Valentin Yudashkin show

Irina Ponarovskaya

In the early 80s, banana trousers were at the peak of popularity, ending with a fluffy frill at the bottom, as a rule, they were worn with tops.

Around the mid-1980s, the so-called “varenki” came into fashion; this masterpiece was produced at home - cooked with bleach; this trend was worn by everyone, from representatives of pop groups to ordinary youth.

In the mid-1980s, a sleeve called the “batwing mouse” came into fashion; I remember that my friend and I bought the same sweaters without any agreement (about the same as in this picture), and when we found out about it we didn’t talk to each other for a week, and subsequently neither she Neither I nor I wore these notorious sweaters, and this was in an era of shortages. Nowadays, it’s the other way around, with such a wealth of choice and prices, people manage to look the same, like they came from the same orphanage, excuse the lyrical digression, and so on.

The headdresses were also quite interesting, the girls wore “pipe hats”, and the guys wore knitted “cockerels”.

Trumpet hat

Hat "Cockerel"

By the end of the 80s, there was a significant breakthrough in fashion, I think the Russian-language magazine “Burda Moden” made its own significant adjustments, there was no unification, jackets with wide shoulders were replaced by more feminine, flirtatiously fitted ones, tulip skirts and fishnet tights with lurex came into fashion , wide belts, the only thing that is still relevant are padded hangers in blouses, jackets, dresses, the first leggings appeared, then they were worn in discreet colors, mostly black.

Among accessories, preference was given to jewelry made of colored plastic: clips, beads, and numerous bracelets.

Aerobics was held in high esteem; along with the fashion for aerobics came striped woolen leggings, which were worn not only during sports, but also just for fun.

Rebellious hairstyles came into fashion in the form of backcombing, in which streaked strands could be seen, mercilessly filled with “Prelest” varnish; some ladies preferred perms; undoubtedly, the fashion of those years was influenced by the outrageous singer Madonna.

The makeup contains a riot of colors, a color palette without restrictions, bright shadows, unplucked eyebrows, lipstick must be pearlescent, and women were ready to sell their souls to the devil for a bottle of Opium perfume.

Group "Kino" and Viktor Tsoi

Vyacheslav Butusov

Group "Alice" and Konstantin Kinchev

The attributes of the rock trend were leather jackets with rivets, fingerless gloves (mittens), an abundance of badges, rivets, which young people wore. Such informal movements as punks, metalheads, and skinheads appeared.