Figure 1.--This postcard-back studio portrait shoiws a Russian boy wearing a Russian blouse outfit with matching short pants in February 1921. This is a combination we do not ordinarily see, perhaps because Russian blouses were diappearing in Russia and short pants just beginning to appear. Notice the patches on the long stockings. This is something we rarely see. The outfit suggests that the boy came from a prpsperous family before the Revolution that had fallen on hard times. And of course the Russian economy at the time was collapsing--partly as a result of the Civil War and partly because of Bolshevik War Communist economic policies. Click on the image to read the sriting on the back. There is also some interesting matters concerning Soviet photography.

A shirt and other shirt like garmets had several elements. Surely the most important is the collar. Commonly a shirt-like garment is called by the type of collar. This is because the collar is the most vissible element. An important shirt-like garment for boys in the 19th century as in other countries was the blouse. And Russia unlike most countries had a very distincvtive blouse--the Russian blouse. It was basically a serf or peasant collar-less garment. For some reason, it had am ajor fashion impoact in the West during the early-20th century. It wa widely usded in the tunics that were popuolalar at the time. Today the basic boys' top is a standard shirt including the popular 'T'-shirt during the summer. Blouses as in other countries were popular in the 19th centuty. Russia was different. The blouse garment that was popular was the Russian blouse, a largely peasaent garment. But the peasantry, unlike the induatrial worker, was never popular with the Blolsheviks. Thus we rapidy see see Russian blouses disapper even in rural areas. And this was before Stalin set out to destroy the Russian and Ukranian peasantry. Even before the fall of Communism, Russian began moving toward the modern trans-European fashions without destinctive national features.

Collars

A shirt and other shirt like garmets had several elements. Surely the most important is the collar. Commonly a shirt-like garment is called by the type of collar. This is because the collar is the most vissible element. A shirt-like garment might be covered by a sweater, vest, jacket or other garment. There are all kinds of different collars assocaited with these garmets. They varied in in design and complexity. Some were very simple like eton collars. Others were complex like lace and ruffled collars. And they varied in size. Some lace and ruffled collars were huge. Various styles in the 1860s barely peeped outside of jackets. Some of the styles were: button-down, eton, lace, Peter Pan, pointed, rounded, ruffled, sports, tab, wing, and many others. And all of these were done in various sizes and with minor stylistic variations. There were also shirt-like garments without collars, like shirt waists and Russian blouses. Most of these various tyles were mostly worn by the Russian elite and growing middle-class. In the countryside among the large serf population, the Russian blouse style was not commomn, but by the turn-of-the 20th century the Russian blouse style had become widely worn by the elites as well.

Blouses

Blouses were very common for children in the 19th century. Many blouses buttoned onto trouers which held them up In the later-19th century blouses often had drawstring closures which caused the garment to blouse out giving the garment its modern name. These were Western European styles. Peter the Great (r 1682/96-1725) promoted Wesern clothing styles part of his efforts to modenize the country. Thus we see blouses being worn by both the Russian elire and growing middle-class in the 19th century. This was a growing, but small part of the Russian population. Most of the people, however, lived in the countryside. A sunstantial part of the rural population were serfs. They were finally emancipated by Tsar Alexander II (1861). The serf population, however, remained largely landless, undereducated, and poor. They wore traditional clothing which increasingly included blouses. Women and girls wore loose fitting white blouses which often were decorated with embroidered designs. Serf boys and men commonly wore what looked like long collarless shirts that buttoned at the neck could extend down to the knees along with baggy pants. A shorter version became became a popular style even in the cities during the late-19th centyry. And in a reversal of century-long trends, a Russian style was adoped in the West--the Rusian blouse. At the turn-of- the 20 century we see boys in Western Europe and America wearing Russian blouse tunics and blouses.

Shirts

Today the basic boys's top is a standard shirt including the popular 'T'-shirt during the summer. Blouses as in other countries were popular in the 19th centuty. Russia was different. The blouse garment that was popular was the Russian blouse, a largely peasaent garment. But the peasantry, unlike the induatrial worker, was never popular with the Blolsheviks. Thus we rapidy see see Russian blouses disapper even in rural areas. And this was before Stalin set out to destroy the Russian and Ukranian peasantry. Even before the fall of Communism, Russian began moving toward the modern trans-European fashions without destinctive national features.

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Created: 6:28 PM 7/3/2019
Last updated: 6:28 PM 7/3/2019