Clothing consumption of the St. Petersburg middle class, in Rethinking class in Russia, ed. by S. Salmenniemi, Ashgate, 2012, 149-166. (original) (raw)
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Social classes arise in drawing boundaries, and social identities are defined and asserted through difference (Bourdieu 2010: 167). In this chapter of the book, I consider distinctions within the middle class expressed through concepts and practices, the experience of pleasure, and the disappointments of middle-class consumers in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. Concepts and practices along with approval and disapproval of past and current situations regarding consumption show the strategies used by classes and other social groups to construct themselves, secure a social place in the world, and distinguish themselves from other groups. Drawing on in-depth interviews, I will explore the current process of negotiation and renegotiation of age differences, class, gender and sexuality, and capital versus regional distinctions. Drawing on the self and the class concepts of Skeggs (2004), Devine et al. (2005), and others, I will discuss how differences in clothing are produced, how they are articulated in consumers’ accounts, and how they are brought into the daily lives of urban dwellers in the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.
The chapter “Fashion and time: The lifespan of clothing” investigates the changes in everyday consumer practices from the point of view of the concept of time. Scholars have called Soviet society a “repair society” (Gerasimova, Chuikina 2009) because not only were things under constant repair in an effort to prolong their lifespans, but so was the whole societal system. Based on differences in the longevity of relationships between humans and things, at least three concepts of clothing consumption may be identified: “permanent,” “fast,” and “sustainable.” I also distinguish a “transitional” fashion. These concepts are rooted in societies with particular economic conditions, levels of technological development, norms, traditions, and customs, as well as consumer practices. I argue that “permanent” consumption was a feature of socialist societies, “transitional” fashion is intrinsic to a period of reforms, “fast fashion” is a dominant characteristic of emerging consumer markets, and “sustainable consumption” is a feature of mature capitalist societies. Based on these concepts, I explore daily practices related to man-thing relations from the point of view of the life cycle of clothing.
The chapter “’When I put on a fur coat, everyone knows I am Russian’: Clothing consumption of Russian migrants in Finland” explores the expression of ethnic identity through appearance and personal style. Style and clothing choices, apparently, make Russians a visible community at many levels, demonstrated not only in the media, but also by academic research (Vihalemm, Keller 2011). Scholars describe the fashion style of Russians as an ethnic group as “tasteless because of the use of bright textiles, heavy make-up, and clothing elements in bright colours… The glamorous style is manifested by a variety of elements: expensive brand logos on clothes, glossy fabrics, bright colours, plenty of jewellery, conspicuous make-up, and high heels. Richness of detail is part and parcel of this sub-repertoire” (Vihalemm, Keller 2011: 303). Drawing on in-depth interviews with Russians who live outside the country, particularly in Finland, I will discuss how these Russians express their Russianness through clothing. I rely on the argument that the reproduction of ethnic belonging in consumption goes along with other social distinctions – age, gender, and class. In other words, there are more similarities between people of different ethnicity belonging to the same class and generation than between people of different classes and generations, yet have the same ethnicity. Thus, an ethnic boundary uses other social dimensions to differentiate between the self and others.
The chapter “«Semiotic baggage» and fashion” explores the key concepts of clothing and the traces that have been left by socialist past in contemporary styles repertoirs in Russia. In order to reach this objective I examine images of the people encountered on Nevsky prospect in St. Petersburg. Despite globalization and its consequences, fashion still contains “semiotic baggage” from the socialist past. In addition, there are “semiotic disjunctions” - the concepts of today’s fashion that could conflict with the concepts existed before. A number of changes are discussed in this chapter: individualization; sexualisation of the body; marketization of youth fashion; and nostalgia for the soviet.
The Quantity of Style: Imaginary Consumption in the Post-Soviet Russia
Theory, Culture & Society, 2000
In what follows I want to explore how this ‘single-minded desire’ of the Soviet consumer rooted in the economy of shortages continues to shape and influence the post-Soviet understanding of consumption. To do so, I will analyse a set of 178 essays written by young Russian people that I collected, mostly in April 1997 in Barnaul, a remote industrial Siberian city with a population about 800,000 people. Being a part of a bigger project, this article deals with only few themes articulated by the respondents: with the phenomenon of post-Soviet imaginary consumption, with the gender characteristics of the subject of post-Soviet consumption, and, finally, with the patterns of this consumption.
The plan to create a society of abundance that would satisfy the material needs of Soviet citizens is well known as one of the most ambitious projects of the Khrushchev decade. Public statements by the leader, who aimed to catch up and overtake the United States in consumer goods production, helped to stigmatize the political meaning of this campaign as yet another aspect of the Cold War and competition between the two systems. The Novocherkassk events, following an increase (31 May 1962) in prices of staple foodstuffs, signalled the clear failure of national food supply reform. The aim of this chapter is to assess the results of reforms in the field of clothing consumption. What particular measures did the state undertake to supply clothes to the population? What kinds of clothing were Soviet people supposed to wear, and what did they actually wear? In what consumer behaviours did their reaction to production policy and the clothing distribution system manifest itself?