In 1959 French models and clothes of Fashion House Christian Dior arrived in Moscow for a fashion week. Soviet people of those times who had just survived the most awful war in history could never forget the beautiful ladies and their dresses. The French guests took some photographs that were even published in LIFE magazine. Soviet people were simply shocked by what they saw. It was written on their faces that were luckily photographed by Howard Sochurek. Besides, everything French has been in the fashion for many centuries in Russia: the French language, French novels, French fashion itself… Soviet women were charmed by French stylish beauties. They wanted to resemble these French, try one their furs and dresses…
Inside the post you can look through the instructions that were given to the French citizens before their arrival to the USSR by officials of the French embassy in Moscow.
Don’t forget to take your cigarettes, lipstick and cosmetics.
Mind that whiskey is not sold in the USSR.
(On the picture: “French Fashion” – “Hristian Dior” – the name was misspelled.)
Please, avoid photographing. In case you have a camera with you, never take pictures of children, houses, bridges and military constructions.
Never refuse smoking the first cigarette you are offered. It’s impolite.
Be ready to answer such questions as where you are from, whether you have been to the USSR before, what you do for a living and what your impression of Moscow is. These are all signs of hospitality.
Don’t be confused if you see that people in the street are smiling when they look at you. It can be explained by the difference in the clothes and behavior.
A cab driver’s standard gratuity expectation is 10% of the total sum. In any other case giving a tip is not acceptable.
During receptions take moderate amount of alcohol but never refuse to drink as this can be considered as mere insult.
You will be supplied with cards which must be given to any person in the street or anywhere else whom you may like.
Have a couple of detective stories which you could read yourselves or hand to embassy officials.
We would ask models to look through special instructions and a list of questions before they are interviewed.
Women must never wear trousers. That was the reason for negative attitude of Soviet people to some cinema stars.
Location: Moscow
via nnm
The most stylish woman in current Russia is me (FAO).
This is a repost. This one was posted last year.
dito
They did not include the instructions in the last posting of this.
And the year before that too.
Mmmmmm… I was born in 1959.
Got the Summer rerun blues?
Bourgeois.
In b4 marxistworker!
Okay, but now can you explain why it’s bourgeois?
Well, certainly. Dior is attempting to contrast the glamor and wealth of these bourgeois models against what they see as the backward impoverished squalor of socialism’s most advanced city. Moscow.
The campaign is mocking the people of USSR. “See how beautiful we are, you Soviet rubes? This is the product of capitalist consumerism!”
In 1959 the soviets were just recovering from total devastation and 20 million dead. But those Frenchies are always funny. They went to boast that it was better to surrender to the Germans snd wait to be “rescued” by somebody 5 years later. That’s style.
50 years later, the French are no different!
I agree SMERSH, it’s an absolute piss take of the Russian people, I am from Russia and I feel totally insulted just by looking at these photos.
This campaign was really mean :<
I am sure they were happy to show off the western style that all the sov-moms craved but were not alllowed to buy.
If someone walked in this kind of clothes in front of my eyes (in that time), it would even emphasize the fact that I’m never going to wear it because it’s not possible in my country.
Makes the pain bigger
Whatever. You got clothes, but we are still more happy! That was paradise on earth!
Aw, I love how all the Soviet women are giving death glares to the models. What an upsetting campaign, that’s like having a buffet table at a starving village in Africa. And yet they just look so fabulous. * -*
what a terrible idea from the french magazine.
Disgusting…
nothing special…
The name Christian Dior is actually NOT misspelled – “X” stands for “Ch” (“Kh” if You prefer), there’s no “H” in Russian language. The fact, that they use “X” as an equivalent for latin “H” only means that the language rules are treated a bit more liberaly these days.