What they wrote about in women's magazines of pre-revolutionary Russia: Fashion, needlework and not only

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The history of fashionable gloss began in 1672, when the first magazine for women, Mercure galant ("Gallant Mercury"), was published in France. It published literary novelties, talked about social events, offered ladies fashionable images with engravings and recommendations for choosing clothes for different occasions. In Russia, ladies' periodicals appeared only in the 70s of the 18th century.

First edition for women in Russia

After the educational reforms of Catherine II, erudition and intelligence came into fashion. At the end of the 18th century, young ladies of the high society wrote poems and were interested in sciences and foreign languages. During this period, an audience of potential readers of "gloss" was formed in Russia, which has long been in demand in Europe.

The well-known publisher Nikolai Novikov became the pioneer of the women's press in Russia. In 1779, he published a magazine called Fashion Monthly, or Ladies' Dress Library. In order to somehow justify the name, colorful pictures with foreign outfits were sometimes printed in the appendices to the numbers. The authors accompanied each illustration with ironic captions, for example, "The Goldfinch at the Walk" or "The Cap of Victory", trying to ridicule a woman's passion for beautiful dresses and hats.

The rest of the issue did not correspond to the title and rather had an educational function. In addition to women's novels and love poems, the "Fashionable Edition" published Sumarokov's instructive parables, charades and "curious facts from life."

The magazine existed for only a year, as it did not arouse much interest among readers and turned out to be commercially unprofitable.

French, English and German new mods shop

The next women's almanac - "Shop of French, English and German New Fashions" - came out in 1791, but did not last as long as its predecessor. This time, the ladies were offered not just pictures, but real reviews of fashionable novelties from Western couturiers with style tips. The description of European fashionable images, nevertheless, was not without irony: "The horned hat also cannot be used, because now the horns on men's foreheads are only tolerable …".

In addition to fashion trends, "Shop …" educated Russian ladies about life abroad. For example, in one article, the readers were explained what London banquets are: "… Everyone has free admission there for one guinea (7 rubles) and for which he drinks coffee, tea and lemonade without money." The magazine published only three issues and closed for unknown reasons.

Fashion and family tips in 19th century magazines

At the beginning of the 19th century, expensive foreign magazines with colorful illustrations were popular among aristocrats. Domestic periodicals are also published in large volumes, but filled mainly with sentimental literature of poor quality and abstract reflections on love. In 1823, the first issue of "Ladies' Journal" was published in Russia, which was intended to replace an expensive extract from Europe.

The publication consisted of three sections. In the first, famous poets, vaudeville authors and playwrights were published, in the second they gave advice on which performance to go to, and in the third they printed sketches of dresses, hats and shoes popular in Europe.

"Ladies' Journal" existed for 10 years. He was very popular with women, but received a lot of criticism from men, because excessive interest in outfits and embellishments was considered unworthy behavior for a lady.

However, in the magazine there was also a place for instructive articles of a Domostroev character: “Do not contradict my husband. Do not interfere in anything except household chores. Demand nothing and be content with little "or" A wife may be smarter than her husband, but she must pretend that this is not so. Choose your friends carefully, to have them is not enough. " Older readers were advised to "increase self-supervision" because "there is nothing funnier than putting on an elegant dress in order to look younger."

The magazines did not write about women's problems and personal experiences - such topics began to rise in journalism only at the beginning of the next century.

How the ladies' press has changed since the mid-19th century

Since the middle of the 19th century, women's periodicals have become more and more differentiated. Independent publications appear on home economics, sewing, handicrafts, fashion and social events. Some messengers published "light" literature for recreation, others raised serious socio-economic problems. The gender composition of the editorial staff is also changing. If earlier only men worked in journalism, then in the 19th century magazines urged readers to send their texts for publication.

In 1836, the first issue of the "Journal of the latest sewing" was published by Elizaveta Safonova. It was aimed not at aristocrats, but at women of simple origin, and contained accessible tips for the formation of a daily wardrobe.

The beginning of the 20th century: a woman-hostess and a citizen

In terms of format and content, ladies' periodicals of the early 20th century can be considered the prototype of modern gloss. The most popular publication of that period was the Housewives' Magazine. The bulletin was published twice a month with a huge circulation of 150 thousand copies and covered almost all areas of women's interests, from medicine, cooking and parenting, to fashion and art. The "trick" of this edition was a large number of useful applications: full-size patterns, books for writing down recipes, notebooks for keeping track of family savings, and much more.

An important innovation of this magazine is the interactive headings "Mail" and "Telephone", in which readers could suggest topics for discussion and leave comments on already published articles. In the section “Conversations of the Toy Marquise,” an anonymous person answered the ladies' frank questions about family life and love. Competitors instantly picked up this idea and introduced similar headings in their publications.

With the outbreak of World War I, women's magazines focused on the role of women in society. Now she is not just a mistress, but "a mother - a citizen - a wife." Published in 1914, the magazine "Women's Life" shows readers how they can realize themselves outside the home. Articles about fashion, beauty and home economics are only a few pages long. The rest of the pages are filled with serious topics about sisters of mercy, charitable organizations in support of Russian soldiers and the life of women in occupied cities.

However, the war events did not prevent fashion publications from publishing reviews of current outfits and giving recommendations on the topic of love, family and raising children.

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