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Social Life of the Caftan in Eighteenth-Century Russia

Ivleva, Victoria

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Abstract

This article explores the ‘cultural biography’ of the caftan, a garment, which underwent significant changes as a part of Peter I’s urban clothing revolution. The article discusses the evolution of the caftan and changes in its functions and meanings, its historical, social and literary modes of circulation, and the semiotic value it acquired in the eighteenth-century clothing system, and more broadly, in eighteenth-century Russian culture. As a key garment of the Petrine dress reforms, the caftan became a material symbol of eighteenth-century modernizing processes, and was often employed by writers to comment on social and cultural policies and practices. When the caftan (as part of a uniform) started to be associated with state control, and the infringement on individual freedom, this garment was replaced by the dressing gown, which became a symbol of internal peace, freedom and creativity in literature and cultural life.

Citation

Ivleva, V. (2016). Social Life of the Caftan in Eighteenth-Century Russia. Clothing cultures, 3(3), 171-189. https://doi.org/10.1386/cc.3.3.171_1

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 12, 2016
Online Publication Date Mar 16, 2017
Publication Date Dec 1, 2016
Deposit Date Oct 9, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Clothing Cultures
Print ISSN 2050-0742
Electronic ISSN 2050-0750
Publisher Intellect
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 3
Issue 3
Pages 171-189
DOI https://doi.org/10.1386/cc.3.3.171_1

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