King Attends Moscow Opera in Day Suit

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 394, 30 June 1928, Page 10

King Attends Moscow Opera in Day Suit

Sartorial Revolution FEW “MEN IN DRESS CLOTHES” MOSCOW, May S. j Russia has experienced a sartorial as well as a social revolution. Under; the old regime it was impossible lor j anyone not attired in conventional I evening clothes to enter the parterre ol the Grand Opera House. The wheel has,not quite swung full circle. There is at present no formal rule proscribing the dress suit at the opera and other social functions, but it is so rarely worn that the familiar evening costume produces a curiously bizarre effect in Moscow. The new_ standards in questions of dress were’ vividly illustrated at the gala performance which was given at the Grand Theatre in honour of the King of Afghanistan, says the London “Observer.” Mounted police cleared tlie way for the entrance of the royal visitors, and they were conducted to the place of honour in the large central box. A specially prepared programme of Russian operatic and ballet scenes was presented. In short, the evening might be regarded as an important State entertainment. But as one ioked from the stage to the audience, it was impossible to escape the impression of almost Spartan simplicity. There was a blaze of frock-coats in the tier of boxes occupied by members of the diplomatic corps. But both the King himself and President Kalinin, who sat next to him during the entertainment, wore plain business suits. There was an abundance of military uniforms in the audience, which was recruited entirely by invitation. "Incorrectly Dressed” But dress suits in the crowded opera house were few enough to be conspicuous, and qne foreign correspondent, who appear'd in faultless evening clothes, remarked ruefully: “I see I am incorrectly dressed,” after a glance at the Royal box. It should not be imagined that the Instinct for personal adornment has disappeared in Russia. Women, with the exception of the relatively small number of Communist Party members, probably devote as much attention to their a_pparel as ever; and, despite the formidable handicap of prohibitive duties on silk and other articles of luxury, they often achieve quite successful results in their costumes with the aid of French and German fashion magazines, which somehow find their way into the country. The foreign embassies, too, represent a centre of social life where the ordinary rules of dress and social formality are observed with meticulous care. Man Without a Collar But this is a small island in a large ocean. The arbiter eletjan tiarivm. .for Soviet officialdom is not the Foreign Embassy, but the Control Committee of the Communist Party—a body

made up of the most austere old partymembers. and entrusted with the charge of detecting and punishing any comrades who succumb to disintegrating “bourgeois” influences. Recently the secretary of this committee, Mr. Jaroslavsky, warned Communists resident abroad against luxurious modes of living which would invite the gibes of hostile newspapers, and especially cautioned them against “struggling into frock coats, which suit them as well as a saddle does a cow.” It may readily be imagined that Communists in Russia (and practically all high Soviet officials are Communists) are under even stronger pressure. Dress, in fact, has ceased to be a reliable indicator of social status. The man in a collarless Russian shirt at the opera or the theatre may be a bona-fide proletarian taking advantage of his opportunity to purchase tickets at the reduced trade union rate; a newly enriched trader anxious to hide his prosperity; or a high State official setting an example in democratic dress. Moscow is perhaps the only capital in the world where one may wear practically anything, at any time, in any place, without incurring social reprobation or even attracting special attention.