ABSTRACT
In eighteenth-century Russian culture, clothing became invested with historical, social, national and political meanings. Sartorial objects turned into figures of speech that highlighted their owners' ideological positions and conveyed characters' adherence to a certain cultural heritage. The Russian eighteenth century was an age of court celebrations, pageants, assemblies and masquerades. This period was radically different than pre-Petrine times when all aspects of life were deeply influenced by religion and secular forms of entertainment were oftentimes considered inappropriate. In this fictional correspondence, Strakhov portrays his heroine, La Mode, in her typical eighteenth-century role of female sovereign. In the introduction, Strakhov invokes his literary predecessors: creators of demonology and fable writers. According to Aleksandr Zapadov, Letter XIV from Krylov's The Mail of Spirits (1789), in which hats converse in a fashion shop, had a direct influence on Strakhov's sartorial personifications. The historical period during which the old-fashioned garments presented by Strakhov enjoyed their popularity is quite extensive.
