Men’s Shirt in the Assortment of Embroidery Industry of Post-War Ukraine (1945–1949)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to characterize the functioning peculiarities of the embroidery industry of post-war Ukraine (1945–1949) exemplified by men’s embroidered shirts produced by artistic artels in Vinnytsia. The archival fund of the Vinnytsia Interregional Artistic Industrial Union serves as the primary source base for the research. It is emphasized in the published work on the fact that after the Second World War because of the lack of money for the restoration of all industrial production, the Soviet government has relied on the manual labour of cooperative artisans to ensure the production of widely used items. In particular, the embroidery industry has to produce clothes. The dynamics of production volume growth, assortment, cost and geography of distribution of men’s shirts is shown within one regional union of artistic artels. Several factors contributing to their popularity in the USSR are revealed: a) since the planned economy in Ukraine has a fixed specialization in the embroidery industry, therefore its products are distributed throughout the Soviet Union; b) the annual production volume is quite significant; c) simplicity of cut and its cost-effectiveness have made shirts competitive against factory-produced goods; d) using precious fabrics (silk and marquisette) has made embroidered shirts prestigious; e) the aesthetic appeal and brightness of the products have diversified men’s wardrobe; f) the trendsetting role of Mykyta Khrushchev has influenced the party-Soviet nomenclature elite, as well as affluent individuals who can afford prestigious items. Men’s embroidered shirts are more popular at this stage than women’s.