You might notice the current fashion of Russia often consists of high heels, short skirts and lots of make-up. Why is Russian women’s clothing so revealing? I visited Russia and tried to find out.
Russian Fashion
First off, I’m not talking about the traditional Russian folk costume women wore in Russia in the past. I’m talking about the current fashion of Russia and what Russian women wear today. And I’m not criticizing. These are just my observations.
After seeing tons of Russian women tourists in other countries posing like pin-up calendar girls against trees, draping themselves onto statues for the perfect selfie, or click-clacking in their heels around the ruins in Turkey, I was a bit worried that I’d feel underdressed and less sexy when visiting Russia.
I was visiting St Petersburg for a week before heading to Yaroslavl to speak at the Visit Russia Conference.
The good news? There was definitely a variety of dress from the previously mentioned escort-looking girls to old babushkas in scarves and wide-width black lace-up shoes.
Russian Women’s Fashion: Why Russian Women Dress This Way
I had many questions:
What is Russian women’s fashion so revealing? What is it specifically that makes these Russian woman get all dolled up on an ordinary day?
Was it just that I had become a slovenly American, or were they watching too many Pamela Anderson Baywatch re-runs?
Why did these Russian women seem to dress more sexily (i.e. in tight, revealing clothing) than others around the world?
Why did I often come across Russian tourists posing against monuments as if they were making their own playmate calendar?
So I tried asking a few locals — men and women — about this conundrum to see what I could uncover.
Opinions from Russian Locals about Russian Women’s Clothing
The first guy I asked was my local bicycle tour guide for the day. I asked him about the fashion of Russia and Russian women’s clothing in particular, said he didn’t like it. He felt that these girls were insecure and seeking attention.
I understood this and could perhaps relate to it some. I thought of American girls’ attitudes when they are younger – teenagers or maybe girls in their early twenties. We were all trying to find our way and see where we fit in…and yes, we all wanted a boyfriend.
But here, the ages of women dressing this way seemed to range from 16 to 40+. My guide told me he feels that they are attracting the wrong kind of attention and, although, as a man, he certainly liked looking at it, he thought it was too much and not respectable.
Then I asked two young Russian women, both in their early thirties, both single, and both whom were independent, lived alone, and were dressed more like me — more casual yet neat/nice, but just less ‘sexy.’
One said she didn’t really know and answered as if it was something she never even really noticed or thought about. That was interesting to me since it was so obvious to me.
Check out my other posts on Russia:
St. Petersburg’s The Hermitage Museum
But the other girl, shed some more light on it. Her first answer was the most enlightening.
“There are about 10 million more women than men in Russia.”
I can’t verify these numbers exactly, but did find some articles that support it. From a Daily Beast article explaining why Russian women were so fed up with Russian men was pretty shocking and enlightening:
The litany of complaints that Russian ladies have against their male counterparts is long: They smoke too much and drink too much. They cheat shamelessly and curse freely. They expect their girlfriends and wives to clean for them, cook for them, and to look like models. More seriously, they are often violent and feel threatened by independent, high-earning women.
The dating prospects are so grim, in fact, that Russian women are consciously deciding to stay single. Moscow alone boasts more than 3 million single women between the ages of 25 and 50, out of a population of 11.1 million (that’s three times the number of single Muscovite men). In Russia as a whole, there are 11 million more women than men, due in part to a century of bloody revolutions, gulags, and wars that drained the country’s male population. Add to that the fact that male life expectancy is particularly grim in Russia—on average, 59 years, as opposed to a woman’s 73 years, the largest gap of any country in the world—and you’ve got a serious demographic imbalance.
So these women are not just hoping for a boyfriend like when we were young, but they are on the desperate hunt for a husband and the odds are very much against them. No wonder so many Russian women often try to find husbands in the U.S. – there just aren’t enough guys here. My new friend also reiterated that the local ‘pool’ wasn’t so great with about 20-30% of the population of alcoholics.
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See my other Russia posts:
- Things to do in St Petersburg, Russia
- The St Petersburg Metro
- The Hermitage
- Where to eat in St Petersburg
- W Hotel St Petersburg Review
*This was a very non-scientific study and I only spoke to a handful of people.
I noticed this too when I was in Russia. It’s not my style at all but I do admire a woman who can climb a mountain on heels and totally outwalk me (me definitely not on heels).
Русские женщины всегда красивы, ухожены и накрашены вовсе не потому, что на каждом углу мужиков себе ищут, а потому, что она вообще много успевает за день. И домашние дела сделать, и денег заработать и за собой смотреть. А пьющие и курящие- это отголосок американской культуры в России, ну и плохого правительства. Совершенно не объективный отзыв. Вы просто нам завидуете.
The same statistics gave rise to Art Deco fashion- after the war were fewer men, and you had to glitter like a Christmas tree to attract the attention of what remained.
I can’t believe that this is the reason why most of Russian women always dress nice or provocative to attract potential lovers who can be their future husband.
It’s hard to put ourselves in their shoes, but of course, I did a very, very small poll. 🙂
This is absolutely incorrect
bravo
BS. Russian women don’t think day and night about statistics. They dress nicely because they LIKE to be beautiful. Success in seeking for husband is just side effect. why is this simple thought is so hard to grasp for americans I dunno.
I totally agree with you.All women need to feel good about themselves. And you start my looking good.
I agree, It’s annoying that taking an interest in your appearance and dressing up the way those women are styled is being questioned and their motives are being analyzed. I don’t personally like all the outfits I saw in the photos, they didnt even look that out there or that sexy, but I appreciate a person living life and dressing their body instead of going through 52 weeks every year looking mostly like a reanimated corpse, with no effort or care into their appearance.
As a Russian woman who is happily married to an American man there are a few things I want to mention. All complains about Russian men are correct: they expect a woman to do everything, earn money while also looking like a model. I even dated a few Russian men here in the USA before I vowed to never date or be married to a Russian. So yes in part I think women in Russia are dressing more sexy because there are just more competition and less men. But I think it is also a cultural thing, women in Russia just love to look beautiful and the fashion is more dressy. I always get comments that I always look nice/have great fashion sense. But I also do like the fact that I don’t have to dress up every time I go to a supermarket here in the USA.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Olga!
It’s nice to hear your first hand experience. And for sure, Russian women can look beautiful!
I noticed the major difference of nearly always dressing up and in a more ‘sexy’ way even during the day…more than many Americans do. So I was curious as to the cultural differences or other reasons for this. Thanks again for reading and commenting!
As a Russian man l could say l don’t like high heels! And not only l. And not it only. But it’s really a stereotype in Russia. Women think, they have to wear it. I do think as well a main reason is the early mentioned disbalance. Your article is faithful and relevant. Thank you for that.
Thanks! Good to know. Tell your women friends so they can wear more comfortable shoes! 😀 I really can’t wear high heels. Painful!
From a midwest American viewpoint, Russian women and Japanese women do dress more feminine than a typical midwest American woman. Especially the fact of some Russian and Japanese women wearing high heels, even in winter. That’s definitely too much. haha!
I think “sexy” dressing, depends completely from what culture, country or region you’re from. From an American mid-west viewpoint, wearing heels and dressing up seems like you’re trying too hard to get attention. Most people in the mid-west just wear yoga pants or jogging pants everywhere. No one ever dresses up unless they’re going to a fancy dinner or something(if you’re lucky). People I know who visit the midwest from Los Angeles or New York City are pretty much horrified by how lazy people are in the midwest when it comes to dressing up. lol.
From another perspective, if a religious muslim woman came to America, they might possibly think the same thing about Americans though! Oh those Americans dress too sexy! -why do they dare show off their hair and face?! Are American women so desperate to find a man that they need to show so much face and hair?
And not to mention, if you’ve ever been to Miami Florida, EVERYBODY there is trying to show off their hot bodies -bikinis and short shorts everywhere you go! We could ask the same question, why do these particular American women in Miami dress so sexy -showing off their skinny tanned bodies? By your logic, do we then also assume they are desperate to find a man?
You should check out Brazilian and Argentine women btw, they make Russian women look modest in comparison. lol.
Hi Annie! Thanks so much for your comment. It definitely is a matter of perspective and cultural upbringing. As I said in my post, it was a very unscientific study, but just my observations of Russian women in my travels over the years. That being said, it’s all generalizations because I live in the Midwest and I would not agree that ‘most people’ wear yoga pants and no one ever dresses up. I never wear yoga pants out unless i’m on my way to/from exercising and most of my friends here in Chicago dress up to some degree to go out (and not just for fancy dinner). But that also could be a city vs smaller town thing.
To me, russian women simply look more feminine than american women. This isn’t only an issue of dressing. They have softer faces and voices. (Same with asian women). Eastern european women are in general more feminine than american women and so this difference (that also exists in various countries other than Russia) can not be explained by lack of men. The difference could be biological – one study found that eastern european women are exposed to less prenatal testosterone, which in turn causes more feminine behavior, while the opposite is the case in western countries, and so it causes masculinization in american women.
In other words american women are more man-like, and eastern women are more female like.
I tend to not agree with generalizations. 🙂 There are many American women that are very feminine and have soft voices. As I’m sure there are some Eastern EU women that have more hard faces and can be seen as more masculine. The stereotype is that Russian women smile less and therefore look less happy than American women. But culturally, Americans do smile more. Either way, there is no exact rule. 🙂
Lisa,
thanks for your thoughts. But for me it looks strange that you do not agree with the generalizations about American women but you do make your own general assumptions about Russian women… How can this be? Have you had a talk with different Russian girls? Did you find many who want to marry asap? Russia faces the same issue as the whole world, women and men enjoy their lives and are not eager to marry early and sometimes at all…
I completely agree with Passr by, you generalize Russian women but disagree to generalize American.
As a fact, Russians are more feminine and like to dress up. Or good fitting clothes bother you more than nonstop yoga pants in US?
You should had collected more data before making such criticising article! Shame. Not professional.
I can totally agree with the women who says that she just dresses that way and never thought about it. I mean I also dress nicely, of course I don’t wear short dresses. I mean I also like 2 dress nicely,but people think I always try to look better than them. But in reality it’s not the case. Some senior girls in high school said,”Oh look at her, always dolled up.” One of my friend heard it and told me.I felt so bad. I dont think it’s a bad thing to look good. Well I dress nicely and that’s how I have been dressing without thinking to look better than others.
Same with me too, don’t worry about those haters, they wish they had conviction like you to put yourself together and dress up. Keep it up girl!
Great Post!
it is very well written and the content was incredible.Are you a Russian??
I grew up in Germany , and in this culture ,you dressed up in public. Living in the. U.S. I still dress up to go to the Grocery store, etc. etc. It feels nice to look nice, dressing up only for myself. And I noticed Woman smile back more often.
Thanks for your comment Andrea! I find that women in the US are so diverse that some dress up a lot (sometimes more in the bigger cities) and some stay much more casual. As an american, I vary too, but NEVER wear pajamas out in public like I’ve seen some do!
Hello,
This is great post and i love the way you describe about Russian fashion.
Thanks for sharing with us
I hope that you do not mind that I summarize some of this information for my upcoming blog post “Russian Women versus Brazilian Women”.
It is self-explanatory that Russian ladies are dressing provocatively for male attention and more self-esteem. But, they can attract the wrong men or worse – human traffickers. If I am one of them, I would take photos of my sexy but appropriate looks, join an international dating website or agency, and submit them. Therefore, I can attract the right man from another country.
This is so arrogant to make conclusions that Russian women are in a desperate search for men and that is why dress so feminine. It looks like an excuse for ourselves, we do not need high heels, because we are not men hunters…
Disappointing!
I really enjoyed this article. But in the end what is the main point? While there is a varying opinion on appearance, ultimately we all would have to agree, (both men and women) that if all of us take a little more time caring for our appearance the world would be a prettier place! I look back in the 50’s when men wore suits and fidoras and women wore stockings and heels daily. Where did they find the time? It only takes a few more minutes to dress better and they didnt have technology back then tick tocking there life away. I am always more attracted to a sensual looking woman than someone to lazy to get out of her pajamas. In the end, I would have to say that Russian women should set the standard of fashionable sexuality. Men go for women who take care of themselves and show it. It tells men that if they take care of themselves then they can take care of there relationship as well. A sensual beautifully dressed woman will win every time. The rest of the women in the world need only catch up to that concept.
“Why did I often come across Russian tourists posing against monuments as if they were making their own playmate calendar?” – funny! And why do they like to pose among flowers??
I’m a Russian woman who’s an exchange student in America right now. For me what you call “dolling up” is a normal clothing. It might look provocative to you, because I think American society culturally might still have this puritan Christian touch to it. At least I was so shocked to see so many churches in the rural town where I currently live. And I definitely don’t care and never cared whether Russian patriarchal misogynistic homophobic men approve whether I wear heels or sneakers. I wear a pink fluffy dress or Adidas pants and t-shirt when I go to supermarket in Russia with the same pride and confidence!
Hi Lana,
Thank you for your comment and firsthand insight! I do agree with you…American society still can be puritanical. I find it so perplexing–we can be progressive and ahead of the times in many ways and then not so much in others. But as is more and more apparent, “Americans” are not one monolithic type of people since we have such different views and backgrounds. I appreciate your attitude. 🙂
Here in Russia we also have big fascination and much discussion as to “Why is American women’s clothing too slovenly to even work on a communal farm?” (American men clothing also slovenly, but we do not make much discussion of this as we assume they are wealthy enough to dress as slob and still attract breeding mates.)
We sent interviewers, at great expense, to several Wal-Mart’s through-out the U.S.&A to interview managers, checkout workers, and shepards herding shopping carts from enormous car parks.
Our researchers have eliminated a number of possible factors, such as while there are enormous quantities of highly desirable potential mates strolling the Wal-Mart isles, and an over abundance of junk foods in the same isles, these factors alone do not account for women’s state of distressed dress.
Ultimately, we have concluded that like American attitude to math education, these people just don’t give a …