Cloche hats and two-part suits: flick through the pages of a Soviet women’s magazine from 1928 

You might not expect a Soviet women’s magazine from the 1920s to look quite so bourgeois. But the seventh issue of Zhenskyi Zhurnal (or Women’s Magazine) is full of stylish pleated skirts, cloche hats, and two-part suits. In this Follow of the Week, we spotlight an archival gem selected by @bdb-2000, a Russian blogger specialising in architectural tours and history of Moscow.

Unlike other women’s magazines of the era, such as The Worker Woman (Rabotnitsa) and its local varieties, Zhenskyi Zhurnal does not cover work-related topics as much as family, fashion, and child rearing.

Founded in 1925, the magazine includes seasonal poetry, scientific descriptions of the foetal development, advice on house building, and tips on children’s schedules or diets — which, unlike today’s guidance, includes giving kids coffee.