"People Dress So Brightly Here!": Social Distinctions through Clothing in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk

Abstract

As sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has shown, social classes arise in drawing boundaries, and social identities are defined and asserted through difference. This article examines distinctions expressed through practices of consumption in the domain of clothing, and the pertinent experience of pleasure or disappointment, as articulated by inhabitants of St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk, in interviews conducted with them in 2009-2012. The study explores distinctions related to age, class, gender, and also place of residence.