15 October 2009

Grit (and then some)

Irkutsk - 075

I couldn’t leave Moscow (or Russia in general, for that matter) without making mention to the most striking and impressive aspect of Russian society - the tough, gritty, “mess with me and I will break you” women. If there is one positive thing to be said about Communism, it is that it yields a culture of absolute equity between the sexes. Everyone goes to school, everyone is literate and everyone can shove you out of their way en route to the supermarket, the metro or just because they feel like. The different with women, however, is that they do all of these things while looking AMAZING.

St Petersburg - 157

There is only one dress code - absolutely put together. While hairstyles range from the fabulous to the mullet-tastic, overcoats are always form-fitting, jeans are always painted on and high heels are always obscenely tall. This final piece is the most impressive part of the ensemble. I have never seen high heels like the high heels in Russia. At moments I found myself standing their frozen staring at this woman practically performing a circus act balanced on black pleather toothpick heels. So then, to all those ladies out there, I salute you! May your ankles stay strong and your calves permanently flexed.

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Kyle Taylor

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