MONDENITATE & CONVENȚIE LA INTERSECȚIA DINTRE EPOCI
THE AESTHETICS OF MONDENITY AND SOCIAL CONVENTION AT THE CROSSROADS OF EPOCHS

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to analyze the significance of certain gestures and behavioral codes that individuals sought to adopt from those who held power capital and who, consequently, were perceived by the broader population as agents of modernization. By promoting a new lifestyle, these elites systematically left their mark on Romanian civility. Whether it involved French fashion – mediated through Russian channels – or, later in the century, the etiquette and protocol of the royal court, the sociability of individuals in this era evolved in relation to what was considered “fashionable.”During this period, a series of cultural gestures emerged, deeply rooted in the desire to construct a desirable public image aligned with the highest standards of Belle Époque society. The aspiration to be associated with the elite, with the so-called prestige group, led citizens – as observed by Constanța Vintilă-Ghițulescu and Nicoleta Roman – to enter a different (symbolic) order of social life. The transformation of dress codes, especially among women and youth, the pursuit of various forms of luxury (sophisticated tailoring, expensive clothing, unique jewelry, holidays in exclusive parts of the country), and the emergence of new forms of leisure (outings to the theatre, dance soirées, and visits to cafés or confectioneries), all contributed to a dislocation between the old world – marked by Phanariot influence – and the new world, defined by royalty and open to European cultural spaces. This shift facilitated the rise of a consumer-oriented individual. This new form of civility unfolded within symbolic spaces that must be examined not only as venues for sociability but also as subversive arenas.

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