There were certain aspects of the USSR that Julius couldn't quite grasp.
One of them was undoubtedly Soviet fashion. The difference from German style was so stark that he eventually gave up trying to blend in. When he wasn't in his formal researcher attire, he simply dressed plainly.
Anything more felt like it risked looking too flashy, too ridiculous, or worse, too suspicious.
They walked through the shopping mall's department center. Julius scanned each aisle with the same analytical eye he used in the lab.
He had asked Sergei to accompany him because, according to his own words, his fashion sense was nonexistent. Of course, that wasn't exactly true. Back in Germany, he was the trendsetter.
Just recently, his style had become the standard for half of Berlin's upper-class men. But here, in Moscow, none of that mattered.
Sergei picked up a long grey trench coat and slapped it against Julius's chest.
