The Evolution of Women’s Clothing

1042 Words3 Pages

“For as long as men and women have been wearing clothing, there has been a hierarchy based on garments. The clearest example arose when the sexes were segregated into skirts and pants: women would only wear dresses (a symbol of submission) and men would only wear trousers (proof of domination). Women’s clothing was created to impede and hamper movement (through tight or many layered skirts), while men enjoyed the ease and comfort of pant legs.” (Meza, Echazarreta) Women’s fashion throughout the ages can be used to trace the history of equality between men and women. As women achieved greater independence, they claimed the right to choose what they wore, and that included women being able to wear pants. There are three things that were instrumental in making it socially acceptable for women to wear pants, they include: the invention of the bicycle, WWII, and influential women.
How Things Were
Early 19th century clothing for women was designed for style and beauty, sadly, this left practicality, safety and comfort completely out of the picture. Corsets, which were worn to slim the waist and lift the chest, presented many serious health concerns for women. These vices that women wore on their bodies increased their blood pressure and made breathing very difficult. Fainting was so commonplace that a fainting couch was designed and present in most households Prolonged wearing of corsets weakened back and stomach muscles to the point that some women, who had worn corsets for many years, struggled to hold themselves upright without them. If cinched to tightly, they had the power to bruise the internal organs and push them out of alignment, causing sever health issues. (Berkowe)
The skirts women wore were not much better. They wore lo...

... middle of paper ...

...and independent.

Works Cited

1. Meza, Jessica, and Acacia Echazarreta. "A Brief History of Skirts and Pants." A Brief History of Skirts and Pants. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

2. Berkowe, Heather. "What Are the Dangers of Old Fashioned Corsets? | EHow." EHow. Demand Media, 02 Apr. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

3. Adam. "A Tale of Two Tragedies ~ Invisible Paris." A Tale of Two Tragedies ~ Invisible Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

4. Van Alten, Mary. "Weeklysilence Just Another WordPress.com Site." Weeklysilence. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

5. "Do Clothes Make the Woman." Haute Doll. Jones Publishing Inc., May 2013. Web.

6. Hammond, Colleen. "Dressing with Dignity - History of Women's Fashion Industry - How to Fight Sexual Revolution and Immodesty in Dress!" N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

7. Macy, Sue. "The Devil's Advance Agent." N.p., Oct. 2011. Web.

Show More
Related

  • What Does Celie's Pants Mean

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Back in Celie’s time women putting on a pair of pants was a paramount statement. The pants are also her source of economic success. Page 146: "Well,

    Read More

  • Civil War Fashion for Ladies

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Victorian Fashion refers to the styles and clothing worn before and during the Civil War era of the United States, 1860-1900. This era was filled with a very difficult way of dressing oneself and to deviate from this line of dress was unheard of, and worthy of being outcaste. Victorian women’s clothing was layers, heavy, and barely manageable to even wear. Many different articles made up the full garment such as the undergarments, the skirt, top, shoes, accessories, and even the hair. How did women ready themselves for the day in this era and how did they deal with all the cumbersome attire?

    Read More

  • Fashion In The 1800s Research Paper

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, there were many things that influenced fashion and the ideal body image of the time. Things such as politics, and changes in social roles were some things that had an influence on the fashion of the day. One particular shocking thing that had influenced on the fashion around the 1800s were sickness and diseases. Not only were diseases and sickness caused by different fashion trends, but it set the tone for certain ideal body images and also influenced the fashion of the time.

    Read More

  • Women Fashion During 1920-1950

    2484 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, the role of working-class women became a burden to what one would call British National Identity. As one can note from Deborah Valenze’s book The First Industrial Woman, women who began to work in order to support their families were seen as a masculine because they would dress showing more skin. The new evolving identity of working class women became criticized not only by men but also by women of higher economic status. This would eventually lead to the first feminist wave in Britain from 1848 through 1920. This new wave in Britain was a reaction to the way working women had been put down by British society in the earlier period of the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the ‘gentle lady’ of the Victorian Age became unacceptable, the role that domesticity was the right role to be played by women became a critique. The suffrage movement in many ways led women to embrace a new form of ‘masculinity’ in clothing. The working class woman’s ‘masculinity’ became one to be praised. One can begin to see this at the end of First Feminist wave in the 1920s when the flapper style became the new fashion. Society in Britain had become one of man v. woman, and women retaliated through fashion by adapting masculine style clothing to cover their curvaceous figures. Nevertheless, the Second World War’s impact on society brought with it a new ideology of Britain v. the outside enemy, which brought a revitalization of traditional women roles illustrated by the clothing. The following is an analysis on women’s clothing post the First World War and through the Second World War.

    Read More

  • During the 1960s: Women's Right Movement

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the mid 1960s more and more women started to look like men (maga 103). Although the trousers suit for women was launched, people suspected that some of the inspiration of the way women started dressing came from father down the ...

    Read More

  • The Hippie and Other Movements in The 1970s

    1962 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...d women’s fashion to break free from convention. Bras and corsets were seen as symbols of oppression and conformity. They were discarded by many women as many new fads appeared,(). Women also exhibited their newfound freedom by wearing traditional male clothing such as baggy trousers, men's jackets, vests, over-sized shirts, ties and hats.

    Read More

  • Civil War Clothing Dbq

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clothing for women was custom-made although women’s clothing “developed more slowly.” (Source 1) Women accepted ready-made clothing because it was more affordable. Instead of going to general stores, they used catalogs to look for more “modern and fashionable”

    Read More

  • A 1920s Woman

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    Peacock, John. The Chronicle of Western Fashion: From Ancient times to the Present Day. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991. Print.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wood, Ann Douglas. "'The Fashionable Diseases': Women's Complaints and Their Treatment in Nineteenth-Century America." Women and Health in America. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, Ltd., 1984.

    Read More

  • Female Breasts

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    The "Brothers of the Brasserie." http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/support_files/author.html Winston, Elisabeth. A.S.A. & C.S.A. The History of Corsets. http://home.earthlink.net/isibastel/corset.html Yalom, Marilyn. a.

    Read More

  • 18th and 19th Century Shoes and Fashion

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    The 18th century fashion for men and women was influenced by the royal court and Puritans. Women’s fashion was very elegant and colorful, more so than the men’s fashion. The shoes worn by the women of the 18th century were made of silks and satin. They were decorated in laces and had a square or round shape. They also began to wear shoes of different and vibrant colors with higher heels. A majority of the time their shoes were not shown because of their extravagant skirts and petticoats. Lace was a stylish detail to women’s fashion during that time. They wore lace gloves and their petticoats were trimmed in lace. Men wore knee high boots that were either high-heeled or flat along with their knee length trousers. Their shoes were often neutral colors dark brown, light ...

    Read More

  • Renaissance Influence on Modern Day Fashion

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lawson, David "History Of Renaissance Clothing - How Today's Fashion Is Affected." 6 Jul. 2011 EzineArticles.com. 16 Nov. 2011

    Read More

  • Crinoline Caged Skirt

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    The specific garment in that I have chosen to discuss throughout my essay is the crinoline skirt that has been popular at various times since the mid nineteenth century. The crinoline skirt conjures up the idea that the woman wearing it (or her wealthy father or husband) can afford all the fabric that it requires. The crinoline skirt is a stiffened or structured

    Read More

  • Treatment of Women in Ancient Literature

    2408 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tertullian. “Chapter1. Modesty in Apparel Becoming to Women, in Memory of the Introduction of Sin into the World Through a Woman.” On the Apparel of Women. Trans. S. Thelwall. Ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Vol. 4. Buffalo,NY: Christian Literature, 1885. Print.

    Read More

  • Fashion History

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.

    Read More

More about The Evolution of Women’s Clothing

Open Document