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Changes in fashion over the years
How fashion developed throughout ww2 essay
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Introduction
Throughout the 1920's to the 1950's, women's clothing in America was affected by World War II, which led to the exploration of different styles, the encounter of different trends and styles, and the exchange of ideas and designs. Women’s Fashion has affected history in many ways. Women’s fashion would not be where it is today without history affecting it in the ways it did. Clothing through time has significantly changed. There are many reasons for this. Women had to deal with hardships such as wars where there was limited supplies of fabrics, needles, and thread. These are just a few of the many hardships women have faced with their clothing.
Historical Context There were two large events that changed fashion for women forever.
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It had the same effects, but in some cases it was even worse. Women had to be very creative with fabrics and designs. This allowed new designs and styles to be formed. They had to borrow men’s clothing and tailor it to fit them properly. This is why women had a masculine look to their clothing during the time of the war. They could not find clothes very easily. Simple outfits were very popular because of the very scarce amount of fabrics, thread, and needles. They also made clothing that could be used in any time of the year because of the scare amounts of materials. A change that will forever affect women’s fashion occurred in the 1940’s around the time of World War II. It was then acceptable that women wore pants. They usually wore their husbands pants to work and they saved their dresses for special occasions. They also created the “Swing Dress”. This allowed enough room for women to do the popular dance, the “Jitterbug”. (“1940’s Women’s Fashion”) (“The Best Selection of Vintage Clothing, Jewelry, and Accessories …show more content…
One of them is women’s fashion today. Women gained freedom back then which gives women freedom today. They gained this freedom by being brave and exploring new ideas. There wasn’t always a good outcome but sometimes there was. These outcomes are the reasons for many of our freedoms today. Pants were never acceptable for women to wear but they are today. Women gained freedom which is one of the many long term effects. Women used to have to wear stockings and a dress as a bathing suit. One woman got arrested because she was not wearing the proper attire. Today, women have much more freedom with their bathing suits and rarely get arrested for them. (“Arrested for Bathing Suits”) (“Women in
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,
in Cleve 1). Flappers believed that they were not seen as pretty when dressing restrictively and they finally wanted to dress for themselves. The style change was seen as a terrible thing for society back then, but they would never know what kind of effect it had on the future. Modern day style has been shaped around the Flappers in a way. Nowadays, women are always wearing short skirts or somewhat revealing clothing.
The 1920’s was a period of extremely economic growth and personal wealth. America was a striving nation and the American people had the potential to access products never manufactured before. Automobile were being made on an assembly line and were priced so that not just the rich had access to these vehicles, as well as, payment plans were made which gave the American people to purchase over time if they couldn't pay it all up front. Women during the First World War went to work in place of the men who went off to fight. When the men return the women did not give up their positions in the work force. Women being giving the responsibility outside the home gave them a more independent mindset, including the change of women's wardrobe, mainly in the shortening of their skirts.
New fashions were surfacing in both men’s and women’s fashions. Men were wearing Bermuda pants, baggy pants that were cut off at the knee, while women were wearing capris, tight pants that cut off just below the knee. Men were wearing tailored jackets and making a slight move towards the casual dress of today’s workplace. Women were wearing natural shoulders as opposed to the heavily padded ones of the war years. Flat, neck-hugging collars replaced the mannish collars of the late 1940’s. Waists were tightly fitted and skirts were long (Melinkoff 46). The jeans of the time were often lined with plaid flanel and dungarees were worn to the most casual occasions. The sandals of the fifties were not much different than the sandals of today.
Through the drastic changes in the fashion industry, to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote, women’s status in society increased as they became an important role in society. The change in the fashion industry spread not only in the United States in the 1920’s but also throughout the world.
Revolutionary fashions made it acceptable to show more skin, develop different styles, and able for women to express themselves. Women began to liberate themselves from the traditional long hairstyles and turn to the new and short masculine hairdos. “The bob appeared in the US shortly…Women with bobs needed more frequent haircuts, and wanted permanent waves” (Monet). Women began to cut their hair shorter, cringing their hair, and finger waving it. Although many women saw it as outrageous and boyish, many people today have cut their hair the same way and even shorter. It wasn’t permissible for a woman to display her body. Skirts were to be covering their legs all the way down to their ankles. If the skirt d...
...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.
If we didn’t have fashion then a lot of people wouldn’t have jobs because there are a whole bunch of fashion designers out there, also all of the celebrities wouldn’t have name brand clothing because there would be no way to make them because we wouldn’t have designers. Fashion of the 1920’s played a very big role in today’s fashion. Including the material our clothing is made out of also the styles of clothing we wear. Many things women wear today first came from fashion in the 1920's. Flappers, shoe styles, and accessories are a few things that we wear today have came from. Many celebrities still wear some things that people wore in the 1920's including flappers. Have you ever wondered what the amazing fashion of the 1920's was like?
Uniforms led the way in clothing change. The bright blue-and-red prewar French infantry uniforms had been changed after the first few months of the war, since they made those wore them into excellent targets for machine guns. Women's skirts rose above the ankle permanently and women became more of a part of society than ever. They undertook a variety of jobs previously held by men. They are now a part of clerical, secretarial work, and te! aching.
Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...
The overall idea of what a women should wear was extremely unpractible, causing women intense sickness and immobility due to things like “tight garters” and “corseted waists” (Riegl 176). Women could not wear loose, practical, comfortable clothes like mens fashion, but were confined to a life of solitude in their own clothing. Women’s fashion created a very large and unneeded burden (Riegl 176). Women felt violated that this uncomfortable and unhealthy way of life was being forced upon them. Eventually women got fed up by these Fashions and a sense of rebellion was triggered in many women. They finally felt they had to do something about the unfair treatment that took too large of a toll on their lives (Riegl 176)
Fashion has always been a representation of the current social values of any given time. These representations were seen when women began entering the workforce, where the fashion changed to accommodate their new environment. With new social values and technological developments in the 1950's, it was expected that fashion trends would change as well. The 1950’s era saw significant changes in the social values held at the time as well as large amounts of technological advancement with the introduction of advanced machinery and world-wide trade.
The ladies had one unique and beautiful style that emerged during this time period and that was the flapper style (Sessions) . Outfits changed with ladies’ changing parts in the advanced society, especially inside the possibility of flexibility for ladies. The outfit a flapper wore usually consisted of a black dress, with a dropped waist and was fringed. They had lots of beadings and sequins that would really help them stand out in a crowd.
The changing of women’s clothes reflected the idea of freedom for women. Fashion designers created a new style of dresses with fabric colors, textures and patterns. The famous fashion designer, Coco Chanel introduced the idea
As for the daily wear, many women wore knee length dresses with a simple print that had half sleeves and a loose top (Baughman). To accessorize, women would wear long or short gloves, big hats, and sheer nylons (Johnson and Baker). In the time of the Great