Earlier 19th-Century Fashion Styles and Their Cultural and Historical Significance at the Time - Essay Example

Earlier 19th century fashion styles and their cultural and historical significance at the time The 19th century witnesseda large number of social reforms touching all spheres of life ranging from democracy, education, slavery, and women’s rights. Replacing the traditional view of using dress and ornaments to indicate social and gender class, the industrial revolution and social changes in the 19th century introduced concepts of individual freedom, easiness, and health. A look into the portraits of fashionable people shows that the definition of beauty has changed from time to time. It is easy to understand this difference if one compares a beautiful woman of the present day with Mary Stuart; the queen of Scotland during 1542. As Lynch and Strauss point out, it becomes evident from history that the concept of beauty is not set by women but by the mainstream society and also that the mainstream society redefines the same from time to time. In other words, it can be said that the evolution in society and social thought is well expressed in fashion too (12). To begin with, in the ancient times, the most important factor of consideration while selecting a partner was health. While men had to engage in hunting in order to support their families, women had to be able to meet birth needs. That means, in the ancient times when survival was of utmost concern and the sick had little chance of survival, large muscles made a man beautiful and wide hips and large breasts made a woman attractive. As Hyland states, until the social economic development of Greece during the fifth century B.C, there was no clear concept of beauty. However, as painting and sculpture developed, beauty was attributed to certain essential features (45). To illustrate, Plato considered beauty as a result of symmetry and harmony which creates a golden proportion. The ideal face had to have a width which is two-thirds of its length. In addition to this attraction towards symmetry, in the Greek and Roman culture, one can see an affinity towards blond hair. However, one can see that during the Middle Ages, woman had to face a lot of hardships in the name of fashion. To illustrate, in Europe, the period saw woman as predators who posed a carnal challenge, and this situation was created mainly by religion. So, women were restrained from even wearing jewelry, and this restraint almost solely came from clerics. As a result, married women had to conceal their hair in order to avoid arousing desires in others; though virgins were allowed to expose their hair. However, blond hair was something to be frightened as it directly meant an invitation to carnal pleasure which meant sin. As a result, blonde women started blackening their hair with lye. However, the renaissance period witnessed a rebellion against the restrictions imposed by religion. It was followed by the effort to seek pleasure in imagination. Thus, the Renaissance is marked by an increased obsession towards nudity; especially breast. Following this, as Cruz points out, the fashion period including the first two decades of the nineteenth century witnessed the final effort in detaching style from aristocracy and religion (65). Thus, brocades, lace and periwig were abandoned in order to make dressing more of an individual expression than of an effort to exhibit ones social status. Thus, the changes that took place in fashion in the first half of the nineteenth century allowed people to show individual public identities which allowed others to look into their individual private selves. To illustrate, according to Aaslestad, fashion embodied new social values and emerged as the primary area of contradiction between tradition and change (283). This is very evident in the changes that took place in the dressing of women. Skirt and jacket style appeared for the first time, and this new, practical and tactful outfit reminds one of the modern working women. Similarly, the traditional tightly laced corsets that usually presented women with various ailments and a lot of discomfort were abandoned. Instead, the new outfit was marked by natural figure and high waists. In addition, the new styles were often thin; allowing the public to view the body underneath the clothing. That means, after a very long time, dressing was struggling away from the clutches of religion. This return to natural figure and comfort often resulted in the exposition of previously forbidden body parts like breasts. Thus, one can say that there was a visible change in the styles of both men and women and that this change was in fact ignited by the changes in the philosophical and social ideals. Until then, there was nothing named ‘individual-self’. To illustrate, until then, the purpose of dressing was to hide ones individual-self and to present oneself as very similar to, and equal to, others in the community. For this purpose, everyone resorted to wearing same or similar clothing. On the other hand, the new change of ideals introduced the concept of individuality. Thus, under the new regime, the style was ‘natural’ which allowed others to see ones individual self through the outer clothing (Kesselman, 498). Also, the new clothing incorporated the concept of ease and comfort. As a result, the cropped dresses allowed more hygiene and more freedom to move. Another important move is the declining boundaries between the dress code of males and females. To illustrate, the tailored waistcoats and jackets were worn by both males and females. Thus, both males and females were dressing up with only practicality as the prime concern. Admittedly, this was not the situation in the earlier centuries. Though renaissance period tried to promote nudity, women were widely criticized if they revealed shoulders or ankles. However, by the first half of the nineteenth century, it was common for women to expose their bare bosom and shoulders. That means the new changes introduced practicality, individuality, and gender equality (Steele, 67) . At this juncture, it seems useful to look into the use of corsets throughout history. It seems that the early 19th century was the only period when corsets were rejected in favor of other undergarments. According to Steele, corsets are the most controversial garments of all the time in human history. The scholar points out that the attire has been a symbol of male dominance and female torture. Over centuries, females were forced to use corsets in the name of social status, self-discipline, youth, and beauty. However, as time passed and as all traditionalist views were questioned, the use of corsets also underwent revolution. Instead of such corsets that insisted on equal body proportions in all females by subjecting female body to a lot of hardships, cropped dresses appeared that allowed females a lot of freedom of movement. In addition, female body parts including breasts and shoulders were revealed in the new style. That meant a new realization and appreciation of individual body and mind. Admittedly, a look into the America history of fashion proves that the early 19th century fashion movement was divided into two categories. On the one hand were people like Charles Worth who strongly supported radically contorted body cuts. On the other hand were people from the industrial ‘Grand Denial’ movement who believed that what the other group produced was shameful and ostentatious. So, the latter advocated for worker-friendly clothing that is free from dyes. At this point, it is necessary to point out the role of certain feminists in the Dress Reform Movement of the century. One of them was Amelia Bloomer who publicized the movement around the US during 1940s and 1950s. As Andersen points out, in contradiction with the traditional attire that restricted the freedom of movement, Bloomer introduced a new costume with a shortened upper layer of traditional dress followed by a below-the-knee skirt and finally Turkish-style pants. In fact, this new style did not reveal any more female body than the traditional outfit did but it gained the wrath of traditionalists for adopting the trouser shape. In addition, during the Dress Reform Movement, many women’s organizations started experimenting with simplified dress and abandoned corsets. Also, they resorted to wearing shortened skirts and even trousers. However, there were various classes of thought even within this movement led by feminists. While some argued that fashion should also be taken into account while dealing with dress, some thought fashion was an entirely different arena and decided not to ridicule fashion. In fact, women’s clothing up to the nineteenth century was a symbol of the lives of women at that time. They were forced to wear corsets with tight laces, and this symbolized their lack of freedom in the society to express themselves. Despite the changes, even the second half of the nineteenth century saw many women wearing the traditional attire in a slightly different form. However, the changes that took place in the century were rather powerful and for the first time in history, women found the freedom to wear what they loved free from the influences of religion and society. However, it becomes necessary to look into the other side of the issue before summing up. To illustrate, though it is claimed that the traditional attire restricted female movement and imposed male superiority, a thorough scrutiny proves that females too have an active role in setting their own style. For example, the females who struggled hard to come out of the traditional tight-laced corsets are not eagerly jumping into slimming packages and dietary regimes which are more harmful than the corsets are. Thus, in total, it becomes evident that until the early 19th century, religion and the male-dominated society had a role in deciding fashion and style. However, the period thereafter admits individual liberty and freedom. In this new era, one is free to wear what one loves. However, it becomes evident that females are still after such regimes which have a negative impact on their health and lives though they take decisions independently. Works Cited Aaslestad, Katherine, B. “Sitten und Mode: Fashion, gender, and public identities in Hamburg at the turn of the nineteenth century”. In gender in transition; Discourse and Practice in German-speaking Europe, 1750-1830. (Eds. Glexiner and Gray). University of Michigan Press, 2006. Print. Cruz, Jesus. The rise of middle-class culture in nineteenth-century Spain. US: LSU Press, 2012. Print. Hyland, Drew A. Plato and the question of beauty. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008. Print. Kurt Andersen. “ You say you want a devolution?” Vanity Fair, (January 2012). Web 17 April 2012< http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/01/prisoners-of-style-201201> Kesselman, Amy. “The freedom suit: feminism and Dress Reform in the United States, 1848-1875”. Gender and Society. 5: 4 (1991), 498. Lynch, Annette and Strauss, Mitchell. Changing Fashion: A Critical Introduction to Trend Analysis and Meaning Dress, Body, Culture. Oxford: Berg, 2007. Print. Steele, Valerie. The Corset: a cultural history,. Yale University Press, 2003. Print. Read More