Word history - Assignment Example

Fashion Changes during World War 2 The Second World War brought significant changes in human’s life especially the Americans.Some of these changes were trivial while others were profound. One of the striking changes involved was fashion. The fashion change was caused by the transformation that occurred in gender roles. More American men would leave their homes to serve in military between 1941 and 1945. Therefore, women carried on with their men’s work where they started taking up civilian jobs.

They would work in factories, government organizations, power plants, military auxiliaries and laboratories which transformed their way of dressing (Kratz web). This paper discusses fashion changes during the World War Two.In 1940, the general style that women adopted looked like U.S military uniforms in a big way. The color and the cut of the clothes they wore on the home front always resembled what soldiers wore while fighting in the Pacific and European theaters. The blouses and jackets they wore were more masculine and militarized with shoulder pads.

The hats similarly resembled U.S Army berets (Wolfe web). During war time, women took up more labor-intensive works like flying military aircraft, working in shipyards, and driving truck. These works highly influenced how they wore as safety and practicality would take over their glamour and femininity. The popularity of “Rosie the Riveter” meant that headscarf and slacks would become more stylish. The working class women dressed in silk pants for khaki jackets and blue jeans and high-heeled shoes.

They also wore wraparound dresses with less adornments and their hair was pinned back to avoid it from getting caught by machineries (Monet web).With time, women’s clothing had to go with the rationing of certain materials used for military purposes. Silk and wool were in high demand for parachutes and uniforms, therefore, most civilians had to wear clothes made from rayon instead. To ensure that fabric was conserved, the manufacturers and dress makers started designing slimmer silhouettes and shorter skirts.

Nylon would be available for civilian use only. Stockings disappeared shortly and women went barelegged. Within a period of four years, many women had joined workforce (Monet web). They demonstrated a lot of good skills, determination and patriotism and this undeniably impacted the fashion world.Olmec and ChavinThe people of Chavin first established the dominant civilization from 900 BCE and 200 BCE while Olmec’s people established the civilization in the centuries before 1200 BCE and declined around 400 BCE.

These two societies established the first civilization in America between 1200 to 250 BCE. Apart from the other activities that these two societies practiced, they both had adopted complex religion, which led to the establishment of the dominant civilization. For example, Olmec society used temple mounds, jaguars and many gods for their religion rituals while Chavin had many artifacts relating to religious ceremonies (Katz 78).These two societies had various unique aspects that differentiated them from other communities.

These aspects include the adoption of complex religions ceremonies, development of many culturally and religious things, adoption of music which influenced civilization for both societies and their arts almost resembled each other. Some of the aspects that were adopted by virtually all subsequent societies in Central America and South America include art and design, agriculture, music and trading.Yes, these two societies influenced extend into North America. This is because, for over thousands of years, America’s population continued to grow and spread throughout the hemisphere.

This hemisphere was characterized with environments that had tropical rain forests, frozen regions, woodlands, prairies, deserts, as well as high mountains. In addition, the hemisphere was made up of two societies that were characterized with impressive cultural traditions. These two societies are Olmec and Chavin. Hence, the two societies transformed the environments. For example, they provided economic platforms for the construction of urban centers that would be devoted to religious purposes and housing of elite members.

Additionally, they led to construction of large-scale irrigation and drainage works. They also led to development of urbanization and trade to greater stratification (Bulliet 36). Thus, North America continued to extend. Works CitedBulliet, Richard W., et al. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History, Brief Edition, Volume I: To 1550: A Global History. Vol. 1. Cengage Learning, 2008.Katz, Friedrich. The ancient American civilizations. Praeger, 1972. Kratz, Jessie. Shorter Skirts and Shoulder Pads: How World War II Changed Women’s Fashion. 2014. Retrieved from http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?p=13749.Monet, Dolores.

Fashion History – Design Trends of the 1940’s. 2012. Retrieved from http://doloresmonet.hubpages.com/hub/Fashion-History-Design-Trends-of-the-1040s.Wolfe, David. WWII Fashion. Patriotism, Pin-Ups and Paper Dolls.2008. Retrieved from http://paperdollywood.com/articles/wwii_fashion.html