An Twentieth Century Overview of Fashions Transient Trends - Essay Example

An Twentieth Century Overview of Fashion's Transient Trends The corset is an enduring symbol of the quest to mold oneself after the fashionable image of the day. The cherished notion of the eighteen-inch waist was the ideal at the turn of the century. However, prior to the 19th century and early 20th century use of the corset, plump women were considered beautiful. An overview of the changing standards of fashion in the twentieth century provides an example of the how a woman's ideal of beauty in a particular generation is connected to the changing trends in fashion and the need for constant change. "Basically until the turn of the century, there was a definite preference for plumpness of women in Western civilization. You can see it in the art, where you're pretty hard-pressed to find an image of a thin woman," says Laura Fraser. (42) That began to change between 1900 and 1920, "when it was possible for the first time for peopleto have enough to eat that the status symbol flipped. Once seen as a sign of health and prosperity to be fat - now there was an elitism to being thin." According to Alexis Gregory (38-49), in the early 1900's women's dress was sturdy, heavy, and rigid, a reflection of the Edwardian period of dress, and the silhouette was that of an hour glass, now that being plump was unfashionable. Female bodies were stuffed into a miniscule waist, and then padded in other areas such as the bosom and buttocks. The effect was that of a waspish figure. This hourglass shape became more of an "S" curve when longer lined "health" corsets became fashionable. They supported the spine and abdomen, but it made the fashionable woman look as if she was always leaning forward. As always, historical upheaval creates change in all sectors of society, including fashion. World War I being an important event in the "teens," fashion suddenly became much more practical to accommodate other needs. The Great War (1914 to 1918) changed people's lives in many ways. Men went to war and women were left at home to do the jobs formerly performed by men. Women's shoes and clothing needed to be more practical so they could move freely and perform job duties. Women's clothing imitated a man's clothing as they were taking on a more masculine role. (Barker, 133) Events like the women's suffrage movement caused fashion to take on a new dimension. The corseted waist abandoned, the hobble skirt that imitated "harem" skirts of the Middle East became fashionable. Paul Poiret, a popular designer of the time, is credited with this fashion movement leaning toward Eastern influence. However, taking very tiny steps also became immensely popular, presumably to exaggerate the fact that a woman's stride is shorter than a man's. Some skirts were so narrow that it was nearly impossible to move. For concern over splitting the skirt, women sometimes wore a length of cord to keep their legs from moving too much. After the War in 1918 the Suffragettes won the right to vote in the United Kingdom, and the same happened in America in 1920. Fashion continued to be more casual throughout the 1920's. After the war, the values of the older generation that had created the war were questioned and discredited. The culture became enamored with youth, American culture in particular. Fashion looked toward the younger crowd for inspiration. The "College Man" and "The Flapper" were the new icons of fashion, young and strong and smart. What was the effect on women They began dieting to achieve the teenage shape of a young girl-flatter, thinner, and with long waistlines to hide adult curves. Brasseries were created to flatten breasts with the appearance of immaturity. "In the 1920s, stylish women put their breasts under cover, with constricting devices like the one from the Boyish Form Brassiere Company of New York, guaranteed to 'give you that boy-like flat appearance.'" (Henig, 1) How did the Great Depression affect women's fashion The fashionable dress of the day reflects a determination to grow up, to do penance for the frivolous time spent in youthful abandon during the twenties. As soon as the great Stock Market Crash of 1929 crumbled the US economy, fashion took a more conservative turn. Women's hemlines dropped back down to mid calf length for day time wear and full length for evening fashions. Waistlines moved back up to the waist to accentuate the feminine curves again. Adult female attributes were once more celebrated. As the war had brought balance to the wildly swinging pendulum, once more, widespread hardship had a sobering effect on the extremes of fashion.(Young, 225) Bias cut gowns were first made popular in the late 1920's by Madeline Vionnet, who used them to make clinging gowns that were ultra feminine in nature.(Allen, 156) Women chose to look more genteel in appearance. Small round busts and miniature waistlines were again seen and women permed their hair to achieve a soft and pretty look. Clothes were feminine and gentle, tidy and neat during the day and evening wear had a genteel glamour to it. Most glamourous clothes were kept for evening wear, unlike the trend in former decades, because the trend was turning toward women needing more practical clothing during the day. In 1936 when Edward VIII abdicated his right to the throne to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson, Mrs. Simpson became an example for style to other women. She wore many designer garments and had an extensive collection of designer jewelry. Her famous saying, " a woman can never be too rich or too thin" was a statement of the times, but by saying that, she also reinforced to other women that the pursuit to be thin is an endless pursuit never to be abandoned. (Allen, 299) One interesting thing to note is that in the midst of the new freedom of movement clothing trend, Chanel and Mainbocher looked into new designs incorporating a full skirt and wasp waist once more, but it was a futile attempt at enticing women back to that fashion. It wasn't until women had forgotten what that fashion was really like that Dior was able to introduce the wasp waist as "The New Look" in New York in 1947. When war broke out in Europe in 1939, fashion designers had to conform to the shortages and rationing created by the war. The shortages directly influenced fashion in many ways. Material was scarce and had to be rationed, necessitating styles using less fabric. Leather and rubber rations influenced shoe makers to make different kinds of shoes of wood and cork. (Baker, 44) Women's clothing went through the most changes in this era. Suddenly, bias cutting became very unpatriotic as it was a waste of a large amount of fabric. "Make Do And Mend," something the lower working classes had always done, was the same advice given to everyone. Women and girls were encouraged to don pants for work convenience and for warmth. Fashion was dictated by government guidelines in pattern or to ration fabric use.(48) During the Second World War even Paris designed clothing to match the restrained atmosphere. Drab dress and uniformity continued well after the war finished in 1945. Once considered a necessity, fripperies of fashion were now thought to be in very bad taste and unpatriotic. Style was simplified. The silhouette was now unadorned with straight lines. Clothes were also more practical for work situations. (52) During the 1950's Britain transitioned from the deprivation of the 1940's to the prosperity of the 1960's. For the first time, the fashionable age was no longer thirty and forty, with young girls dressing exactly like their mothers. The teenagers became a new fashion symbol and their voice started a new consumer driven market. Fashion history was never the same after this decade. Fashion for women returned with great strength. The two silhouettes of the 1950's are the full skirt and the pencil slim tubular skirt, which both required a narrow waist. The knitted sweater dress made popular by Marks and Spencer was warm and when Britain was still not centrally heated, it was a smart choice in fashionable wear. In 1947 Christian Dior's timing gave him a new name in fashion. Responding to the longing women had for feminine, frivolous clothing and their desire to put away the military like clothing of the last century, Dior used shocking amounts of fabric, ten yards a dress and even up to eighty yards in later styles. (Palmer, 72) Life magazine was the one who dubbed his style, "The New Look." Dior's fashion held its ground for about ten years and seems to be one of the influencing factors that ushered in the livelier sixties period, directed by the younger generation. The sack dress, initially by Hubert Givenchy, designed for a Paris collection in 1957, continued the trend for comfortable attractive clothing that was easy to live and work in. It started the trend for a straighter waist that really caught on in 1958 and was adopted by Mary Quant, who modified it slightly. Her later adaptation of the style into the mini shift dress dominated the 1960's decade. Another favorite style of the times was the trapeze dress, a swinging dress with a triangular shape. It was eventually adapted to a short "baby doll" look of the 1960's as well. Bouffant hairstyles and low shoes completed the look of the trapeze dress. Similarly, the empire line dress was adored by the younger generation as it looked more like a child's dress, and looking "grownup" was the worst fashion statement of the times. (Palmer, 105) By the end of the 50s, however, the elaborate beehive had become the sophisticated woman's choice. 30,000 hair salons had opened in Britain. Hairstyles became bigger and bigger, beehives of enormous height, until they reached ridiculous proportions and smoothed down into the intricately coiled hairstyles of the 1960s. (Palmer, 210) The hairstyle trends of the 1950s and 1960s are an example of women pursuing a fashion ideal to its extreme before turning around and pursuing the opposite extreme. "Twiggy" was the ideal woman of the 1960's, with little girl androgynous looks for women. Waif like features, a very thin frame, and baby doll woman looks slowly replaced remnants of the look of the sophisticate woman from the 1950s. However, remnants of 50s fashion hung around for another half decade into the 60s. The short skirt, an icon of the 1960's, started with early 60s long straight skirts with pleats called "kick pleats," invented to accommodate the twist dance obsession which required the legs to move freely. Pencil skirts and straight sweater dresses in wool or acrylic were belted in. (Olien, 25) It was not until 1966 that Mary Quant was offering her short waist mini dresses and skirts that swung 6 or 7 inches above the knee. They became an instant hit in London as young girls seeking to differentiate themselves from the adult set could wear something that only the young could wear well. The Quant designs were simple and neat, youthful and clean cut. They featured innocent white little-girl collars to offset the daring, baring view of the leg. Television first broadcast these short new styles, preparing Britain for the style to come. (Olien, 68) Differentiating oneself from the older set was an important theme. A popular London TV Saturday night programme was "That Was The Week That Was," and the opening lines of the show were, "that was the week that was, it's over let it go" Referring not just to fashion, but to an attitude toward the older generation's morals, values, and lifestyles, this attitude ushered in the revolutionary values in fashion and lifestyle that were to come in the following decade. In this case, an attitude toward the older generation that had started the war influenced later styles that sought to differentiate the young from the older generation. (Jennnings, 54) The 1970's became the decade of choice, in fashion as in other ways. Microskirts, miniskirts and long pants were day time choices. Full length dresses, evening glamour trousers and halter neck catsuits, granny dresses with high frilly necks and lace trim, were all options for the evening. (Thomas, 59) "Who do you want to be today" seemed to be the slogan of the times. The 80's introduced power dressing and shoulder pads so large that they imitated American football players. Designers tried to discard the shoulder pad as its effect became increasingly ridiculous, but as in the case when they tried to drop the mini skirt too soon, the public demanded what they wanted and they wanted more shoulder pads. Women started to cut them out of their own garments by the early 90s in favour of new looks, and then shoulder pads dwindled away altogether. (Wolfe, 198) What else could be expected of a decade that followed a formal one than that it should be a decade of "dressing down" In the 1990's, people embraced comfort dressing as never before, especially as "working at home" became more of an option. The trend was toward striving to achieve individuality, not to conform to prescribed standards. In conclusion, asking whether or not fashion has played a role in shaping a woman's perception of beauty does not accurately describe the delicate tugging dance between women and fashion that occurred during the last century, each directing to the other at different times what the beauty ideal of that generation is. Though the pursuit of fashionable standards often takes women to an extreme, from a historical perspective, this seems to be viewed as part of the fun. Fashion, whether it reveals itself in hats that are designed to look like mutton chops, in tiny waists with bouffant bottoms, in leopard print casual pyjama -looking cocktail apparel, is known to be a satisfying quest for a beauty prize as well as plain, simple fun and an indication that one is a member of the stylish elite. Most constant in the face of women's fashion is the desire for change and innovation, as each generation seeks to define themselves in a way unique from the previous one. 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