HISTORY MATTERS & SO DO YOUR CLOTHES – 100 Years Of Fashion Part 1
Fashion Statement Changes over the Years
Enjoy the song while reading
It’s incredible how much fashion has changed meaning in the past century alone. Of course, the phrase “fashion” refers to the type of style and clothing that is worn by an individual or by society; however, the implications of fashion and being fashionable have vastly evolved over time, particularly between decades. The “flapper” look for women that included the well-renowned cloche hat and the sporty attire of men accompanied by top hats or fedoras that was considered fashionable in the 1920’s would not be seen on the front covers of Vogue or Cosmopolitan today. Even as we simply glance over the signature fashion trends of each individual decade throughout the twentieth century, it is evident that fashion has taken dramatic twists and turns to establish the fashion trends that society has today in 2020. And it doesn’t end there. We can only expect to see more changes the presentation of fashion when we have our own children and grandchildren, observing the manner in which they dress and accessorize, etc.
Dressing like different decades aesthetics as we look at 100 years of fashion trends (1920-2020) ‘Fashion Through The Decades’ is something I’ve tried before, on a lesser scale, but with 2020 upon us I thought it’d be the perfect time to take a look back at trends gone by.
A very Brief History
1910-1919s
1920s: FLAPPER DRESS
1940s: BOILER SUITS
1940s women’s fashion was about creating an hourglass silhouette with masculine details: padded shoulders nipped in high waist tops, and A-line skirts that came down to the knee. This was the everyday shape for clothing, from suits to dresses. Even pants had a similar high waisted, wide leg shape, more details here.
1950s: PEARL JEWELRY
Women of the 1950s were expected to look and dress a certain way and many, for the most part, conformed to this newly established standard of beauty, unlike the fashion-forward, independent flappers of the Roaring 20s. As their husbands returned from war, the American women of the 1950s were expected to focus on their role as homemakers.
1960s: THE AGE OF COUNTERCULTURE
The babydoll dress was seen everywhere during the ’60s. Women wanted to visually express their newfound liberation during the Second Wave of Feminism, and therefore were seeking styles of clothing that weren’t quite as restricting. The high empire waistline combined with the ultra-short hem length that the babydoll dress offered was the ultimate articulation of the modern feminist statement women were looking to make. Celebrities including Twiggy frequently wore this dress style.
Check out ‘Fashion Through The Decades’- Part 2