1920s Fashion - the roaring twenties.
After World War 1, fashion
became more prominent and it started to become more important to the society
and how people lived. After the war the stock market was on a high increase and
certain fabrics became more known and popular for certain garments.
The new fabrics consisted of natural
fabrics such as cotton and wool and silk was also highly popular as it created
a rich and luxurious feel and look to the clothing to make them stand out and
differentiate the classes between richer and poorer. The silk was used not only
to make garments look more expensive but it was used as comfort because during
the war, women were entering the work force and wearing uncomfortable clothing
so designers felt like women deserved more luxurious clothing and fabrics.
Rayon was also used frequently as it was cheaper at the time for undergarments
and was comfortable. Many garments consisted of fastenings such as buttons, lace,
metal hook and eyes and zips.
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The clothing and fashions changed as
women’s roles in society changed and people became more aware of the new ideas
of fashion. The tubular dress evolved into similar silhouettes that introduced
shorter skirts with pleats, gathers and slits to allow movement. The
straight-line chemise (blouse) was added to a tighter fitting cloche hat, which
was worn as a uniform. Women’s hairstyles became increasingly popular as they
all began to have it very short ‘bobbed’ cut to fit under the hats they were
wearing. Low-waisted dresses with a fullness at the hemline allowed women to
move more freely and be more comfortable as well as looking fashionable.
The boyish figure became more
prominent after the war as women were exposed to clothing that hid their
figures for the working industry. They believed in flatter chested women to
show no form of the figure, as they believe it should never be seen. Women’s
rights were seriously strongly affected, as well as the fashions. The corset
was discarded, as it was tight fitting and confining and was replaced by the
chemise or a camisole and then bloomers to hide the figure but try to look more
fashionable and stylish. During the mid – 1920s, all in-one lingerie became
popular as it was easier to manage and cheaper as well as fashionable at the
time.

For the first time in years, women’s
legs were seen with hemlines risings to the knee and the dresses became more
fitted to show the female figure and form. A more masculine look became quite
popular, which linked to the boyish figure, which included flattened breasts
and hips and a short bob hair cut. This was to hide the female form as politics
made them have an active role within the society. The fashion was very
forthcoming for this decade and continued to change.
Coco Chanel was the first woman to
wear trousers and cut her hair short and completely discard the corset, which
people found was very brave for this time period as corsets were seen as the
main fashion item. Chanel was one of the most influential woman within the
fashion industry and the design world of the 20th century as she
believed in women’s freedom and rights whether they had active roles in the
society or not. She believed women should feel comfortable to chic in what
clothing they wear and how they display themselves.
A new French fashion designer, Jean
Patou came on the scene by making a two-piece jumper and a skirt in luxurious
wool jersey and had an instant hit with his dresses and sports suits. Women in
general became a fan of his work and believed that this was the way forward for
the fashion industry.
By the end of the 1920s, the ever-popular
Elsa Schiaparelli stepped into the limelight to represent a younger generation.
For this she combined the new idea of classic design from the Greeks and Romans
with a modern feel for freedom and movement. Schiaparelli said that the ancient
Greek’s gave their goddesses the fabulous appearance of freedom. She produced
evening gowns, which were very elegant with simplicity. She forgot about the
chemise and her clothing became an awareness of the body underneath the elegant
evening gown.
14/11/12 - information