Coco Chanel Revolutionised Fashion

Women’s fashion was a social controversy in the 1920’s. This controversy was influenced by women’s clothing, swimwear, hairstyles, makeup, and attitude alone. This attire and new found character traits added a certain attitude and confidence to these women, starting what would eventually be remembered as a revolution.

People may say that the true years of fashion began in the late nineteen forties and went on through the early nineteen sixties. If you look at fashion today, its almost repeated the look from sixty years ago. In each generation fashion trends become based on history and/or important events. in the nineteen forties fashion was being modeled by the military wear. World War II caused a drastic change in the way clothes were being made and worn. In the nineteen fifties Americans admired the fashion of movie stars and music artists. Media had a strong influence on the wordly trend. The people of the sixties expressed there personalities and emotions through

Let’s take a look at the women’s of the 1920’s, the changes that took place in fashion and the roles of women in society. Women’s fashion will be compared from early days up until the 1930’s, with a brief comparison of the roles of women before and after the 1920’s. A discussion of the different avenues that opened up for women after 1920 and the impact that it has had on modern day women will also be covered within this paper. you need a stronger introduction

The Jazz culture inspired multiple dances, such as the Black Bottom and the ever-popular Charleston. These dances required lots of movement leading to a shift in women’s fashion. Women wore less undergarments, went without coresets, and designed dresses that allowed for more freedom of movement. In 1921, Coco Chanel introduced the “drop-waist” dress, which were worn with long strings of glass beads or pearls. By 1925 these dresses resembled the shifts that were worn under the dresses of the early 1900. Evening dress were made up of mesh material, sleeveless, low v-neckline or backless, and sometimes adorned with sequence. These new fashions were advertised in fashion magazines that made their appearance in the 20s, Vouge, The Queen, and the

In this essay I want to examine how the corset evolved from a staple of the British feminine wardrobe of the Nineteenth Century into a symbol of an outmoded tradition – only to later return as a statement of female liberation. I am going to look at different aspects of this development including technological advances, economic facts, external events, particularly the First World War and changes in social, political and aesthetic attitudes. I will also look briefly at the role of Chanel on the silhouette and how this impacted on the corset: focusing on the trend to towards ‘opulent androgyny’ in the 1920’s. Finally I will examine the resurgence of the corset

World War II started which transitioned to a short supply in raw material. By 1943 all woman were almost forced to work since their husbands were at battle. Woman wore what was already in there wardrobe because of how busy they were and how most stores were closed

B. Coco Chanel’s “The Little Black dress” is thought to be element to the world of women’s fashion.

Throughout the 1920s through the 1950s Women’s clothing in America was affected by World War II, which lead to the exploration of different styles, the encounter of new trends and the exchange of ideas and new styles.

The look of the flapper was drastically different from that of the earlier generations of women in the United States. Their hair was cut into a short “bob” and they wore much more make-up than previous women. The hem line of the flapper’s dresses rose to the knee and they began “bounding” their chests and wearing high heels. Along with the rise of the hem line, nude colored stockings were favored over the former black; the flapper also bared her arms; this gave off a much more “naked” look than any previous generations. They did away with the corset and instead adopted the girdle, which simply flattened the abdomen rather than emphasizing the waist. The infamous Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s clothing designs became the epitome of 1920’s style.1

Coco Chanel was one of the most influential fashion designers of the Twentieth Century and she was the first significant female fashion designer. The fashion world was impacted by Chanel’s phoenix like return to fashion after her retirement in 1953. Chanel introduced men and women to practical yet elegant styles. Although Chanel has been deceased for forty-one years her undeniable influence on fashion and women’s roles in society will be remembered for generations to come. Coco Chanel was an iconic designer and continues to inspire men and women around the world.

The 1950s clothing contributed so much to modern-day fashion. The prettier the clothes are, the more beautiful the person is. The main theme for beauty in the 1950s was femininity and refinement. During the 1950s, the runway became an important way of showing fashion. The younger buyers bought the "beat look" with flat pedal pusher shoes and the pumpkin skirt. This shows that younger people in the 1950s bought these types of clothes. Chanel made a come back in the 1950s with her cardigan jacket suits. Chanel is still worn today in the world. Chanel makes the gilt chain quilted leather handbag in 1957. Also, she made the

Fast forward to Chanel’s young adult life, and you can see it wasn’t long off that she would set up shop in Paris, France in 1910, eventually expanding out to Deauville, and then Biarritz. She had started off with designing, and marketing hats which became a very successful hit amongst the fashionistas of that day. Chanel’s empire was growing exponentially, and in 1920 she expanded into the realms of couture now working in jersey which at the time was unheard of in the French fashion circle. Soon she was blurring the lines of what was acceptable, setting fashion trends instead of adhering to the routine, and was giving way to entire style genres such as the “chemise” and the “little boy” look. Her fashion statements were a gigantic contrast to what was socially acceptable, and of course Chanel fell under scrutiny over it, but she went on to create more casual, shorter, and idyllically “liberating” clothing for the day’s modern woman. In essence she was liberating women from the stuffy, confining fashions that they were used to, and giving way to a loose more relaxed style all together while maintaining it’s inherent feminine charm. Chanel was creating more than just a design, or an article of clothing, she was creating a movement that would change the way society viewed fashion in it’s entirety. (Lewis)

It wasn’t until Chanel started to create jackets which not only had the purpose of being worn closed, she created jackets that looked good opened, closed or hanging over the shoulders. She emphasized on this style by making blouses to serve the complete outfit. She was also the creator of the “Little Black Dress”, which was a relatively simple black dress made by elegant materials such as lace, tulle, weightless silk and even embroidery in a new, more tailored way. Chanel is today world known for its high quality designs and has women of the 21th century dependent on its classical style (Rennolds Milbank 120-121).

Another area in which women made changes was with their appearance. Women used their attire and style to show an independence, a certain freedom in which they alone had control. Starting with the “Gibson Girl”, women dressed in long, slim dresses, freeing themselves of the poufy petticoats of yore. Women started wearing shorter dresses and shorter hairstyles, leading to “Flapper Jane”. “Women started wearing “less” clothing, shorter dresses, cutting off their hair, and just being more “sensual” than normal”, (Bliven, 1925).

Coco Chanel, born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France, influenced 1920s fashion greatly through her trademark pieces such as “little black dress” and jersey suits and many more. These key fashion pieces are still very popular in our current day time in women’s fashion. Before Chanel became well known, most women would wear corsets that would leave them feeling stiff to give them more of a hour glass look as well as skirts with long hems that would reach the floor. Chanel went past the social boundaries of most women, and created different and diverse pieces. She disregarded societies idea of