Glass Ceiling Of Business - Glass Ceilings

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” (Fashion Quotes 1) The words once spoken by Henry David Thoreau are politically correct. People often look at Elizabethan‘s choice of fashion and ridicule everything about it from the hair, down to the stockings. As it appears, fashion has always been a broad topic of discussion in the world. Whether it is NY Fashion Week or a Macy’s fashion show, fashion is something that has always been an eye catcher. Fashion has been around for many years, and whether we know it or not, Elizabethan fashion has influenced the way modern fashion is today.

A thorough and broadened knowledge of American clothing’s history opens wide, the opportunity to explore the American identity. Helen Sheumaker’s “American Fashion” discusses the relationship between political values and their influence on different clothing styles. The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History provides insight about how the clothing fashion was indicative of a person’s class. Certain clothing styles distinguished specific communities like the wealthy and the working class yet simultaneously gave a clear distinction of the liberal American style from the proper and trim of the

As this article focused on the change of American culture during World War II, another main point was how the clothing styles changed. In the 1930s, women mainly wore conservative, but stately dresses. After women entered manual factory work, they needed to wear appropriate clothing, such as pants and flat shoes (Hall, Orzada, and Lopez-Gydosh). Because pants did not fit the woman’s picture, clothing companies had to shift to comply with the demand. Due to this, not only did the workforce demographics change, companies and products changed from past

As more American ladies entered the military or took regular citizen employments in industry to bear on the work of men who had gone off to war; ladies needed designs that were less frilly and more suitable for work. They likewise needed apparel styles like the outfits worn by their men. When all is said in done ladies ' apparel got to be uninteresting and viable and limited however most importantly; utilitarian. There was little frill on the first things in light of the fact that beautification obliged extra fabric and materials. However ladies as often as possible connected their frill: like bows and periphery; to emerge in a swarm. Ladies ' shirts and coats embraced the square shaped - square carried look of the military uniform by sewing modest shoulder braces into the

Reimer, we delved into the historical side of things. Being a history teacher herself, it was no surprise that Ms, Reimer was so knowledgeable on the subject — in fact, she gave me more examples than I could possibly use. After careful consideration, we came up with a timeline of specific groups that had used dress to broadcast their identity to the world. First on the list? The Roaring Twenties and the Flapper subculture. The 1920s, says Reimer, were “a party time for everyone. Everyone’s living the high life…there was a sense of rebelliousness.” This rebelliousness was most often personified in the “flapper girl” who, according to a June 1922 article in The Flapper magazine, wore “bobbed hair; powder and rouge on the cheeks; …low cut, sleeveless bodice; absence of a corset; high skirts” (“Announcing Flapper Beauty Contest”). However, this so-called “modern woman,” was more than just her appearance; Journalist H.L. Mencken echoed the sentiments of many when he wrote that the flapper was “foolish…and inclined to revolt against the precepts and admonitions of her elders” (W. Morris and M. Morris 215). Like many people of the time, Mencken reacted negatively to the sudden strength shown by women who had appeared submissive only years

Children’s clothes became more specified as children were viewed as individuals for the first time. The ideal of domesticity drove these changes and gave women more confidence and control over their

In the past, women especially were considered to be “wicked” for the way she would dress if it did not meet the standards of a modest attire. In the early 1900s, the general uniform for women was to wear an S-shaped corset with a bell skirt, along with a front parted hair, but in an up do. Along with the type of clothing, the style and the material played a major factor for others to interpret the women’s wealth or status of their family. The clothes would profile the women by others, and the clothes would determine the type of men that would approach the women. It would be popular when men were looking for suitable brides to marry (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1900-1970/).

Women’s fashion in the Elizabethan era for women with a high status was a very elaborate process. The garments worn were highly expensive, and a main silhouette of the era was the definition of a small waist and large shoulders. Many of the outer clothing had slashes to expose some of the undergarments to show off

In the 1950s women’s fashion varied in all different styles, such as doll-like figure dressed in rustling, full skirts, nipped waist, and narrow-fitting bodice, and comfortable fitting pants. At home women wore aprons, that had frills and were heart-shape topped with pockets. On the other hand, when women went into town they sometimes wore closely fitting suits like a uniform, with high-heeled shoes. Women wore heels because they emphasized the ankle and calf. In addition everything women wore was fragile from the sloping shoulder line and the

Even in the nineteenth century, there was specific fashion trends that women followed. Kirstin Olsen explains that women wore decorative petticoats with ornamental bands as undergarments (164). Sarah Downing mentions that old dresses were even “recycled” as petticoats (18). Daniel Pool notes a frock dress was worn over the petticoat that cinched high under the breasts, creating the illusion of a higher waistline (213). Because frocks

At the end of the 18th century there was one of the most significant events in the history of dress. Men gave up their right to all the bright, more elaborate, and more varied forms of clothing. They left all that to the women. Men abandoned their claim to be considered beautiful. They, instead, aimed at being useful in society.

In the realm of fashion, the attire one wears can broadcast a statement, whether of their political view or general lifestyle. Consequently, throughout history groups in our society are often associated with a typical style of clothing. For instance, in 18th century France the sans-culottes (translated to those “without britches”) were the unruly lower class that would wear, “long trousers…[and] special caps, the same as those worn in ancient Rome by free slaves.” (pg. 81) This is indicative toward their ideals of a well-off government as well as the prospect of liberty. Moreover, they would refuse to sport the knee breeches worn by the wealthy, and was a method of identification, with this distinctive difference between them and the bourgeoisie.

It may have seemed like all the women were on a equal playing field by the end of the 1920’s, but they may not have been. As previously mentioned, women were trying to pass off fake jewelry as real to fit in with the upper crowd. The upper class women were losing their dominance in the fashion world and it was evident they were not happy. Style leagues that would dictate fashion by elected officials began to pop up in New York City. It seemed that if they could not rule fashion by purchasing uncopied frocks, they would create policies and dictate the “in” designs and accessories themselves (“Society Women Form Style League” 64). Taking hold of the industry, the elected officials would “cooperate with manufacturers, designers, fashion artists and women who are socially and professionally ‘chic’” (“Society Women Form Style League” 64). This was without a doubt the official beginning of what we now call the group of women who run behind the name, “fashion police.” As the lower to middle class women climbed the rungs of the fashion ladder, the upper class women were doing all that they could to push the ladder off the

This document is a book with Newspaper articles from London. In the London News article G.K. Chesterton wrote about how he hated the hobble skirt on May 30, 1914. He felt like it restricted the women and was a ridiculous invention. It showed me how men hated some of the fashion choices women liked, hoping to impress the men.

Women realized that corsets, hoops, and straps were crippled women in both physical and emotional health. They decided they needed a “dress” reform and it was urgent. The first and most notorious to get the ball rolling were Amelia Bloomer's foolish invention of , "bloomers." The outfit was made up of a short jacket, a skirt that was just below the knee, and a pair of “bloomers” that gathered around the ankles. The first appearance of a “bloomer girl” was in the streets of Ithaca. The townspeople gasped at the scandalous trousers. This idea of “bloomer girls” soon faded. Common complaints were that women wanted clothes that gave them the same amount of freedom as men those women were “just trying to be men.” ("Clothes for Coupons”.)