Progressive Era Clothing

From newspaper articles in 1964 announcing the London Look, to an article by Mary Quant in Vogue in 1966 and an article at the end of the decade that declared the return of Paris Power, young people in the U.S. had the opportunity to read and examine British contributions to fashion and make decisions about whether to adopt or not. The 1960s in the United States was a turbulent time –a decade of political and social upheaval. The youth quake of British styles helped to set a new energetic pace for America and a means to deal with the turmoil. College campuses in the U.S. were often the place of change and acceptance of new ideas and thus a place to study 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

Dress reform has played an integral part of the women’s movement, health reform and political agendas. This paper will explore the time period of 1850 to 1930 in the United States of America concerning dress reform for women. It is important to explore this topic because the eighty year span marks a time of rapid change for women concerning health, leisure, independence, political and gender constraints and liberties. A description of the social forces must be discussed in order to have a distinct grasp of the reform movement. Next, the problems caused by fashion will reveal why there was a strong reform movement for dress and

“In any era, fashion is a reflection of the time and what is going on in the culture politically, socially and economically.”1 The 1920’s witnessed a variety of dramatic changes for women; these changes, such as shorter dresses and stronger attitudes occurred primarily after World War I in spite of the prolonged development of women 's’ rights through 1914 and 1920. With their new hair, fashion styles, and attitudes, women had started what became known as the “Flapper Era”.

Fashion reflects the attitudes of a society more than any other art form. Like art, fashion is a material record of the ideals that swayed the nations at the time of their creation. Through examining the styles, and tastes of a particular era, we can realize where the interests and priorities of a time lie. As Frank Parsons wrote in his 1920 study, The Psychology of Dress, "There is surly no better field in which to trace the devious paths of human thought than in that of clothes, where man has ever given free play to self expression, in a way which, thought not always a credit to his intelligence, is yet quite true to his innermost self, whether he will acknowledge it or

When Europeans first settled in America, there were many obstacles along the way. There was a struggle for survival and fortunately, the natives were present to help by teaching the Europeans how to grow crops, fish, and hunt. Farming allowed for the introduction of foreign crops such as corn, potatoes, and beans into their diets which improved their health and extended their life. The gathering of nuts and berries also became a part of their diet. Hunting and fishing eventually became a way of life for some Europeans and led to competition for forest resources with natives. Climate differences caused the European clothing to experience minimal change with clothing commonly used by the Indians being incorporated into the European style due to its practicality. Men began wearing moccasins, leggings, and hunting shirts for comfort as well as a form of stating cultural mobility but overall the style didn’t stick. Transport was also an issue in the beginning but was soon addressed by Indian snowshoes, canoes, and toboggans, which aided Europeans when it came to transporting manufactured products and people as well as infiltrating further into the country. The architecture was only slightly modified with Europeans

Sauro, Clare. "Flappers." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 88-89. World History in Context. Web. 16 Nov.

Today, Native Americans are facing a rising challenge in cultural appropriation as their cultural practices are exploited by the dominant groups. Their traditional items are misrepresented in a disrespectful and wrongful way. Fashion is undeniably the area where cultural appropriation takes place most frequently (Holloway, 2016), and it has been taking place since the 1800s (Bazylinski, 2013). As a result, it will be relevant to examine more deeply at the cultural appropriation of the Native Americans by the American fashion industries today. This essay will describe the misrepresentation of Native Americans’ traditional items by the fashion industry, looking more closely into the problem, namely the causes and implications of inappropriate representation of the Native Americans’ items. It will then present a judgement on the current solution as well as suggesting a possible solution that can more effectively tackle the consequences of cultural appropriation in the fashion industry.

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

Kate Haulman 's The Politics of Fashion in Eighteenth-Century America presents the multi-faceted part of design in late pilgrim and early American governmental issues. She shows how changes in design both reflected and helped make importance and pressure with respect to "sexual orientation relations, social request, and political power" (3). The combined impact of her talk of design is that the peruser sees that eighteenth-century American life was much more challenged and liquid than it may appear at the outset in light of the fact that form offered such a variety of chances for critique and feedback. Individuals ' day by day engagement with style empowered them to make importance, make articulations, and challenge or maintain qualifications between classes, sexes, and political gatherings.

The 1920’s fashion was a period of liberation, change, and even more importantly a movement towards the modern era. Fashion in the 1920’s varied throughout the decade but one could see the noticeable change from the previous fashion statements and eras. At the start of the decade, women began emancipating themselves from the constricting fashions by wearing more comfortable apparel. As women gained more rights and World War I forced them to become more independent, flappers came to be, mass-produced garments became available, and artistic movements increased in popularity, one can see how the fashions from the roaring twenties characterized the time and redefined womanhood. (1920s clothing 1)

In today's society we focus on clothing more than we focus on our country’s problems. We have fashion shows for popular brands while companies fork over millions of dollars on a piece of clothing that the average citizen will not wear. In the 1930’s, the fashion industry was much different. In today's society it's normal to wear baggy sweatpants with a hoodie and still look “appropriate.” Fashion was all about elegance in the 1930’s. Men and women had very different but similar styles in clothing from our society today. Some of the brands from this time still exist to this day, and some of their most popular products are still worn in our society.

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.

Women had to do jobs involving hard labour and working in factories that required practical clothing, which resulted in shorter skirts and tailored suits with much freedom of movement, and at this point their hair became shorter as well. This rise through the work place for women is suggested to be directly related to the change in fashion. In 1918 when women gained the right to vote, fashion evolved even more in the 1920’s with The Flapper look. (Illustration 7)

The Years between the 1950’s and 1960’s was an explosive time in fashion. The 50’s represented an out coming of the new generation. People began to gain their own personal style and appearance, influenced by films and singers (“Vintage Fashion”). Their styles incorporated leather, jeans, corduroy, and the ballet shoes for the girls. Men’s wear began to drastically change. Men would wear a leather jacket, with jeans that narrowed at the bottom, and a simple t-shirt (Peacock 210-211). This was the first time in history that jeans were not just worn by the working class but by all men (“Brief History”). The man’s lust for flesh grew during this time, so women’s skirts began to get shorter and the bikini was invented. Clothes were made to glorify the female body and emphasize every curve. It wasn’t until the Barbie doll was created in the late 50’s that young girls began to have a separate fashion from their mothers. Young girls would wear sweaters with full skirts or pants