This extended essay sets out to prove the extent of the influence that WWII had on women’s wear during that time in canada and the different technological, social, political and economic factors that contributed to it. With the war fashion design was, to a large extent, suspended; the silhouette of the time frozen in place, thus allowing us to understand the war years as a parenthesis in the history and evolution of fashion. There were several factors arising from the war that not only influenced women’s wear in canada at the time, but also conditioned the subsequent fashion evolution. This extended essay aims to examine them. In order to do so, first a brief overlook at women’s wear at the time is necessary. Women’s wear in canada during WWII …show more content…
With the start of the war, fashion design ceased to a large extent, freezing the silhouette of the moment in place, narrow and austere. Although a large scale incorporation of women to work was taking place, brought on by the deployment of men to war, women still dressed mainly with dresses, skirts and suits. However, pants were rapidly gaining popularity as they had to be worn in factories as women were joining the workforce, and before long women were not only wearing them to work, but outside of it. Furthermore, Katherine Hepburn wore them in many of her films, for example, on The Philadelphia Story, helping them become more popular. Fashion was very slowly becoming more androgynous. The short evening dress became very popular, allowing for fewer yards of clothing to be used and at the same time focusing the attention on the shoe. Daytime dresses often had Peter Pan or wide neck collars and were characterized by their padded shoulders, which made them look broader, and the typical A-line skirt, often with belts. Because of the rating of materials, skirts became shorter and hemlines rose. As a whole, styles became leaner and more
“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”.
The 18th century, more precisely between 1715 and 1789, was a significant time period in the fashion sphere for women in France. The time period itself was a mark of great change for the history of France due to various political reasons as well as various art movements and often times fashion, despite being a branch of art, is overlooked by most viewers. However, fashion during this time excelled in France and was essentially the symbol of a new era in this domain; French fashion was now snowballing into something much greater that still echoes to this today. Ultimately, the goal of this essay is to describe women’s fashion during the period of 1715-1789 and the shifts it made through the analytical use of various sources including artwork, literature, museums’ online archives and internet sources.
Before the 1920’s, women’s attire was considered fairly modern. Women would have worn clothing with more of a silhouette than clothing that was loose and flowy. The length of their dresses never revealed more of their leg than just their ankle. Women received bad reputations when showing their knees or even their calfs. Women in the 1920’s also had a different ideal figure than most women do today. The body types women wanted to achieve also transformed into a more feminine look. This look consisted of low bust lines, higher hems lines, and showing off more curves than ever before. These women became unapologetically fearless.
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 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
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
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
Canadian women were being urged to stay at home and support soldiers by manufacturing various goods, because of their fragile and emotional personas. Considering how many men had left Canada to fight in the war, women had to adapt and take on new roles. These new diverse roles crossed many social norms and encompassed a whole variety of industries.
This essay will explore the effects social and political changes had on fashion in the 1980’s. This period was chosen because the new romantic fashions were so different to the punk fashions that had been before, this essay will therefore identify the changes that had taken place to influence this change. Primary evidence used to support findings will include interviews and photographs which will show a firsthand account of the period.
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 1920s was a pivotal era in women’s fashion—an era that saw Prohibition, Jazz and celebration of war’s end. Gone was the hourglass figure of the 19th Century, swept away by the World War I, and replaced by the figure of a modern, independent woman. This book covers fashions from 1920 to 1924, an often overlooked period of fashion which was a time of transition between the draped and layered fashions of the post World War I era and the free and easy gowns of the jazz age flapper.
During WWII, the role of Canadian women in the labour force greatly amended the rise of women, in terms of their struggle to achieve equal status with men in society. The position of women in Canada had always been placed limitations on in order for them to fit with the female stereotypes of the time. When WWII came around, things began to change, and those changes caused differences in the lives of women. In Canada, many women took on nontraditional military positions, dared social stereotypes and turned down traditional roles after the war. This effectively demonstrates how the participation of Canadian women in WWII was one of many crucial steps towards the start of gender equality in Canada.
This time was not just significant for women, but for all of Canada in general. Fads were extremely popular and the idea of what was ‘socially acceptable’ was constantly changing. In the early 1900s, women were held to extremely high expectations, more specifically an unnatural “S” figure1. Some mainstream clothing items were bustles, corsets and frills2. From the late 1900s to the early 1910s, clothing shapes became more natural, including loosened waists.
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
World War II imposed an economic hardship on America—with a major decline in the economy, the only option for survival was to refrain from luxuries. Families sacrificed their nonessentials, with clothing and beauty products being the most difficult for women to eliminate from their lifestyle. However, women made an extraordinary effort to keep fashion and pride in their femininity alive, even if it required endless creativity and thrifty tactics. Women conquered the pressure of the war by taking over the workforce, supporting their families, and looking good while doing it all. Very few expected the fashion industry to indure the utmost devastation that World War II caused, let alone transform