Women Years Ago Vs. Women Today

“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”.

For the longest time, women’s role in society was very narrow and set in stone. Women weren’t given the chance to decide life for their own, and there was a very sharp distinction of gender roles. Women were viewed as inferior, weak, and dependant. They were expected to be responsible for the family and maintainance of the house. But as the 19th century began, so did a drastic change in society. Women started voicing their opinions and seeking change. Trying to break away from this ideology called “cult of domesticity” was a lengthy, burdensome, and demanding struggle.

Without this cultural and social change to society in the 1950’s and 60’s, a woman’s world today would be very different than what we currently know it as.

After World War I ended in 1918, the United States became a world superpower with a thriving economy. The 1920s was a time of prosperity, symbolized by technological advances, consumerism, and leisure. Along with this affluence, came a movement towards modern values, and as people migrated to large northern cities, these modern values became concentrated in urban areas. As a result, an enormous cultural shift took place that greatly altered the lives of Americans, including women. Women experienced significant political, social, and cultural change beginning in the 1920s, a decade which came to be known as the “Roaring Twenties.”

The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women.

The women of the 1920’s were first introduced to society as a generation that spent most of their time cleaning, cooking, and nurturing their children. However, as the “Roaring 20s” came to impact the

One of the most iconic changes that occured in the 1920s was the change in women's wardrobes and lifestyle. Before the 1920s, the traditional woman’s

In the 1920s, America began to experience a lot of modernization with the era of prohibition, lively spirited flappers, and a clash between science and religion. Just after World War I, Americans had to make the hard transition from farm life, to work in the cities. Life in the cities was very different from the small life in small towns. With many immigrants in America, city life offered Americans change socially with its tolerance with drinking, gambling and dating life. Just after World War I, prohibition to manufacture, sell, and transport alcohol took place because of the Eighteenth Amendment.

The 1920s had changed women forever because they were finally given the right to vote. A young woman during the Roaring Twenties consisted of the iconic flapper which included more provocative clothing styles while smoking and drinking. A young woman now had more freedom and challenged the traditional ways that her mother’s generation grew up in. In comparison to her mother’s generation, there was a dramatic increase of the number of women who left the home and began to work, receive a college degree and learned how to drive. Women could now vote and took men’s jobs while they were away at war. Society changed to allow women’s lives to change because of the economic progress, wages increased and social

Not only was race an issue, gender started to play a role in society as well. What had been a predominantly white, male enclave was poised to become a mixed-gender workplace as young women were recruited into the labor force in ever increasing numbers. In the 1920’s women accounted for more than 50% of all textile workers; in clothing more 90%; in tobacco more than 80%; and in paper manufacturing and printing almost 45% of the workforce. Women’s wages were low alike the African Americans. When money became scarce, purchasing clothes was out of the question. Dresses began to be made from chicken feed bags. This had an effect on gender because women had been living in lavish for a decade and they were now forced to make use of every item that had, although, their resourcefulness was much to their benefit.

Modern women in the 1920s behaved quite differently than their mothers. They took jobs outside the home, many moved from the South to find work in the North. They had new clothing that reflected the rebellion against traditional female roles. The “new women” in the twenties had the right to vote. The “'new woman”, including the young Flappers, embraced new fashions, personal freedom and new ideas that challenged the traditional role of women.

Typical dresses worn by women in 1930’s “were tube-shaped, sleek, fitting closely through the torso and lacking billows or pleats in the skirt” . In contrast with the loose-waisted dresses that were popular in 1920’s, in the following decade, women accentuated their attires with a belt. Later in the 1930’s, following ladies’ longing for a smaller waist, the corset reappeared. Another quite important feature of a typical thirties dress was a print. Because of a difficult financial situation, women rather refrained from buying dresses with an elegant tailoring, or some embellishments, and therefore a printed dress was a perfect way for not looking too simple.

A reoccurring feature in 20th century fashion was how the shape of the female body looked. Trying to find different, innovative ways of manipulating and displaying the curvature of the body. Between 1900 and about 1907 has become an extension of the late 19th century for fashion. Women were still wearing constraining, tightly laced, whalebone corsets to exaggerate the shape of the female torso as it was very admirable to have a well-rounded figure.

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).

France in the 18th witnessed a huge modification in the aesthetic standard in dress for women, whether in terms of material, style and appearance (Rothstein, 1999: 2). French fashion had successively experienced several distinctive stages. For instance, Rococo (luxury court-style showing femininity, slimness and mannerism) was in stark contrast to the Baroque (characteristic with dignity and elegance). However, since the 1870s, the Enlightenment and the French Evolution had exerted a profound effect on the women’s dress in France. In this way, this essay intends to review the development of women’s dress and draw a contrast with the English dress within the same era.