By Alison Kass Requirements for a Degree in Writing Journalism and

40 Pages·2011·1.05 MB·English

by  Alison Genevieve Kass

The 20th Century of American Fashion: 1900 – 2000
By Alison Kass
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for a
Degree in Writing
Journalism and Freelance
10 May 2011
Professor Anne Witkavitch WRT 465
Abstract
This thesis project is a collection of articles that discuss American fashion
during the 20th century. The articles are grouped by decade, starting in the year
1900 and finishing in the year 2000; with a double-decade piece for the beginning
of the century. Fashion is an ever-changing, growing entity that connects with
every person in the United States; some embrace it while others ignore it, yet
fashion has a place in the American society that is constant. Through world wars
and depressions, fashion takes on revolutionary hardships and transforms itself
accordingly, becoming selections of style that fit every occasion, taste, and social
standard. What happens in society is demonstrated in fashion. Coco Chanel
quoted, “fashion is always of the time in which you live.” These articles
correspond to and represent that.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
1
1900-1920s: The Beginning of Fashion in the 20th Century
5
1930s: The Great Depression and Hollywood Glamour
10
1940s: Women’s Workwear
13
1950s: Retro Beauty for Housewives and Pin-ups
17
1960s: A Fashion Revolution
20
1970s: Funky Style
24
1980s: The Edge of Fashion
27
1990-2000s: Fashion Goes Modern
31
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The 20th Century of American Fashion: 1900 - 2000
Introduction
Fashion designer Coco Chanel said, “Fashion is not something that exists
in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion had to do with ideas,
the way we live, what is happening” (“Famous Women and Beauty,” 2010).
Coco Chanel’s quote is as pertinent today as it was back in the 1950s
when she said it. Many see fashion as just frivolous clothing for anorexic-thin
models, but fashion is also for the everyday woman with a discretionary income.
The bottom line is that women want to look and feel good—the two are
synonymous with one another. Chanel’s message resonates deeper than a classic
suit jacket. Fashion is a part of who we are, the way we live, and the times we
exist in—Chanel’s idea of fashion tied into ideas is a classic concept that spans
decades. Fashion is not only defined by what we wear, but also how we carry
ourselves. Those two things combined; clothing and attitude are what make up a
personal style.
Fashions and styles in America have changed dramatically over the
decades in the past century. Fashion itself is an ever-changing collection of
styles that suit different people and different times. Fashion can be viewed as an
expressive art, with the human body as its canvas, and as a representation of
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one’s class, career, imagination, and mood. But all fashions go in and out of
style, which is evident in the vast changes seen in American clothing. There are
many fads, yet other styles remain classics—clothing that sat in a woman’s
closet in the 1950s, and remains in the wardrobes of women today.
There are many factors that dictate which fashions come in and out of
style in the United States. Many styles in the new millennium are inspired by the
trends in past decades, and the trends in those decades were connected to what
was going on in the country at that time. Crises in America profoundly affect
what people wear, what they buy, and what they desire. The Great Depression in
the ‘30s and early ‘40s heavily impacted what Americans bought and wore as
clothing. Once people had to fight to feed their families, fashion became an
unnecessary luxury, and was seemingly unimportant compared to other things in
daily life. Fashion fell by the wayside for a few years during this time, but never
vanished completely, because the lack of style actually then became the style of
the time. New York City both mourns the 9/11 attacks and celebrates Fashion
Week within the same block; half the crowd is dressed in structured black while
the other sports Spring’s new lines of flowing silhouettes in pastel colors. This
observable fact is an example of how fashion is part of life practices in the United
States.
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Once identified, fashion begins to change. This statement corresponds to
the cultural, social, and psychological effects fashion has on the American people.
As displayed in the articles ahead, styles come into fashion, catch on to the
masses, and only stay for a short time until they dissipate when the next new, big
thing comes along. The changes in fashion are motivated by culture and events,
which in turn affect people socially and psychologically. Different styles embody
different states of mind and events; the woman in white at a wedding is always
the bride, as a white dress is culturally viewed as a fresh and innocent look, and as
a new beginning. Conversely, at funerals and memorial services, the room is filled
with people wearing all black outfits; this style represents the depressed or dark
feelings people are having at the event.
Fashion can be used as a synonym for glamour, style, and beauty. But
more than any of these things, fashion should be seen as an expression. Every one
is exposed to fashion every day, and every single person’s fashion differs
somehow from another’s. Even those who do not give any thought to what they
wear, or having a style, make choices in clothing that depict themselves as a
person, and represent their character on a daily basis. The self-expression that
comes from style allows people to be whoever they want to be. Fashion allows a
person to change who they are based on their look. It is that expression that can
boost self esteem, and allow the discovery of how one wants to present
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themselves to the world as an individual. Fashion is an ever-changing, always
growing, celebration of diversity in America.
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1900-1920: The Beginning of Fashion in the 20th Century
Figures 1-2; 1900 Corsets
Figures 3-4; Flappers
In the beginning of the 20th century, women in America began to embrace
their personal styles. Before the 1900s, styles in America were very modest, and
clothing was only used for cover from the elements. The 1900s marked the slow
movement of fashion from simple body coverings to more defined silhouettes for
women.
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In the early 1900s, fashion was beginning to change into commerce. In the
meantime, most women still wore full cover dresses that showed little to no skin.
The attire was formal and very ladylike, with lace and ribbons, and big feathery
hats. Women often changed their outfits several times a day depending on
occasions in order to maintain proper etiquette. Underneath those frilly, full-cover
dresses were tight fitting corsets.
Corsets were underwear garments with long laces that were pulled and tied
until a woman’s body was held in a tightly defined silhouette. Corsets were
uncomfortable and meant to control how a woman moved and stood. If too tightly
laced, which they often were, it restricted eating and breathing (Steele, 2001).
No matter what type of garment, women’s clothing in the early 1900s was
designed to show off a woman’s tightly corseted torso. Such tight fitting clothes
required the perfect fit; many women went to dressmakers to be measured for
their custom dresses. The most famous custom dressmakers of the time were the
Tirocchi sisters. The sisters carefully constructed garments using dress forms built
to their client’s exact measurements; they first made the lining, which was given
to the client to try on to make sure it fit properly. After that step, the dressmakers
then sewed the more costly fabrics around the lining, draping satin or velvet to
form the skirt, and create a bodice using net, lace, and beaded trim (“Fashion in
the 1900s). A girdle or belt held the waistline together.
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Between 1910 and 1920, fashion began to loosen up. French designers like
Paul Poiret looked to the French Empire for inspiration. He began designing
dresses for an un-corseted figure, using loose, elegant draping. The clothes
possessed softer lines and fell over a woman’s curves rather than forcing their
bodies to conform to their clothing, as previous designers had done. By 1910,
women began throwing away their corset undergarments. Poiret claimed that his
dresses instigated the demise of the corset, but the truth is that many before him
had already taken the first steps to eliminating corsets in their fashions. There had
been a movement since the mid-19th century to abolish corsets (Steele, 2001). The
trend towards looser gowns crossed the Atlantic to the United States, where
American women adopted the new style. However, conservative women still hung
on to their corsets for a few more years.
When the World War I began in 1914, the couture business suffered a loss
in business. Poiret and other designers were called into the military and forced to
close their couture houses. Wartime prevented trade between France and the
United States, so clientele in the couture business disappeared (“Fashion History
Costume Trends and Eras,” 2009).
As male designers were off defending France, a young female designer
came of age. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was a pioneering fashion designer whose
modernist philosophy and simple yet elegant design style helped her to become
the most important figure in fashion in the 20th century. She began making hats
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