History 1930’s to 1950’s fashion

1930’s to 1950’s Fashion The fashion of the from the 1930’s to the 1950’s would change fashion forever. The trends and events caused the fashion to be altered in a way that would never go back. The hem lines went up and skin became more exposed every decade. These fashions became the base for many of today’s designers to become inspired. The idea of creating elegant when in a crisis. These fashions were created from the bare minimum and still show ease and grace. Fashion is a way to express one’s self in an outer image.

The great depression caused fashion to fall due to the expense. Many reworked fashions that they already had in to new garments. The fall of the economy made money tight and fashion was still mainly from Paris. The 1930’s styles were inspired by film stars such as ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Theses stars gave an escape to the many suffering.

Nylon was also developed by DuPont. This helped the cost go down on hosiery. Since panty hose before this time was the hose was made of silk which was costly and snagged easily. For the women who could not afford the hosiery they would draw lines up the back of their legs to create the illusion of hose.

The new deal also helped to bring fashion back because people began to feel hope again. The bias cut was invented by Vionnet which is when fabric is cut on a diagonal line. This creates a grain line that helps with draping fabric. The dresses grew longer and shapeless so that clothes can be wore for longer periods and can be handed down to others. The growth of spectator sportswear increased because this was one of the few times to dress up. With the growth of watching sports grew so did the fashion of the crowd. Due to the cost of buying new clothes more were making their clothes at home. Butterick helped with this new way of life by creating a new universal sizing system.(4) So each pattern had the same measurement requirements.

Though fashion was hard to buy during this period because of its high cost many women still expressed themselves though doing their hair and make-up. Many women wore pin-up curls in their hair and wore red lips and dark eye liner during this time. The idea was to bring a lady like elegance to a time that was lacking in old charm. strapless neck lines also became fairly popular during this time for evening wear.(1) Men of the 1930’s were known for their broadened shoulders that were created by shoulder pads.

They also wore loose trousers with a pleated waist that featured cuffed bottoms. these men wore double breasted suits which look very boxy. They are more known for Spectator Sportswear over women.(1) The 1930’s brought many designers into the lime light. Coco Chanel the inventor of the little black dress and the famous suit set. Vionette also made a name for herself during this time.

Madame Gres was known for her master draping that was admired by many. Elsa Schiaparelli worked on spectator sportswear. (1) The 1940’s was filled with World War II this effected fashion tremendously. Rations that were created to help the war efforts. Many materials became scares such as metal, steel, nylon, silk, wool, rivets, buttons, zippers. Because of this fashion was put on hold by creating things that used less of theses materials. The colors were based from the military styles everywhere reflected the war. Skirts hemlines went up to help cut down on fabric use. As the war took over Paris the fashion houses closed their doors. This gave a opening to the American fashion houses to take over. This helped put New York as on the map as a key city of the Fashion Weeks. This is also one of the first eras that pants became assemble for women to wear before this time pants were looked at as men clothes and frowned upon.(1)

Television began to emerge this helped to bring new stars to the home to create fashion trends. Separates became popular during the 1940’s because of the ability to mix and match and get more out fits out of a minimal wardrobe. The New Look created by Christian Dior after the war. The new look was a suit jacket with a full skirt. This created a A- line silutette. This look emphasized a small waist and the hourglass shape. Binkies also made their debut which was the most skin that had ever been exposed. Jeans were slowly becoming adsseble to wear for a more casual look. Girls also began to wear oversized sweaters which were called Sloppy Joes.

The men of the 1940’s were now wearing single breasted suits to look less boxy and more polished. They also began to contrast their sports coats and pants this was the men’s way of mixing and matching. The men’s jackets also began to show a narrow lapel.(1) The designers of the 1940’s are still spoken of today. Adrian was a famous designer for film which influenced the trends of many fashions. Bonnie Cashin was known for creating comfortable clothes to wear in public. Claire McCardell was known for creating the American Look which was made of simple clean lines. Balenciaga became a master tailor who was adored for the fit he could create. Christian Dior is the designer that is thought of when asked about 1940’s fashion he created The New Look, The A-line, and The Y-line. (1) The 1950’s known for the suburban lifestyle. Also the spread of conformity was at an high. The 1950’s were known for rebellious teens who liked rock n’ roll and movies starring James Dean and Marlon Brando. Elvis even helped fuel the youth culture. The Beat Generation helped create the beatnik look that was a laid back look of jeans and sweaters. The ivy league look was also very popular because of more people going to college due to the G.I. Bill. This look was a prep type look that was classic and polish. Due to the economy boom and the United States was dominating in the manufacturing field.(1) The idea of having luxuries came back and fashion

was one of the many things that people spent money on. Many film stars emerged in this era that would become icons such as Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe.(3) The fashions of the 1950’s were the pedal pushers which were a type of Capri shorts. Leather jackets for males were a strong sign of rebellion. Females wore poodle skirts which became a symbol for the era. The poodle skirt was normally paired with saddle shoes and ankle white socks. This is also the era that unisex fashion started. Unisex fashion is when styles and garments are popular for both men and women such as jeans or a leather jacket.(1) Men in the 1950’s began to wear dark colored suits with narrow lapels and shoulders. They also wore a more narrow pant. Which were both part of the Ivy League look. The dress shirts also began to show off a few muted colors.(1) The designers of the 1950’s were many of the same popular designers of the 1940’s. Though some new designers emerged though the conformity. Hurbert de Givenchy who was a master cut who trained under Balenciaga he also created the peasant blouse that became extremely popular.

He was also well known for his evening wear. Charles James became known for his asymmetrical lines and batwing style that would carry into the 1960’s mod trend. He was also know for intricate cuts and precise seaming. The 1950’s conformity leads to many of the reforms of the 1960’s. (1) This time period brought many changes to fashion and the world. This period went from poverty stickered depression to utter abundance. The fashion began to show more skin giving women new freedoms that had never been able to have happened before. The fashions would be ever changing since. This was due to the new media’s in which people looked to in order to find their fashions.

With the rise of film and television stars many found new looks quicker and film and television designers could now express their work on to the public. This time also saw a change of prosperity for America going from one of the lowest points to risings back to a stable lifestyle.

This time is when the World War II was all around the before the during and the after. Many styles and trends are popular today because these eras first made them. Such as jeans and pants on women would have been difficult to start without the war. The war helped make fashion both as Louis Sullivan would say “form follows function.” (2)

1. Diamond Jay and Ellen Diamond “The world of fashion”1990 2. Wolbers Marian F. “Uncovering Fashion” 2009

3. Abrams “Fashion Box” 2011 4. “20th century fashion and fads” http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourFames.cgi?tour_id=13227