Decade by Decade: Your Guide to 20th Century Fashion

V I R G I N I A

K N I G H T

Decade by Decade { Y O U R

G U I D E

T O

2 0 T H

C E N T U R Y

F A S H I O N }

Welcome!

I am so excited that you are here, because this means you want to learn more about fashion history—my kind of person!

I created this guide for people who want to know more about fashion pre-2000. We see “old clothes” all the time, from museum exhibitions to period TV dramas, but it can be hard to know what trends happened when, or what to call a specific style or silhouette.

This guide goes decade by decade through the 20th century and tells you what was going on in the world and the defining silhouettes and changes in women's fashion.

This guide focuses on Western history and fashion, as that is both my area of expertise and the focus of most fashion history texts (something that is thankfully changing with continued expansion of the field and new scholarship!).

A lot happened between 1900 and 1999: as a Twitter follower of mine recently said, “We went from steel-enforced corsets and Gibsons [Gibson Girls] to spaghetti-strap dresses over t-shirts in 100 years.” That’s a lot of ground to cover, and this guide is by no means exhaustive. Entire books have been written about this century, let alone entire books written about particular decades.

My goal is to give you enough information to serve as a jumping off point for your own interests: I want you to know enough of the historic context and terminology for you to feel confident conducting your own research! To that end, I’ve provided a list of sources at the end of this guide for people who want to pursue a specific thread further, or just learn more about the century as a whole.

Fashion history is a young field, as far as academic disciplines go, and this means there is so much left to be discovered, written about, and celebrated. My hope is that this guide gives you a place to start, allowing you to discover what aspects of fashion history are most engaging to you.

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Decade: 1900s The period from 1871 - 1914 is known as La Belle Époque, or “The Beautiful Age.” This was a name given after WWI, when the advancements at the beginning of the century stood in stark contrast to the horrors of the war. Paris was the center of the fashion world. Department stores were coming into their own, as places where women could shop and socialize. The Ballet Russes debuted in Paris in 1909, sparking a fashion for appropriating EastAsian* style that extended into the next decade.

From 1900 - 1908, there were no major changes in women’s fashion: the need for new was satisfied by seasonal color changes and new trims and embellishments. The dominant silhouette was the “S bend,” the shape created by corsets and numerous layers of undergarments. 1909 saw the Directoire style come into fashion, with straight vertical lines and a high waist. The hobble skirt, a skirt with a narrow hem that made walking difficult, was a short-lived trend from 1909 - 1914, but this style directly resulted in several deaths and was not conducive to women’s increasingly active lifestyles. *While "Oriental" is the wording frequently used in fashion history literature, it is a harmful term.

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Decade: 1910s The defining event of this decade was World War I (1914-1918).

Women stepped in to fill the roles of men off at war, and many of these jobs required women to wear clothes traditionally thought of as menswear: breeches, trousers, overalls, and the like. The war called for a more streamlined look, and the “S bend”, with its layers of frothy fabrics, had disappeared by 1914.

There was a large military influence on women’s fashion, inspired by the war effort.

Pockets were not usually a visible feature of women’s clothing, but large patch pockets became popular on suit jackets for both their military look and practicality. By 1916, hemlines were two or three inches above the ankle, making footwear more visible. High-heeled, buttoned or lace-up boots were very popular, especially in two-tone white and black. www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1920s The First World War changed society. Old social hierarchies broke down, and women who had entered the workforce continued to be visible in the public sphere: it was the era of the “New Woman.”

The New Woman had more education, had a job, played sports, drove a car, and might even be seen smoking!

Silhouettes changed too, with fashion placing little influence on curves. Corsets were still worn, but the goal was to flatten curves, not emphasize them. Zippers (patented in 1924) and elastic made undergarments less cumbersome, and new styles like brassiers and slips were introduced. The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a world’s fair designed to highlight the new style of decorative arts, took place in Paris in 1925 and gave rise to the term “Art Deco,” a term that would come to encapsulate the style of the decade. www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1930s On “Black Tuesday” (October 29th, 1929), share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. The Great Depression would last for twelve years and would affect all Western industrialized countries. In addition to its economic impact, the Depression would influence culture and fashion. This was the era of Hollywood glamour, where Americans escaped to the movies to see stars like Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. Costumes were elaborate and widely copied: the white dress designed by Gilbert Adrian for Joan Crawford in the 1932 film "Letty Lynton" is easily the most famous film costume of the decade.

The 1930s also saw the linking of health with beauty. Sports and health clubs were extremely popular, as was suntanning (among white people): both the color white and backless dresses were great for showing off a tan. Surrealism entered the world of high fashion in this decade, ushered in by the collaboration between Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1940s The 1930s were bookended by two major events: the Depression in 1929 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The United States wouldn’t enter the war until 1941 (following the attack on Pearl Harbor), but the fashion world saw changes as soon as the war began. Restrictions on fabric meant a slimmer silhouette was in vogue, but this was topped off by elaborate turbans and hats: millinery supplies were not rationed!

Unsurprisingly, there was a huge military influence on fashion, and the United States was known for having the most stylish uniforms for servicewomen. The decline of Paris fashion (due to the Nazi occupation) meant the rise of American designers like Claire McCardell, credited with the creation of American sportswear.

A French fashion designer by the name of Christian Dior launched his first collection, “The New Look,” in 1947. Dior’s nostalgic style signified the end of the austere war years and this silhouette would last long into the 1950s. www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1950s Though Dior’s “New Look” debuted in 1947, 1950s fashion was defined by this collection. The New Look was characterized by rounded shoulders, a high and emphasized bust, a tiny waist (usually cinched with a belt), and an incredibly voluminous skirt.

Hats, gloves, and high heels rounded out the look. Yards of fabric were required for this style, and the liberal use of fabric signified that the rationing of the war really was over.

Women returned to their homes from war-time jobs, and many became housewives or full-time mothers amid the larger cultural emphasis on the home and domesticity.

While a haute couture revival did occur in Paris (including designers Pierre Balmain and Cristobal Balenciaga), American designers continued to flourish post-war and received more attention from the American fashion press. American manufactures also anticipated the desires of the new “teenage” market and made clothing specifically for this group—a group that would have even more sway over fashion in the 1960s. www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1960s The 1960s was the decade of the “Youthquake” (a term coined by American Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland in 1965). The baby boomers born after the war were now teenagers, and this was an era of both mass consumption and mass production. The way people thought about style and fashion was changing: short lived fads became the norm, and clothes were thrown away long before they were worn out.

Fashions stayed somewhat consistent from 1957 to the mid1960s, but in 1965 the silhouette of the decade came on the scene: the mini skirt had arrived. Futuristic fashions were all the rage (see: paper dresses that solved the problem of “doing laundry in outer space”), and the power of the teenager was reflected in the desire for a “youthful” look. Though the miniskirt had a powerful influence on fashion, its time in the spotlight was as short as its hemline: by the late 1960s, longer, more flowing lines were coming into fashion. www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1970s The 1970s saw a return to a more “natural” look, possibly as a response to the uber-futuristic looks of the 1960s. The hippie look was in, and the hippie’s “back to nature” ethos brought about a resurgence of craft in the United Kingdom and United States: knit, crochet, and applique clothing became popular.

As society became more multicultural, designers looked to non-Western sources for inspiration. Japanese designers like Hanae Mori, Kenzo Takada, Kansai Yamamoto, and Issey Miyake made their introduction on the Western fashion scene. Pop stars like Mick Jagger and David Bowie exerted a huge influence over fashion, unsurprising in the era of Woodstock.

While there are themes to 1970s clothing, fashion was shifting to a more individual approach and becoming less influenced by what fashion designers were pushing: the miniskirt of 1965 could be argued as the last “universal trend.” www.virginiacknight.com

Decade: 1980s The economic and political stability of the the 1980s allowed a variety of trends and styles to flourish. This was a money conscious, image obsessed era, and it became chic to signal one’s wealth through conspicuous designer clothing. More women entered the workforce than ever before, giving rise to the ubiquitous 1980s “power suit,” and Princess Diana had a huge influence on the United Kingdom and fashion abroad.

The nostalgic and traditional look of the 1970s (see brands like Laura Ashley) gave rise to a darker style, summed up in one word: punk.

Punk was a product of the late 1970s and was initially viewed as menacing by the general public.

As the decade progressed, however, elements of the punk style were commercialized and became part of both mass market and high-end fashion.

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Decade: 1990s The worldwide economic recession at the beginning of the 1990s prompted a rejection of 1980s excess.

Minimalism was in, and designers stressed authenticity. The merging of the hippie and punk styles was known as “grunge,” a style best embodied by American bands Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the early 1990s. Designers were looking to subcultures like grunge for inspiration, in a reversal of the usual, “designers set the trends” model of fashion.

The 1990s was the decade of the supermodel: Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell were huge stars. There was also more emphasis on toning the body than on using shapewear and foundation garments to mold one’s shape. The prevalence of designer “lines” (catering to a wider range of lifestyles and budgets) meant that by the end of the century, clothing that would have been accessible to a handful of people in 1900 was available to almost anyone. www.virginiacknight.com

Hey y'all!

My name is Virginia Knight. I am a fashion historian who believes that old clothes can help us explore better relationships with our bodies.

Meet Virginia

I live in Asheville, North Carolina, where I sell vintage clothing by day and write about fashion and bodies by night.

My unique background—as a fashion historian in recovery from an eating disorder—helped me realize that I could use my knowledge of fashion history to help me get dressed.

I would be honored to help you do the same: to break free of fashion rules, create a wardrobe that represents you, and to hold space for your relationship with your body along the way.

Learn more about me and how we can work together at www.virginiacknight.com

Sources Fashion: From the 18th to the 20th Century, by the Kyoto Costume Institute (2004) Fashion: The Twentieth Century, by Francois Baudot (1999) Fashion since 1900, by Valerie Mendes and Amy de la Haye (2010) 100 Years of Fashion, by Cally Blackman (2012)

Additional Reading The Corset: A Cultural History, Valerie Steele (2001) Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, Elizabeth Wilson (1985) The Dictionary of Fashion History, Valerie Cumming, C.W. Cunnington, and P.E. Cunnington (2010) Fashion, Christopher Breward (2003) The Culture of Fashion, Christopher Breward (1995) Fashion History: A Global View (Dress, Body, Culture), Linda Welters and Abby Lillethun (2018) How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century, Lydia Edwards (2017) Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present, Alison Matthews David (2015) The Dress Detective: A Practical Guide to Object-Based Research in Fashion, Ingrid Mida and Alexandra Kim (2015) Dress History: New Directions in Theory and Practice, Charlotte Nicklas and Annebella Pollen (2015) The Study of Dress History, Lou Taylor (2002)

The images from this guide came from Flickr: The Commons and Black History Album (https://blackhistoryalbum.tumblr.com/). www.virginiacknight.com