How did women's fashions change in the 1920's Have these styles Research Paper

How did women's fashions change in the 1920's Have these styles survived or ever been revivied How do they reflect the new fre - Research Paper Example The designs, colours and fabrics and the associated accessories used by fashion technologists are not to be seen merely as expressions of random ideas or creativity. They, in fact, are meant to make statements; statements of joy, liberation, individuality, functionality, self-expression and post-war optimism. The fashion trends of the hedonistic 1920s assume importance in this light and the most wonderful thing about those well-coordinated outfits was the enormous freedom they gave women ‘to choose’. Women are the loveliest creation of god and now they were to become even lovelier. The music of 1920s was a trendsetter and so were the new fashion modules of the period, their ‘classical’ nature notwithstanding. They were simple, yet elegant carrying with them timeless and age-defying sex-appeal. Any discussion on women’s fashion in the colorful 1920s has to be centered on close-fitting cloche hats without rims, sleeveless dresses, slipper shoes, sheer s tockings, Madeleine Vionnet’s very feminine bias-cuts, pantsuits, canes, body-flattering Coco Chanel silhouettes and Art Deco fashion with its integration of the Oriental culture, not to mention La Garconne style, handbags, jewellery and such things so much so that any attempt to visualize their appeal by taking a look at black-and-white snapshots of that period does not just work. 1920s, more commonly known the ‘roaring 20s’, as much as 1940s, both being points of time that have witnessed not only the horror of World Wars but also the serenity that the end of hostilities marked, were historically prone to see a sea change in terms of people’s attitude and women’s in particular in terms of the idea of fashion. The first short skirt sounded the death knell of the haute couture era [Skirt length reached its lowest point in 1923 (1920s Fashions for Women)] and ushered in the modern era of fashion which conceived the idea of erotic beauty. The transform ation of woman from being an object of beauty to becoming a futurist machine was kick-started. ‘Chic’ became a vogue word. And there was no looking back. So we see the cumbersome Victorian clothing gradually losing ground. Crinolines, rear-enhancing bustles and restrictive corsets passed into oblivion, thankfully causing a steep decline in the incidence of ptosis. Lighter, brighter and daringly shorter dresses, straight-line chemises, nemo-flex brassieres, sleek, masculine or boyish look, flat chests with bandeaus, shingle cut and Bubikopf or the bob cut (popularized by actress Louise Brookes) formed the order of the day. The Basque dress or Robe de Style which clubbed the features of straight silhouette and belled skirt was very popular. Make up, in particular, was another ‘shocking’ development. Rising hemlines of the flappers, who characterized the revolutionary spirit of the typical jazz age woman, made dancing the Charleston, for instance to a tune of Duke Ellington or to the frenetic sounds of Bix Beiderbecke, easier. Light weight undergarments made it easier to play sport and drive automobiles. The Women’s Fashion Institute designed the ‘one hour dress’ in 1926 (Flapper Fashion). For the first time in history, pleats, gathers and slits ruled women’s fashion, liberating women from constricting clothes, though the Great Depression, for a while, brought about a roll-back towards conservative wear (The History of 20th Century