Text preview

American Fashion Fads of the Twentieth Century

A fad, or craze, becomes popular in a culture relatively quickly, but also loses its popularity dramatically. A fad that remains for a significant amount of time typically loses its significance in current popular culture as it evolves and becomes accepted into a society's everyday culture. In the past hundred years, fashion fads have been characterized by politics, popular movies, music and famous celebrities.

Most fads just wither and quickly fad away, but do they quietly wait to be resurrected by another generation.With the turn of the nineteenth century, fashions continued with much of the same the look of the 1800s. Women wore long skirts, long sleeves, high necks, and high button shoes. However, big changes were on the horizon, as many women were going to work outside the home and wanted a n

...

ew independence.

The ready-to-wear industry was blossoming and the eager and skilled work force, made up of immigrants flooding into America supplied the needed ingredient. The wearing of skirts and shirts that meet at the waist quickly became popular. This two piece outfit was called the Gibson Girl look.White linen with embroidery was spreading widely, but a new fabric, rayon, the first of the synthetic, technological miracle fabrics, produced at low cost and called "artificial silk," was important. It fell into disfavor for several decades but has made a comeback at the end of the century. Undergarments, including corsets to cinch the waist, were figure forming and confining.

The 1910s saw the start of World War

I and the first American fashion show in 1914, as Paris was in the midst of war. In 1911, the lampshade tunic wa

View entire sample

Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

popular. It was high waisted and stiffened to stand out with a slim skirt underneath.In 1912, the high-waisted Grecian dress and the Grecian hairstyle (hair drawn back to a small knot at the nape of the neck with curls on the side) were common. After war was declared in 1914, skirts became fuller and shorter and the "war crinoline" was popular, a tailor-made suit with a shorter jacket nipped in at the waist. In undergarments, the corset gave way to the bust bodice and an elasticized girdle to attach to stockings.

Camiknickers (camisole and knickers in one piece) completed the underwear. After the war, the bob with bangs was a revolutionary new hairstyle. Make-up was discreet, usually only light powder.Shoes and boots had narrow toes and high heels. Buttoned shoes were common for daywear.

The 1920s in America were times of great change.

With the end of the First World War, society exploded in a million different directions. The Twenties saw the women’s rights movement, the Harlem Renaissance, prohibition, and an incredible burst of prosperity for the middle class. Automobiles and electric appliances made people's lives easier and gave them more leisure time. The incredible, rapid social changes that struck the country were clearly illustrated by women's fashions of the decade.

These fashions stand out among the decades for they show the demand by women for change. The “flapper” fad marks the century as the first major fad and for the first time in history, women’s legs are showing. The slim, tubular look of the flapper was “in. ” Movement confining undergarments were rejected by women who wanted freedom. The flattener bra was used to help create the

straight, flat look of the flapper. Another very obvious fashion feature of this time period was “bobbed” hair.

The impact of bobbed hair and all it was felt to represent was enormous.The popular media of the time is filled with jokes, stories, cartoons, songs, theatrical skits, newspaper articles, and short movies, about bobbed hair.

The 1930's and the Great Depression required economy and frugality in the area of fashion.

The sizing system developed in the 20s was used by Butterick to create easy-to-make patterns so women could copy the expensive fashions of the movie stars as advertised in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. The movie stars were trend setters. Skirts grew longer and by 1936 they were half way between the calf and the ankle.

Wide-legged pants were in style for sports and leisure. Underwear was minimal with only a soft bra, a garter belt, and seamed silk stockings. Hair was given a permanent wave and many began dying their hair with the new range of colors. In make-up, narrow eyebrows were "in.

" A matte complexion, mascara, powder, rouge and red lipstick were the make-up choices set by the movie stars.

In the 1940s, because of World War II, nearly a third of all women went to work.

A shortage of nylon created a stocking shortage so women compensated by using leg make-up.The Sears catalog made clothing available through the mail at a reasonable rate. In shoes, saddle shoes were the choice of the school girl. High heels became higher and higher.

The toe of the shoe and the tip of the heel came to spiky points. Make-up used was tinted powder, rouge, mascara and red lipstick. The most popular hairstyle

was a long pageboy with the sides swept up and held with combs or barrettes. When the war ended, the boys came home. By 1947 the feminine "new look" featured belted and cinched waistlines, a lifted bosom, no more shoulder pads, and a mid-calf length.Skirts were very full (even up to 18 yards in a skirt) with layers of petticoat underneath.

This romantic, sexy look was appreciated by the newly returning soldiers.

Hair in the 1950s was long and put up in a bun or a ponytail but some chose the short urchin cut.

The Beehive, achieved by backcombing and heavy hairspray, was another favorite hairstyle.

Make-Up used tinted foundations with colored eyes. In footwear, wedge heels of wood or cork and spike heels with pointed toes made for a well-dressed woman of the 50's.Undergarments included the uplift bra and girdles, full length slips, and full-skirted waist slips which were stiffened with nylon net or hoops at the hem provided the basis for the two-piece skirt and blouse which was so popular at this time. Black leather jackets for the Elvis teen crowd were contrasted by the beaded evening sweaters. The fashion designer Givenchy came out with the chemise, or sack dress, as some scornfully called it, in 1957.

In the 1960s the youth of America showed how powerful they could be.

Fashion catered to the rebellious youth market.At the beginning of the decade the chemise and the sack ruled. The hippie culture didn't care much about fashion but the looser and more casual look in fashion reflected the hippy clothing. Simpler clothes were in vogue with geometric shapes. The mini skirt was the shocker of the decade. The

unisex look was influenced by the hippie culture.

Space age clothes resulted from the walk on the moon. Underwear, too, influenced by the hippie culture, was minimal. The stretch bra was more comfortable with no seams or shaping. Colored or natural colored tights replaced nylon stockings for some.

Pantyhose came into being because of the very short mini-skirt. Garter belts wouldn't work with such short skirts. The Beatles started a revolution in hairstyles with their collar length hair following the "butch" for men in the 50's. Women in the 60's have long, straight hair. Faded, ragged jeans did not mean you were too poor, it meant you were in style.

The latter half of the 1960s saw bell bottoms become the fashion statement of the bohemian sector of young society.

Bellbottoms also came back in style during the 70s and 90s.

With the 1970s maxi-length skirts were appropriate for the celebrations of the past and appeared in the everyday fashion catalogues.

Above the knee skirts were also acceptable. Discos feed the drive for the use of polyester, the carefree fabric of the decade, in leisure suits for men and pantsuits for women.

Hot pants were sleek and slim as were loud, even clashing colors. Platform shoes even made a comeback. Designer labels adorned the outside of clothing. Long flowing hair, afros, and mohawk hair styles fit the punk rock scene but also made their way into the mainstream styles.

Fashion fads for the 1980s exploded with the incorporation of distinct trends from different eras. This helped form a cultivating movement of style. The most conservative, more masculine fashion look that was most indicative of the 1980s was the wide use of

shoulder pads. Men wore power suits as a result of the greater tendency for people to display their wealth.

The fashion push of department stores and catalogues during the 80s was the creation of a well-coordinated wardrobe.

Everything should be able to be used with everything else in one's wardrobe.Yuppie women in the business world wore designer suits. Short skirts, wide shoulders and assertive lines were vogue. Exercise clothing like leotard for working out and expensive running shoes pervaded the market.

As the l990's began, intense winds of change were sweeping over the globe.

Communism fell in the USSR and the cold war ended. However, turmoil in the world had not ended. The Gulf War started out the decade and it seemed there were skirmishes and disasters worldwide. In the 1990s anything goes in fashion.

Strict rules of fashion are no longer tolerated by the public.Exercise is big and women began wearing their exercise clothes on the street. Rap musicians reject materialism and the big, baggy look and crude slogans become common street wear.

Works Cited

http://www. fashion-era. com/fashion_eras.
htm://%20Final%20Word%20on%20Subcultural%20Styles
http://www. fashion-era. com/1960-1980. htm
http://www. uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourFames. cgi? tour_id=13227
http://www. badfads. com/pages/fashion/bellbottom.html
http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/1980s_in_fashion
http://www. popmatters. com/pm/review/39327/bad-fads/
http://www. geocities. com/flapper_culture/

American Fashion Fads of the Twentieth Century Essay Example