As the Victorian era drew to its close, skirts for both day and evening were elongated at the back to form a train. The skirt’s silhouette was slim at the hip, achieved with pleating and smocking. Any fullness in the skirt was confined to below the knee. Decoration was applied using large and small tucks, hem ruffles, buttons and lace insertions. For day, ladies wore very high necks and the bosom was undefined with fullness
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Shape and silhouette constantly evolved. More radical styles like the hobble skirt and the lampshade skirt each enjoyed their moment in the sun. The Edwardians became more playful and innovative, taking an interest in asymmetrical draping techniques. Considerably less boning was used in bodices and boning was now solely for supporting the shape as opposed to changing it. Suits were fashionable for daywear and walking was eased due to a really big fashion happening –
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World War I ended and euphoria was the order of the day. Fashion responded by dropping waists to high hip levels and dresses became unfitted. While some gowns retained the design complexity of the Teens, the trend was toward Simplicity. Simple bodices, shaped using only a few tucks or shirring at the shoulders, or a little gather at the side seam reflected this new freedom. As the decade began hems lines perched above the ankle
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Great innovations in fashion were seen during the Depression despite the economic hardships of the time. The abbreviated, linear forms of the 1920s quickly gave way to sinuous shapes and longer hemlines. Waistlines returned to the natural position, while remaining relaxed in fit. Designers experimented with new cuts and new materials. For evening, the bias cut gown was favored (as created by Madeleine Vionnet) in silk velvet or silk satin. Synthetic fabrics such as rayon
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By the time the United States emerged from the Depression, Europe and much of Asia were already at war. Paris under Nazi occupation was a disaster for Haute Couture and one that gave great opportunity to the growing fashion industry in the United States. Women who were deprived of the latest fashions from Paris began to look to homegrown talent. Designers such as Norman Norell and Claire McCardell soon built a following. Mainbocher and Molyneux
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Dior’s 1947 New Look had symbolized a new hope and by the 1950s both the hope and the style were fully embraced. Hems fell and hems rose but the hourglass silhouette remained. In addition to the full skirt, slender pencil skirts were worn too. The emphasis on silhouette and form created a dependency on foundation garments – bullet bras, corselets, waist-cinchers and girdles pulled in, pushed out and persuaded while crinolines lifted and shaped full-circle
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The 1960s were greatly transitional. The decade opened with a continuation of the 1950s silhouette but ten years later the look was the virtual opposite. In the U.S. in 1961 John F. Kennedy took office as President, bringing with him a beautiful, young and fashion-inspiring wife as First Lady. Jackie Kennedy’s innate sense of style and dress soon made her ‘Queen’ of American fashion. The American designed short-jacketed sheath suits (at which U.S. based designer
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The 1970s can be called Decade of Decadence, the ‘Me’ decade and the decade of excess and androgyny. Women emerged in the work place tenfold. Pantsuits, day wear, and separates with a sense of masculine style as echoed in the film ‘Annie Hall’ created a sensation with Diane Keaton wearing a fitted vest with a collared white shirt and men’s neckties. Skirts could be seen in a variety of lengths, mini midi or maxi! The
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One word comes to mind when you think of the 1980s: BIG. Overconsumption, oversized and just plain over-the-top were cornerstone features in this decade of excess and materialism. It was a time of abundance, optimism and unabashed greed. Shoulder pads returned to fashion in a super-sized version, and the “power suit” reflected women’s emerging status in the workplace. The term “Yuppie” was coined as an acronym for the Young Urban Professional who was a career
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The early 1990s saw a continuation of late 1980s fashion, primarily model as muse. Supermodels dominated the beginning of the decade, when popular beauties such as Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista ‘wouldn’t get out of bed for less then $10,000’ starred in every major fashion campaign. Kate Moss, who often modeled for Calvin Klein, sparked controversy in a silver sheer slip dress with her very thin, waif-like figure coining a new term; heroin
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