Dress & Culture Scale: Women's Fashion in the 1920s

A)
Commercial Scale

Society
-Decade was a time of “frivolity, abundance, and happy go lucky attitudes”
-Women went to school, in the workplace some went on strike.
-Women stood out more, going against what society expected of them.
-Paris fashion came into play in women’s fashion in the U.S.

Economy
-Clothing more affordable for working families
-With the growth of fashion magazines, fashion was advertised to women.

Technology
-A type of information system for fashion: Fashion Magazines (Vogue, The Queen, Harper’s Bazaar)
-Cosmetics industry grew
-Motion picture industry influenced women’s fashion. Famous female actresses set some fashion trends for the 20s.
-Clothing production methods improved.
-Rayon stockings were created giving a different choice for silk stockings.
Human Population -World Population in the 1920’s
-Big cities
-The U.S. in the 1920s

Political/Government
-Democracy
-Women’s Rights
-Prohibition
-After WWI

Ideology
-Women’s suffrage movement, women fought for the right to vote.
-More women went into college to get an education.
-Women wanted to be treated fairly (have the same rights as men)

Dress
-Less confining
-No more corset
-A masculine type of look
(example: women wearing hair shorter)
-Dress was loose, waistlines disappeared
(example: flapper dress)

B)
The fashion movement in the 1920s is a great expression of the cultural history at the time. Historic movements in the 20s were usually accompanied with fashion that “stood out." Women were changing and going against what society had been doing for a long time. The corset defined women in the beginning. They had to be thinned wasted, big dresses, with the perfect look. Well the perfect look changed in the 20s. It became more versatile, it was more like the traits of a culture. They wanted to be more like men. They showed more skin. Emphasis was taken off the perfect shape. Dress flowed, and women just went with the “flow.” Women’s fashion in the 1920s is a perfect example of the change in the culture. Women had shorter hair, they weren’t “dainty” anymore. They expressed themselves, and wanted people to take notice.

C) (last choice)
Women’s fashion in the 1920s was a zeitgeist. Women’s fashion was the “spirit” of the 1920s. The modifications of the fashion show social values. Just like mentioned above the corset disappeared. Fashion magazines appeared in society. Famous movie actresses set off trends with their fashion. What women wanted was the right to vote. They wanted to be treated just like the men. This can be found in the fashion movement of the shorter haircuts, and with a more “flat” chested look. The trend of the time was to be different from the past. The 20s fashion changed drastically because values took a drastic turn in the 20s. The changes in fashion mostly came from modifying the dress. An example of this would be the disappearance of the waist line.