American Hemlines Throughout the Twentieth Century

dramatically. The twentieth century brought constant modification in the fashion industry, with

the most important influences on fashion being movies, television, World War II, and the

Women’s Movement. From the long elegant skirt in the early 1900’s to the short miniskirt of the

1960’s, American hemlines and fashion have changed according to what American society

thinks is socially acceptable and proper at the time.

With the turn of the last century, women were abandoning the hourglass look and

wearing straight and narrow skirts (Harris 19). The skirts were long in the early 1900’s

because of two factors, the invention of the automobile and the generally accepted conservative

attitude at that time. Men thought women should be completely covered in the kitchen rather

than exposing their skin around town. The invention of the automobile caused dirt and dust to

blow all over, thus causing women’s delicate skin to become dirty and cracked. To solve this

problem, women covered up from neck to toe (Yeager). If a woman were to show any part of her

leg during this time, she could be subjected to out castin

When the 1940's ended and the 1950's began, few people realized that the world was

dropped tubular dress, long pearl necklaces and bobbed hair. A woman’s dress was clingy,

fuller skirts, colorful high-heeled shoes and nylon stockings. New York did not become the new

With the start of the new millennium people expected space suits so they could walk on the moon, but fashion just repeated itself but with more glitter and glitz (Harris 137). Society has brought back many good things from the past decades, such as the peasant shirt, flared jeans, and chic dresses. The dresses now are all about the feminine figure and showing it off, similar to the 1960’s. In 2002, a famous designer tried to combine two decades in one, the hobble skirt and platform shoes, unfortunately it never made it to the public. The style today is all about glamour, and revealing clothes. Clothes are extremely revealing to the point where they show not only your cleavage, but the stomach too, and nobody outwardly protests. Ask any woman if they would wear a dress or a pair of hip hugging jeans, and they are most likely to answer hip huggers. Women can wear pants without being looked down upon; unlike the unapproved fashion of the 1940’s, women today are expected to wear them. Women of the twenty first century are able to wear what they want when they want. The biggest influences for women looking for fashion guidance are Britany Spears and Jennifer Lopez; they are the ideal fashion queens from this generation.

Some topics in this essay:
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