Women’s Fashion Throughout The Twentieth Century

According to the quote by Amy Latour, fashion is another hard copy of history. Many factors have affected the manner how people dress, and one of those factors is history. World events and historical milestones play huge roles in the contemporary trends of fashion. If it were not for the momentous happenings, especially the historical events of the early twentieth and late twentieth century, the fashion industry would be notably different.

Fashion is closely related to the word clothing. People clothe themselves out of necessity. In early civilizations, climate and the raw materials that were available were important in influencing what styles of dress were adopted.

Clothing is estimated to have first appeared some 25,000 to 50,000 years ago (Payne, 1-2). Neanderthals, who lived in caves in central Europe, have been believed to wear simple clothing. They probably noticed that the fur bearing animals were not bothered by the weather, and so they began wearing animal skins to cover their bodies. They were simply wrapped around the body like large capes with no fastenings or sleeves.

r, people began to farm and raise varieties of animals to use for food, labor, and of course, clothing. They experienced to use yarns by taking fibers off from flax plant and wools from ships.

Henry Ford, the maker of the affordable Model T automobile, introduced the shorted workweek that influenced working citizens for more leisure time and travel. Automobile also stimulated sports and other athletic activities. People reached ballparks, stadiums, tracks, courts, gyms, beaches, golf courses and recreation centers faster and efficiently. Plus, sports influenced clothing. Comfortable clothes were designed specifically for certain sports. Cars also led to development of shopping centers. The first shopping place was built in Lake Forest, Illinois (Payne, 544).

The thirties was the time of despair and fantasy. For the first time in history, the natural silhouette became the trend. Towards the end of the Second World War, shoulders were accented by padding and puffs. Designs had either a little ultra-modern or modern in them. The standard motif was the two-piece belt or jacket clasp. “…manly men and womanly (not girlish) women are admired (Lurie, 77). The look of fashion in the thirties war more mature than of the twenties. Slim, tall and broad shouldered was the ideal build during the time period.

Some topics in this essay:
Amy Latour, La Belle, Mary Quant, Dior WWII’s, Fads Fashions, Japan Europe, World War, Industrial Revolution, Language Clothes, Fashion Week, twentieth century, world war, evening gowns, twentieth century fashion, industrial revolution, nineteenth century, british fashion, sixties seventies, century fashion, fashions sixties, late twentieth, late twentieth century,