Fashion Timeline

By looking the history of fashion will help to see how fashions change and why.

The Great Exhibition 1851

1851 was the Great Exhibition held in Hyde park London. Crystal Palace was built for the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. It was the first International Exhibition ever held and was promoted by Queen Victoria’s husband prince Albert. Britain was transformed by the Industrial Revolution, steam, iron, and mass production machinery. This made Britain the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth and The Great exhibition showed this.

'The Great Exhibition' has become a symbol of the Victorian era. The Great Exhibition of 1851 marked the peak of British economic dominance. 

Victorian fashion

The term Victorian fashion is generally used only with regard to the United Kingdom. In the early period, Victorian clothing for women was about restriction of arm movements. Another interesting feature were the detachable collars! This made it easier to wash the collars more frequently than the entire dress. The colors used in the early period of the Victorian fashion were soft, pastel shades. 

This style was uncomfortable and inconvenient. It consisted of numerous layers of underclothes, metal hoops and tight corsets. The tiny waist was favoured during the Victorian era and was until the early 20th century. The width of the dresses meant that it was difficult for women to sit, or walk through doorways

In the Victorian era most fashions lasted about a decade.

Around this time hats were replaced by bonnets and this changed the character of the dresses. Low sleeves restricted arm movements as well as the tight corsets, layers of undergarments and the full skirt all played a part in restricting movement. This increased the appearance of Victorian women being vulnerable and helpless. This shows with the use of softer more demure pastel colours. Also the collars and sleeves were detailed with dainty white lace this enhanced the women's place in society.

Titanic 1912

 

14^Th April 1912 the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. It was the largest passenger steamship in the world when she set off on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. 1,517 people died making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. 

 Fashion Edwardian

The current fashion of this era was Edwardian. The French called this era La Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era"). This era began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. 

The fashion style was to highlight the feminine hourglass by way of a corseted waist. This altered their silhouette to show an S shape figure. Also popular were very large hats which were often adorned with feathers.

World War 1  1914 

World War One was a major war centred on Europe that began in the summer of 1914. The fighting ended in November 1918 because of this war there was a massive imbalance of women to men so women became more dominate.

At the time, many people believed that the war had helped advance women politically and economically by opening up a wider range of occupations.

Post War Fashion

The war had a huge effect on fashion. Because of money issues and how much time women had. Women working in factories cut their hair because it became dangerous to have long hair. Also the hemlines got shorter out of practical necessity and this was un heard of before the war. Waistline were still high and because of the effects of war military styling and lines influenced fashion with buckles and belts. Women also wore trousers, or one-piece suits, head wear became practical keeping hair out of the way rather than a fashion statement. The colours faded from being bright to dull colours this was a result of fabric and dye shortage. Also a lot of people had lost loved ones due to the war so out of respect they wore dull dark colours

Gloria Swanson

During this era cinema had a huge influence on fashion so therefore it became more global.

Hollywood silent films encouraged cinema-goers to join a world of escapism and the world of Hollywood glamour. Cinemas were in every town across America and Europe and the movie stars became fashion icons.

Flappers

Following the end of world war 1 a new breed of women of young Western women. They wore short skirts had bobbed hair and listened to jazz music. Skirts and dresses were just below the knee they started wearing make up however they were boyish in their appearance: short hair, flattened breasts, and straight waists. They smoked which was something only men had done they wanted to be different. When the war ended and the survivors returned home men going back to normality proved to be quite difficult. The women had took over the mans role in the work force this broke the structure of society. The lack of men in this era because of the war led women to not wanting to wait for the right man and enjoy life. A popular dance around this time was the Charleston. This was a dance popular with Flappers which could be danced by oneself which shows the effects the war had on this era.

The silhouette style used by designer Coco Chanel was to look more like a boy, women tightly wound their chest with strips of cloth in order to flatten it.  She encouraged the styles associated with flappers. Her clothes were made for comfort and ease which left the the work of other famous designers look old fashioned.

Wall Street Crash 1929

The roaring twenties came to and end when the Wall Street stock market crashed in October 1929. The worlds economy plunged and this started the beginning of the 12 year Great Depression that affected all the Western industrialized countries.

This had a massive impact on fashion. People no longer had new clothing of every season and started remaking and mending the clothes they already owned. The rich lost lots of money in the crash and this had an impact on the economy. They could no longer afford to spend money on consumer products. Therefore shops went bust and factories closed because they were no longer needed. As a result of this unemployment became a major issue. By the winter of 1932 the Great Depression was at its worse.

Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother

Fashion in the 1930s

Women started sewing more in the 30s and most had a Singer sewing machine in their houses. The Hollywood Glamour now had a massive influence on fashion industry. Movie stars endorsed the styles and accessories, as people wanted to wear the styles they had seen on the screen. The shape of the 1930s, for both men and women, was long and sleek.

The bobbed hairstyles of the 1920s were out and soft wavy hairstyles were in.   The dresses were just below the knees in contrast the flapper styles of the 20s. Women started to drape fabric to show of their backs.

Fur of all kinds were worn extensively during this era including coats, capes and accessories.  Sports wear became more masculine hats were worn at an angle and men's suits were tailored to give the effect of a large torso, by squaring the shoulders of the jacket. When things started to get better with the economy the lines softened on their jackets. However, hats were still mandatory for the well dressed male.

"Gangster" had a influence on this era  because they were seen to being the only ones successful in the 1930s. Their style was thought of like a successful business man.

World War II 1939

The Second World War (World War 2) lasted from 1939 to 1945. World war II was the most expensive war in history damaging property, killing more people and effected more people than previous wars. More than 50 countries took part in the war and caused major changes in nearly every country.

It is thought the war helped end the Depression everywhere by industries producing resources to equip fighting forces. This opened up a huge demand for workers to supply them, causing unemployment go down.

Fashion

The war and military influenced the fabrics and styles of this era and clothes became more about their form and function. Materials were rationed due to shortages therefore women were encouraged to "Make Do and Mend". They made men's suits into women's and shoulder pads started to become stylish. Also clothes were made from drapes and bedding due to the rationing.

In 1941 the Board of Trade introduce The Utility program. To boost morale they commissioned The Incorporated Society of London Designers to create a collection of day wear.

Because of the strict regulations for minimal cloth usage this style was square shoulders, skirts could not exceed a certain length, buttons were limited to three and the amount of fabric used in hems was kept to a minimum.

Looking at this timeline I can see how different world events have effects on fashion and can see the influences its gives to subcultures.