Fashions Of The 20th Century

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Avatar for Peter-Molnar
3 years ago

If you're curious about fashion and dressing habits of the last century, read on. In this article we look at the 20th century fashion broken down by decade. I was curious and researched how and what people dressed during that time.

Fashions Of The 20th Century

Before the 20th century, one of the main purposes of dressing was to show people's social position and occupation. It also conveyed current trends in thinking and behaviour.

Fashion was dictated by the fashion salons of Paris and very strict standards of dressing were applied. All women wore corsets and hats. The fashion salons made the clothes for the upper classes and the smaller tailors and housewives tried to imitate this by drawing inspiration from fashion magazines and what they saw on the street.

Among the working class, however, fashion spread by word of mouth for a very long time, so in the early 20th century they still dressed according to their profession. The cultural and economic changes of the 20th century also had an impact on fashion. Industrial production, or confectionery, became increasingly dominant.

1900-1910

In the early 1900s, more inventions began to spread, which changed people's lives greatly. More and more people used electricity, drove cars and the first subways appeared. Fashions were very feminine at the time, with the hourglass figure being considered ideal. Women with tall and almost very thin wasp-waisted bodies were the most attractive during this period. This fashion was not very tactical. They wore huge hats and skirts that came down to the ground.

Image Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900s_in_Western_fashion

1910-1920

In the 1910s, the role of women in society began to change. The fight for women's equality was increasingly successful, with universities becoming more open to women and more places giving them the right to vote.

Women's dress became more and more practical. Skirts became shorter and hats smaller. It was more comfortable to travel by car or on the metro. After the outbreak of the First World War, more and more women took on jobs that had previously been done by men. So they started wearing the uniforms, trousers and overalls, that women had not worn before.

Image source: Pinterest

1920-1930

The 1920s, the jazz era. This period is characterised by a tube-like silhouette. Dresses were shorter, so women showed their legs for the first time. This led to a boom in the hosiery business.

Short hair came into fashion, worn with a shawl or hat, and very long pearls were a typical accessory.

Image Source: Pinterest

1930-1940

This decade has seen an increase in unemployment due to the economic crisis. Many people wore clothes converted from flour sacks.

This was the golden age of cinema. The glamour of the cinema was an escape from reality. Many people imitated the clothes, hair and make-up of the movie stars. Very high and thin eyebrows were in fashion.

The ideal body shape was similar to the hourglass shape. The clothes were longer and flared downwards. The look was very sophisticated and feminine. Pastel colours and small patterns were typical.

Thanks to the spread of stretch fabrics, swimsuits became more and more flattering and women showed more of themselves. As a result, sports and diets became more popular.

Image Source: https://www.thefashionfolks.com/blog/20th-century-fashion-history-1930-1940/

1940-1950

Dressing in the 1940s was dominated by the Second World War. There were regulations on what materials could be used in the production of clothes, and clothes had to be stylish as well as practical.

There also was a limit on how much clothing people could buy, what wasn't regulated were accessories, so hats became a very important means of self-expression.

A lot of women were re-occupying positions, where they had to wear uniforms.

Image Source: Pinterest

1950-1960

America's dress code had become detached from Europe's during the World War. During this period, the inverted triangle silhouette was dominant. By the 1950s, the economies of both the US and Europe began to decline. Employment and income increased.

Sociologists began to isolate a new social group, teenagers, whose dress was determined by their own subculture.

Appearances were more feminine, but the ideal look still resembled the hourglass.

Image Source: Pinterest

1960-1970

Democracy and liberal economic ideas in Western countries have also changed in fashion since the 1960s. The previous division of society into the upper class and the working class became outdated and young people became an increasingly dominant group.

Luxury fashion houses lost their key role in shaping fashion as people began to emulate public figures and the industry and luxury fashion houses responded.

People no longer wanted to wear classic clothes. They wanted to wear cheap, disposable and interesting clothes.

The 60s were marked by a return to childhood and a flight into the past. They were trying to escape from the conflicts of the present, of which there were many, such as the Vietnam War, student expulsions and the struggle for black equality.

This decade was defined by three distinct trends. The beginning of the decade was dominated by the plaid silhouette, the middle by miniskirts and minidresses, and the end by romantic floral print dresses. This is known as hippy style.

The ideal body shape with slim, long legs. Short geometric hairstyles were worn. The colours of the clothes were bright. The pattern of the clothes was also geometric and was an inspiration for the fashion of space suits during this period. At the same time, ethical and psychedelic dresses were also common.

Image Source: https://medium.com/@kalyanii8927/fashion-history-the-look-of-the-1960s-292958b78951

1970-1980

The war in Vietnam was still raging and people were trying to escape from the reality into trends. Several trends were present at the same time. Such as ethical clothing, trousers, jeans and sportswear. It was the first decade when the clothes were really comfortable.

Wide trapezoidal pants were typical. The disco swept through and everyone wore glittery glitter clothes. Also, during this period, punk also conquered.

Image Source: https://vintageunscripted.com/2020/03/31/when-we-were-fab-vintage-fashion-1970-1980/

1980-1990

In the 80s, it was all about money. The bigger the silhouette, the better it counted. People loved neon-colored, eye-catching clothes, lots of jewelry, and makeup. At the same time, sportswear also appeared as streetwear. Many people wore sports shoes and track suits on the street.

The fitness craze began and leggings, leg protectors and headbands appeared. The miniskirt came into fashion again, the panther pattern and the slogan t-shirts became fashionable.

Image Source: fashionthroughtime.wordpress.com

1990-2000

Even in this decade, people liked to imitate stars the most in music. Piercings came into vogue and thus clothes appeared in which they could be shown. Short tops and skirts. The works of the designers were artistic, rather than wearable. Luxury brands represented very high prices and not everyone could afford the latest luxury fashion.

Image Source: nishijainblog.wordpress.com

I hope you liked this list and learned something new. Which fashion would you wear the most?

Lead Image Source: https://www.deviantart.com/basaktinli/art/Pocahontas-in-20th-century-fashion-by-BasakTinli-504676197

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Comments

I like their outfits.. Better than the leberated clothes nowadays 🤣

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3 years ago

Now, some women prefer less and less. I'm kinda old school so I like the fashion statement from 1910s -1950s. :)

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3 years ago

They are nice, but probably needed some time to get dressed with some help doing the corset.

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3 years ago

hhahahaha.. true.. it's gonna take hours before they could finally say, "I'm ready!" lol

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3 years ago

Me, i happened to like the 70 n 80's especially the songs 'coz their voice's really good n so is the songs plus the fashion too, lol, how i wish i was able to wore that kind of clothes but i was just borned n a baby that time, lol.

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3 years ago

I was born in 1977 so I was a kid in the 80's I saw them, but I have a better memory from the 90's. I love 80's songs and look. That is my favourite. They created a brand new era with the music and the fashion.

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3 years ago

Good for u n yes, the new wave songs, i like those songs n how they look too, especially my father n mother, lol, 80's songs r really so good not to mention that the lead singer's voice's so good n beautiful too

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3 years ago

I grew up on 80's songs and my favorite is new wave, synth pop. My favorite band in Depeche Mode they started in 1981 and still active lol.

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3 years ago

I also like the 80's song or new wave songs, lol, i also like Depeche Mode especially the song Somebody, Bizaare Love Triangle, Fra Lippo Lippi and other new wave songs, lol, remembered before, when my family's still together, my big brother would play 80's songs or new wave song while waiting for new year to come, lol, how i miss those songs

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3 years ago

Wow. Yes the song "Somebody" is really good. I have to check those other artists out you mentioned. I also know Yazoo, Soft Cell, Erasure. Lol

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3 years ago

Yes, their Somebody's a big hit and quite popular n famous until now, their other song's Bizaare Love Triangle n Fra Lippo Lippi's also an 80's band n one of their song's Stitches n Burns, had heard of Erasure from my brother in law, lol, R.E.M's also good

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3 years ago

Oh yes there are countless bands from tbe 80's. They created something new. A new sound, but Depeche Mode was uinque.

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3 years ago

Yes, so many n all r so good but yes, Depeche Mode n Fra Lippo Lippi for me's really so good n 80's songs r so beautiful n meaningful n some r even doing a revival of it now but i prefer the original song n version of it, lol, nothing beats the original

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3 years ago

I think I would just go for 1970-1980s. The clothes were more comfortable and of course, the trousers. I think some people still wear trousers in some parts of the world.

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3 years ago

Yes as time passed the clothes were more comfortable and less. If you look back what a huge change in 100 years. Trousers are very common these days for both boys and girls in Europe and in the USA.

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3 years ago

I am sorry, I just checked it now LOL. What I really refer to in the last sentence of my comment, is corsets. I typed it all wrong. My mistake. Nevertheless, I like trousers.

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3 years ago

Oh okay. Lol. I didn't know that. I thought it has been completely gone.

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3 years ago

Their fashion is just fabolous no? But to wear a beautiful dresses you need to endure that corset belt just to make your waist more smaller. I think I saw that in some movies. Those movies with a theme of european or victorian, something like that.

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3 years ago

Yes corsets were worn. Every women every day. Especially in the early 1900s. Oh Victorian are nice. I don't think they were comfortable.

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3 years ago

I don't think so too, it's hard being beautiful I guess.

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3 years ago

It's very refreshing your article. I've seen many of these fads pass me by. I think I still have clothes from many of those eras. Baggy pants, tight fitting, tight style blouses and others not so much. But in all those times I didn't see a chubby girl dressed in those outfits hahaha I'll have to put my pictures there. The fashions are beautiful I like them all but I wouldn't wear some of them.

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3 years ago

By seeing many photos and pictures like these from those times I didn't see a chubby girl either. They were tall as well. The look was so different we are not so used to it of course depending when were you born. Same I find them nice, but could not imagine girls like that today.

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3 years ago

With the climate change we are experiencing, I believe that clothing has been phased out. As time goes on I think clothing will be aerosolized. We will be naked and with colors on our skin, what do you think?

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3 years ago