Fashion 1910-1920

The very difficult to walk in.. hobble skirt. Many women adapted to this new trend between 1900 and 1914. The slim figure was usually complimented by a really oversized hat.

The Suffragettes

1912 was a turning point for the suffragette women, they started using much more voilent tactics to get votes for women. The colours they would tend to wear were purple, white and green. These colours signified dignity, purity and hope.

In the above video, determined suffragette Emily Davison attempts to attatch a 'VOTES FOR WOMEN' banner to the kings horse at a Derby.

During this decade men also had to dress appropriately, athough, clothing gradually became less formal and the lounge suit became more well known.

British tailoring was considered the best around, the wealthier of the population shopped at famous tailors in London's Bond Street and Saville Row.

Smoking jackets were the male equivalent of the tea gown. Made of soft fabrics, which meant the wearer could relax.

In 1914 the hat started to become reserved for formal occasions only.

 World War 1 created significant changes in fashion design, fabrics and manufacture.

Surprisingly, when Germany declared war on France in August 1914, Paris Fashion Week went ahead as planned! Fashion is clearly more important.. :-)

Unfortunatey, the effects of the war began to affect high society, there was no longer money for luxury couture..

Many male couturiers signed up for service, this left women in charge of work places.

America did not enter the war until 1917, this meant its fashion industry supported the French fashion houses.

Silhouettes remained column like, peplums started to appear along with layered skirts and drapes. In 1915 designers introduced military styles to their collections. Tailored jackets and suits with waisted silhouettes became very fashionable.

By 1916 hemlines were creeping up and practical clothing was becoming increasingly important. Women were encouraged to enter the work force meaning more practical womenswear was desperatley in need, womens fashion merged with mens. They wore breeches, dungrees, boiler suits and low heeled lace up boots.

For women workers, softer corsets were made for supporting the body instead of shaping it.

Daywear became the most important, the war also saw the decline of tea gowns.

Gabrielle Chanel, the most successful designer to transform the design of the wartime dress making it fashionable. She also developed trends for more practical, sporty clothing.

Jersey was previously used for mens sportswear and underwear, Chanel made this the height of womens fashion aswell. Manufacturers were quick to cpoy her great ideas.

After the war, the demand for wedding dresses gave the fashion industry a massive boost, couture houses enjoyed the booming trade.

In 1921 Chanel was the first ever fashion designer to put her name to a scent bottle. Chanel No 5 was launched and has been a massive hit.

Fashion 1900-1910

La Belle Époque means 'Beautiful Era' in French. This was a period in social history that began in 1900. This period lasted right up until the first world war. The period was characterized by everyones optimism, new technological and medical discoveries.  

The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, this was all about celebrating the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next.

Harrods in 1909

In the 1900's fashion started to become readily available in stores, usually everything was made to measure and there was only one of each garment made.

The silhouettes from 1900 were mainly all about women looking tall and slim. Corsets were what everyone was wearing, these were widely available in stores. What they didn't know was that they were damaging their bodies. Women also wore bustles to add extra booty. Under their corsets women wore chemises, these were soft white cotton garments.

Many women were prepared to suffer for fashion even after publications and health professionals urged women to discard the corset all together. 

People often dressed according to class, the wealthier people wore made to measure couture garments. The middle classes made their own clothes. Women of the upper class were expected to change clothes at least four times a day. Women were permitted to take off their restrictive, uncomfortable corsets for a few hours at tea time. Instead they got to wear tea dresses, these were unstructured, soft and voluminous.

The sudden demand for 'ready to wear' garments depended largely on unregulated sweated industries. The workers had poor wages, poor living conditions, they were undernourished and very ill. They transmitted diseases through the clothes they were making.

Liberty is a shop in London on Regent Street, this is where women went in search of clothes and fabrics that exceeded fashion and trends.

Reading fashion publications in the 1900's automatically placed you in a higher class. Similar to how things are now (2012), people that followed fashion trends, read regular fashion publications. Fashion trends were also shown on postcards and cigarette cards.

Towards the end of the century silhouettes were changing. The founder of The Ballet Russes, Serge Diaglev, put on an exhibition of Russian Art. His ballet company performed 'Cleopatra' in brightly coloured soft simple silhouettes. This started to change the way women dressed.

Paul Poiret moved the full, curvy silhouette of the 1900's towards a long lean empire silhouette.

The new silhouette came into being in 1911 to all womens relief..