Women have worn dresses all throughout history, in fact they used to be all women were allowed to wear in previous centuries. How did dresses go from an every day must to only for special occasions? Also, how did they evolve over time into what they are today? Questions such as this sparked my curiosity on the subject so I decided to divide up my research accordingly to answer them in an organized fashion for my research paper.
History of Dressmaking In the 17 and 1800s, if you were not wealthy you made all clothing including dresses by hand sewing. All women of that time had to know how to sew and everything was from scratch. Measuring the material, cutting the fabric and piecing everything together with needle and thread. This took skill, hard work and was very time consuming. Of course women at this time did not work outside the home so they stayed with the children, cooked and sewed. Women had several everyday dresses for practical use and usual one or two nice dresses called their “Sunday bests” depending on how wealthy they were. Sewing was a very time consuming task until Elias Howe created a machine that sewed seams in 1845 and invented and patented the first sewing machine in 1850. Though Howe had competition for the
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The Great Depression had been over for a couple years now and the economy was finally getting back on track, in fact the economy was booming. Girls began to go out and shop for the perfect prom dress, the bigger and more elaborate the better. Now that families had more money to work with the prom dress industry took off. Schools could also now afford to rent better venues such as hotel plaza's instead of using the school gym. It wasn’t until the 1980's though that the prom dress was really huge, girls wanted expensive and designer dresses on what was considered the most important night of their high school
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. The civil war guided historical developments in men's ready made clothing. At the dawn of the civil war uniforms were custom made in workers home’s by hand on government contract. Women's ready made clothing developed rather slowly. Clothing were depicted as modern and fashionable although the new ready made clothing fit poorly. Ready made clothing manufacturers create their own unique and sometimes unpredictable sizing systems. Clothes before the industrial revolution were often made from fabric that was made by hand or, bought locally. Tailoring was still expensive and not an option for all. The wealthy had clothes made by tailors. Today, designers have computer-aided design to their
The 18th century fashion for men and women was influenced by the royal court and Puritans. Women’s fashion was very elegant and colorful, more so than the men’s fashion. The shoes worn by the women of the 18th century were made of silks and satin. They were decorated in laces and had a square or round shape. They also began to wear shoes of different and vibrant colors with higher heels. A majority of the time their shoes were not shown because of their extravagant skirts and petticoats. Lace was a stylish detail to women’s fashion during that time. They wore lace gloves and their petticoats were trimmed in lace. Men wore knee high boots that were either high-heeled or flat along with their knee length trousers. Their shoes were often neutral colors dark brown, light ...
Revolutionary fashions made it acceptable to show more skin, develop different styles, and able for women to express themselves. Women began to liberate themselves from the traditional long hairstyles and turn to the new and short masculine hairdos. “The bob appeared in the US shortly…Women with bobs needed more frequent haircuts, and wanted permanent waves” (Monet). Women began to cut their hair shorter, cringing their hair, and finger waving it. Although many women saw it as outrageous and boyish, many people today have cut their hair the same way and even shorter. It wasn’t permissible for a woman to display her body. Skirts were to be covering their legs all the way down to their ankles. If the skirt d...
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The ladies dresses of the early Middle Ages were influenced by the classical styles of the Greek and Roman women. Their dresses were tight to display the elegance of their figure. Dresses were embroidered and luxuriously decorated. Some dresses consisted of two tunics and of a veil or drapery. The veil was thrown...
Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...
Victorian Fashion refers to the styles and clothing worn before and during the Civil War era of the United States, 1860-1900. This era was filled with a very difficult way of dressing oneself and to deviate from this line of dress was unheard of, and worthy of being outcaste. Victorian women’s clothing was layers, heavy, and barely manageable to even wear. Many different articles made up the full garment such as the undergarments, the skirt, top, shoes, accessories, and even the hair. How did women ready themselves for the day in this era and how did they deal with all the cumbersome attire?
In the early 1900’s the ideal woman would be dressed with long dresses and would normally have long hair. Several events such as World War I, in July of 1914, changed women’s role in society. They were not only taking care of the children and the household but they were also taking the role of a man. As men went to war, women replaced them in factories. This caused woman to be more independent. Women realized that having a job was something that could be done; their sex didn’t restrict them from taking this action. This was extremely important as it lead to women being more confident and capable. In the 1920s young women began to change. They went from having long dresses and long hair, to a short haircut and wearing dresses that were above the knee. Women developed a greater interest in looking attractive. According to Russell L. Johnson, the beauty industry grew rapidly as cosmetic expenses sky rocketed from 750 million to 2 billion dollars (Johnson 3). This was one of the causes of the sexual revolution. Women became “ less formal but more expressive (Mag...
Bernier, Jane, and Ruth E. Adomeit. Women's Fashion of the Victorian Era, 1837-1901. Cleveland Heights, OH: Borrower's, 1983. Print.
Clothing affected the lives of women greatly. Women wore many layers of clothing that could be hot and tight, making them uncomfortable. Different types of clothing were also used to make women seem more petite than they actually were (History of Fashion - Elizabethan). Many outfits included most of the following under layers: a smock, stockings, a corset, a farthingale, a rowel, a stomacher, a petticoat, a kirtle, a fore part, and a partlet. Then, most of the following over layers: a gown, separate sleeves, a ruff, a cloak, and shoes. Shoes were often a flat, Mary Jane style, or had a platform to keep one's feet dry. The biggest influence on woman's clothing during the Elizabethan Era was actually Queen Elizabeth I herself.
The overall idea of what a women should wear was extremely unpractible, causing women intense sickness and immobility due to things like “tight garters” and “corseted waists” (Riegl 176). Women could not wear loose, practical, comfortable clothes like mens fashion, but were confined to a life of solitude in their own clothing. Women’s fashion created a very large and unneeded burden (Riegl 176). Women felt violated that this uncomfortable and unhealthy way of life was being forced upon them. Eventually women got fed up by these Fashions and a sense of rebellion was triggered in many women. They finally felt they had to do something about the unfair treatment that took too large of a toll on their lives (Riegl 176)
Pantalettes, sometimes indicated major transitions in a girl's life signifying the going forward from infant to schoolgirl. From 1350 to mid 1500s, real fashion started to appear, as clothes were tailored to display the figure. During the 1700s, the Age of Enlightenment, ladies dressed in voluminous draped fabrics putting on a few more pounds. Tightly laced corsets were used in the bodices of their gowns, and hoops worn under their dresses, were made of flexible whalebone (a thin plastic strip used in stiffening corsets and bodices) held together by tapes (Fig. 1). During the industrial revolution in the 1800s, French designs dominated women's clothing, and women discarded the corset in favor of a softly bodice. Gowns were made with fewer layers and had leg-of-mutton sleeves (Fig. 2). In the 1870s, synthetic dyes were introduced due to the fact that they were cheaper and color-fast. Toward the 1900s, the Space Age, fashion quickly moved forward into the 20th century. By the end of the 19th-century, the fashion industry had broadened, partly due to the demand of women who had a more independent life style. In 1910, rayon was invented, the first man made fabric that substituted silk. Also, for the first time, hemlines rise above the ankles. During the early 20th century, nearly all high fashion originated in Paris and London. Fashion magazines from other countries sent editors and department stores sen...
Haute Couture News (2011) What is Haute Couture? [online] Available at: http://www.hautecouturenews.com/what-is-haute-couture/ [Accessed 23 March 2014]
“For as long as men and women have been wearing clothing, there has been a hierarchy based on garments. The clearest example arose when the sexes were segregated into skirts and pants: women would only wear dresses (a symbol of submission) and men would only wear trousers (proof of domination). Women’s clothing was created to impede and hamper movement (through tight or many layered skirts), while men enjoyed the ease and comfort of pant legs.” (Meza, Echazarreta) Women’s fashion throughout the ages can be used to trace the history of equality between men and women. As women achieved greater independence, they claimed the right to choose what they wore, and that included women being able to wear pants. There are three things that were instrumental in making it socially acceptable for women to wear pants, they include: the invention of the bicycle, WWII, and influential women.
The women of the 19th century had a unique style, very little rights, and hard roles. The waistline was at the natural place. This made the clothes tighter. The skirt shaped to look like a bell. Many types of sleeves were found, but it was common to find long sleeves for night and short sleeves for daytime. Found underneath skirts were feather- quilted petticoats. They supported the skirt. Women would also wear some sort of hat. Outside, they would wear a bonnet; inside, they would wear linen caps. As the 19th century continued, decorations were added to hats. They included birds, feathers, or fake flowers. Also, as the century moved on, pads were worn in the back to support the skirt. For informal dressing, wearing a hat was required. Women could either wear a large- brimmed hat or a straw boater. Skirts were still down to their feet. Their hair was put into a bun either in the back or on top of the head (“Women’s Dress”). The clothes were made with the material of silk, wool, or cotton. Cotton was not used in colored clothing. It was usually woven or put into a pattern. Wool and silk were the opposite; they were colored. It was very rare to see these fabrics woven or in a pattern (“Material”). When the 19th century was around, women have very little rights. At this time, they could not vote nor could they have property or make their own earnings. When it came to divorcing, men took the kids; women were not allowed to have th...