In post-war Britain, the role of women was beginning to change from the social normality. In this era, it was suddenly expected of women to do the jobs their husband was unable to do, as they were out in war. Their roles in society shifted from housewife and domestic caregiver, to female factory worker. This proved somewhat positive as women discovered their strength and intelligence that had before been hidden under their oppression. It is in this era, fashion photography aimed to explore the independence and business side of a woman, while maintaining her femininity. To discuss the representation of women in a post-war society, I will specifically look at the works of Norman Parkinson, notably the image titled The Art of Travel.
Pre-war fashion was significantly different than during and after war. In the early 1930's, female fashion was largely considered to be elegant and smart. Women wore small hats and gloves, as well as long,slim dresses and coats to help them appear taller than they were, ' dresses were slim and straight, being sometimes wider at the shoulders than at the hips'(Laver 2012, p.243). This was both in fashion magazines and for modern women of the time. By the mid 30's, fashion was using patterns and bolder colours. Similar to the style of the roaring 20's, women continued to wear stiletto's. However, by 1937, the war begun and elements of fashion was beginning to be considered for other uses, this included, cotton being used for parachutes. During this time, as men were out at war, a gap was left in the factories and required workers, which women then filled. Fashion for women at this time began to shift, women were unable to acquire stockings due to the difficulty of obtaining the material, at the same tim...
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...s,and the woman's role in society changing contributed to Norman Parkinson's fashion photography. In the majority of Parkinson's images, he portrayed women to be glamorous when showing them in situations uncommon for the time. In his piece The Art of Travel, he portrayed the woman to be elegant, sophisticated, but remained highly feminine. In photography he used garments such as gloves, hats, furs and colour in order to convey the women were lady like and traditional but still, in his style, adventurous. Although the use of gloves, hats and furs etc, are not evident in the photographs of Carmen Dell'Orefice, Parkinson continued to portray her as sophisticated, but at the same time, portrayed her female sexuality as empowering to women. Norman Parkinson pushed boundaries by using outdoor lighting and foreign locations, where he constantly portrayed women in style.
This essay will be focusing on women who worked during the world war two and their roles; also, it will focus on the different work clothes that females have worn for their different occupations over the years. One of the major subject matter in this essay will be the “Rosy the Riverter” poster that was created by various artist during the World War II and the artist this essay will look at is Dame Laura Knight.
New fashions were surfacing in both men’s and women’s fashions. Men were wearing Bermuda pants, baggy pants that were cut off at the knee, while women were wearing capris, tight pants that cut off just below the knee. Men were wearing tailored jackets and making a slight move towards the casual dress of today’s workplace. Women were wearing natural shoulders as opposed to the heavily padded ones of the war years. Flat, neck-hugging collars replaced the mannish collars of the late 1940’s. Waists were tightly fitted and skirts were long (Melinkoff 46). The jeans of the time were often lined with plaid flanel and dungarees were worn to the most casual occasions. The sandals of the fifties were not much different than the sandals of today.
From the conventional Victorian dresses of the 1800’s to the rock-and-roll tee shirts of the 1980’s, American culture has experienced incredibly diverse trends in clothing. This ever changing timeline of fashion provokes the question: what is the cause of such differing styles? By considering the state of society throughout the eras, it can be seen that clothing directly correlates with the current way of life. Specifically, American women’s fashion of the 1920’s and 1930’s proves to not simply be a meaningless trend – rather an accurate reflection of the specific era.
World War II changed fashion enormously by rationing clothes, this made it that after WW2 had ended, and the fashion of the war had lingered into some of the most popular trends in the 1950s. Fashion was a relief from worries and way to express themselves. So designers like Christian Dior wanted to start a new fresh look for women to kind of celebrate the war ending. The effects of war had made women crave glamour and beauty which changed how people wore clothes on a daily basis and had made 1950’s the Golden Age of Couture. World War 2 was the biggest war in history! And it sure did affect fashion in a huge way. During WW2 there were some laws like L-85 that rationed clothing. This had made the consumer society which had made the fashion industry boom. The consumer society became bigger when manufactures had figured out a way to make it that the middle class could afford good clothes.
From birth, people are divided into two sex categories- male or female. This is inevitable, and is given to each individual person based on the reproductive organs they were born with. Gender, on the other hand, is the social and cultural difference of being either ‘male’ or ‘female’ instead of the biological difference . This leads into stereotyping, which dictates ones first impressions of others judged by their clothing, style or personality. Society has already outlined the stereotypical gender roles for both men and women, examples being that women are associated with the colour pink and are usually housewives. Men however are associated with the colour blue and are the financial providers. This is also demonstrated with classic children toys. Little girls are usually given baby dolls and cooking sets with pink being the dominant colour, whereas boys are given DIY sets and war toys. American born photographer Cindy Sherman (19/01/1954) deals with the typical gender roles within society and is one of the most influential artists in contemporary art. Her film stills consist of using herself as the subject and portray the ‘everyday, average woman’. An example of her using a woman stereotype is her ‘Untitled film still #35’. At first glance, we can judge by the subject’s clothing that she’s a housewife; she has the apron, hair tied up etc. Noticing the coat and scarf on the left we can assume there’s a male present, most probably one whom she is glaring at. Her unfriendly expression could suggest that her husband demanded she hang...
Monet, Dolores. "Women and Fashions of the Early 20th Century- World War I Era-Clothing of 1914-1920." Hub Pages.com. Hubpages, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
photography was based on fashion. She had a signature aesthetic style, straightforward and clear in focus because
Womens- When WW2 ended the threads and fabrics that were previously insufficient, became suddenly available, this allowed a new era of fashion to be created. With this abundance of goods, fashion bloomed, using an overload of fabrics. This had the biggest effect on women's dresses. The dresses had fabulous collars, puffed up petticoats, plenty of pleats, and complex designs. These dresses were all made up of the best wool, nylon, taffeta, leather, and rayon. The clothing style in the 1950’s became a big part of the culture, as it displayed one's standing in society, and also became a way to demonstrate individuality.
The photographers like Bailey and Cowan were the string stop for the new era pf photography, “before the mini skirt and the classless ‘pop-ocracy’ of the Beatles and the Stones, there was David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton”- who took New York and Diana Vreeland, editor of American Vogue, by a storm in the frigid Jan of ’62 (Muir 2007)”, they were the products of a changing world. David Bailey also depicted his style and masculinity in the changing of photography. David Baileys breakthrough photography of the 1960’s was of Pauline Stone. The photograph depicts Pauline Stone feeding squirrel in a autumnal London Park. This photography was the anecdote that exemplified the mythology that would be 1960s fashion photography. Norman parkinson showed off his personality through is photography style as well. According to Michael Gross “ Parkinson dressed for the excess in caftans and gold jewellery or a decades old vanilla bespoke suit make for him by the British tailor Tommy Nutter (1995). Given his eccentric oriental persona, Parkinson never warmed to the formal “see pieces” favoured by French. Parkinson enjoyed photographing his models in natural settings and dynamic poses; “If a girl looks like a model, she is not for my lens” Parkinson said (quoted by Muir 2004). Terence Donovan also helped set up London as the place were people went to go gain inspiration. With the help of his gritty photographs, the whole “youth quake” was
During the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, the role of working-class women became a burden to what one would call British National Identity. As one can note from Deborah Valenze’s book The First Industrial Woman, women who began to work in order to support their families were seen as a masculine because they would dress showing more skin. The new evolving identity of working class women became criticized not only by men but also by women of higher economic status. This would eventually lead to the first feminist wave in Britain from 1848 through 1920. This new wave in Britain was a reaction to the way working women had been put down by British society in the earlier period of the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the ‘gentle lady’ of the Victorian Age became unacceptable, the role that domesticity was the right role to be played by women became a critique. The suffrage movement in many ways led women to embrace a new form of ‘masculinity’ in clothing. The working class woman’s ‘masculinity’ became one to be praised. One can begin to see this at the end of First Feminist wave in the 1920s when the flapper style became the new fashion. Society in Britain had become one of man v. woman, and women retaliated through fashion by adapting masculine style clothing to cover their curvaceous figures. Nevertheless, the Second World War’s impact on society brought with it a new ideology of Britain v. the outside enemy, which brought a revitalization of traditional women roles illustrated by the clothing. The following is an analysis on women’s clothing post the First World War and through the Second World War.
In its history, America has been one of the most influential, and influenced cultures of the world. So many different people, ideas, and products have been in and out of this country that American culture is one of , if not, the most diverse social structure of its time. Although it has been through many evolutions and revolutions, a certain time in this nation’s history can be pinpointed as its most drastic. The cultural movement of the 1960s was one of the largest evolutions of its kind that America has experienced thus far as it separated the rebellious youth from the traditional norm practiced by their well-seasoned elders.
Social responsibilities are being practiced more importantly in our society, and fashion industry is also connected to this aspect. This is true because fashion industry is closely linked with global issues such as labor and trade, markets and its customers. Modern designers are trying to balance their ethical values with profits in order to capture customers, goodwill in society, knowing for its environment-friendly production, designing, manufacturing, purchasing and facilitating them in their endeavors.
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.
Fashion is an evolving subject. Fashion Photography, as Fashion itself has transformed too. The way Fashion Photography has changed a lot to what it was and what it is now. And yes it would have changed as a lot has transformed through the years of fashion. Fashion Photography’s meaning and representation has changed in a way that the image represents something that sometimes is not realistic, Photography as an illusion. Fashion Photography has changed in the way we look at it know, it has changed gender issues, sexuality, ethnicity and the way the body has been portrayed. So when looking at a fashion image you have a lot to think about if you want to fully understand the concept of it meaning. It’ not how it used to be, women/men in clothes, showing of the designers creations. But it has a hidden agenda, hidden word, a meaning that it is try to communicate to the viewers. The words in the image, the image are the words, words are hidden in the image or the image is the word are many ways of explaining how fashion image are seen and understood in today fashion photography.
Feminism has been an extremely controversial and significant subject over the centuries. The issue of equality between men and women have been questioned and exceedingly debated upon, why men were treated and considered the ‘superior’ gender. During the 1960’s, civil rights, protests against war and gay and lesbian movements were at its peak. It was the period of time, which the Feminist art movement had emerged, also known as the “second-wave” of feminism, shifting away from modernism. Women wanted to gain equal rights as men within the art world. Feminist artists such as Cindy Sherman, Carolee Schneemann and Hannah Wilke pursued to change the world and perspectives on women through their artworks, specifically in body art. Their goal was to “influence cultural attitudes and transform stereotypes.” (DiTolla. T, 2013)