HISTORY OF FASHION

SHIVANGI VERMA
GANDHINAGAR INIFD -
3RD YEAR -2022
PROJECT :- HISTORY OF
FASHION
SUBMITTED TO :-
WARSHA HADKI
 FASHION HISTORY: 1900 – 1909
 MENSWEAR
 Like most of the first half of the twentieth century,
men’s fashion moved much slower than women’s.
There weren’t great changes to the prevailing
menswear modes, but rather subtle changes in
details and accessories. What men wore continued
to be ruled by the appropriateness for the event
and men could wear suits in varying degrees of
formality.
 Though the suit was still the primary daywear,
clothing associated with various sporting pursuits
was becoming increasingly acceptable as
daywear. Hennessey writes,
 “Other garments that were used for sport were
cardigans for tennis, cricket, and baseball as well
as increasingly for leisure wear, and thick, woolen
sweaters seen on motorcyclists and skiers. Woolen
jumpers were also popular with fishermen –
workwear being another source for fashion
innovation.” (226)
 WOMENSWEAR

 Fashion for women in the first decade of the

twentieth century largely followed the fashion of
the previous century. The highly structured
silhouette of the Gibson Girl was still popular at
the beginning of the decade. The simplification
and loosening of dress that would come to define
the century did not begin to appear until late in the
decade and early in the next. Instead, modest
dresses, bodies moulded by corsets, and
ostentatious ornamentation dominated women’s
fashion throughout the first ten years of the
century.

 As the decade progressed, fashions began to

soften. The rigid S-bend shape popular in the early
part of the decade gradually straightened out into
a more natural shape. Laver writes, “The bust was
no longer thrust quite so far forward, nor the hips
so far back. Floppy blouses hanging over the waist
in front were abandoned” (222). The loose tops
and oversized sleeves became narrower, as did
skirts. Waists were higher and the tubular
silhouette that would become popular in the next
two decades began to emerge (Figs. 8 & 9).
Milford-Cottam describes how fashion changed
throughout the first decade:
 FASHION HISTORY: 1910 – 1919
 MENSWEAR
 In the early 1910s, men’s fashion largely continued on from
the previous decade. Lounge suits – three-piece suits much
like business suits today – increased in popularity as a
more casual alternative to the more formal suits of years
previous. There were various styles of these suits (Figs. 1 &
2). Trouser legs crept up to ankle length for a shorter look,
often with the cuffs turned up. Laver writes:

 Though men’s fashion would return to the three-piece suit

after the war, the conflict did have a lasting effect on both
men and women’s fashion. Though part of their uniform
and not a fashion statement at the time, the trench coat saw
its rise (and was even given its name) in the desperate
conditions on the front in World War I. British officers,
who outfitted themselves, began to buy the coats that had
been developed in the mid-nineteenth century as a
functional part of their uniform. Lighter than the coat
issued by the British army, water resistant, and a khaki
color, the coats helped keep officers warm and dry.
Burberry (Fig. 5) and Aquascutum sold these coats to both
men and women during the war. It was utilitarian at the
time but would later be adopted by Hollywood, providing
the garment with a lasting legacy that is still felt today.
 WOMENSWEAR
 Fashion in the 1910s, like the decade itself, may be
divided into two periods: before the war and during
the war. World War I had a profound effect on
society and culture as a whole and fashion was no
exception. While changes in women’s fashion that
manifested in the 1920s are often attributed to
changes due to World War I, many of the popular
styles of the twenties actually evolved from styles
popular before the war and as early as the beginning
of the decade.

 The 1910s opened with a softer silhouette than the

decade before, which was dominated by the “S-
shape.” While the contorted shape created by
straight-fronted corsets had softened into a more
natural silhouette, the style in the early years of the
decade still had an emphasis on the bust that echoed
styles of the previous decade. The ball gown by G & E
Spitzer shows how the S-curve softened in the early
part of the decade but still relied on the top-heavy
look. As this S-shape began to disappear altogether,
skirts began to taper towards the bottom, like the
example by Doeuillet and a completely new style,
that of a revived empire waist, emerged as well.
 FASHION HISTORY 1920-1929
WOMENSWEAR
At the dawn of the 1920s, the world was still reeling from the
First World War. The conflict, which ended just over a year
before the new decade began, had a fundamental and
irreversible effect on society, culture, and fashion. Essential to
these new styles was a simplicity that had not previously been
seen in women’s fashion. Dress historian Jayne Shrimpton
writes in Fashion in the 1920s:

Fashion in the 1920s was all about the whole look and there
were trends in how the body itself was fashioned. The simple
lines and androgynous shapes of fashion looked best on
bodies free from curves. Through exercise, diet, and various
shaping undergarments, women attempted to achieve this
look. The sporting look also helped facilitate a mode for
suntanned skin. Many women cut their hair into a bob, a
popular hairstyle that emerged early in the decade. Hairstyles
kept getting shorter first with the shingle and then with the
Eton crop, but like hemlines, as the decade drew to a close,
women were starting to grow their hair longer again. The
cloche hat became an extremely popular accessory that looked
best with these short hairstyles.
  MENSWEAR
 As womenswear valued simplicity in the
1920s so, too, did menswear. Men moved
away from starched collars and formal
three-piece suits during the day. Instead,
they adopted soft collars and one- or two-
button suit jackets often worn without a
waistcoat as seen in the different styles
shown on the fashion plate in figure 1.
Pinstripes were popular, as were British
wools and English tailoring. Martin Pel
writes that “British men were perceived to
be sartorially the most elegant, and
fashionable men hoped to emulate the style
and heritage of Savile Row and the English
elite” (28). Popular materials were tweeds
and flannels, depending on the season
(Shrimpton 31).
 The most significant development in men’s
fashion occurred in two unique kinds of
trousers: the Oxford bags and the plus-
fours. Oxford bags grew in popularity
around 1924-25 when undergraduates at
Oxford adopted these wide-legged trousers
 FASHION HISTORY 1930-1939
WOMENSWEAR
As the 1920s turned into the 1930s, women’s fashion
softly evolved from the boyish look of the previous
decade into the feminine silhouette of the early thirties.
With the stock market crash in 1929 and with the opening
of the new decade, hemlines descended back to ankle
length and waistlines moved back to their natural place.
Despite these departures from the prevailing mode of the
previous decade, the popular styles of the early 1930s
were similar in their simple lines to the popular garçonne
look of the twenties. But while the simplicity of the 1920s
created a sack-like silhouette free from curves, the simple
lines of the early thirties hugged those curves, creating a
soft, feminine silhouette. Cally Blackman, a lecturer on
the history of fashion at Central Saint Martins, writes in
100 Years of Fashion, “By the early 1930s, the fashionable
silhouette was evolving into a slender, elongated torso
with widening shoulders and a neat head with softly
waved short hair”
 MENSWEAr

 Like womenswear, menswear saw a shift of focus to the

movies for fashion inspiration in the 1930s. Just as
women’s fashion had begun to democratize in the
twenties, men’s fashion followed suit. Fashion writer
Colin McDowell writes in The Man of Fashion: Peacock
Males and Perfect Gentlemen of the power movies had
over men’s fashion in the thirties, recalling that sales of
undershirts slumped when Clark Gable (Fig. 16), revealed
that he wasn’t wearing one in 1934’s It Happened One
Night (111). Here, we see the shift of influence from the
elite, such as the Duke of Windsor, to working-class
heroes of the movies. McDowell continues:
 While no longer as wide as the previous decade’s Oxford
bags, trouser legs continued to be wide at the bottom and
worn creased and cuffed. Plus-fours, like the Duke of
Windsor’s 1933 suit in figure 20, continued to be worn by
many and tweed continued to be a popular material.
When suits were worn, jackets had wide, padded
shoulders and tapering sleeves. Perhaps foreshadowing
what was to come, military-inspired trends such as the
trench coat and the leather “Bomber” jacket also saw
popularity in the 1930s as casual outerwear. An enduring
image of the Great Depression are men, like those in Fig.
18, in worn boots, large overcoats, and a flat cap. For
some, this was all the fashion they could afford during the
thirties.
 FASHION HISTORY 1940-1949
 WOMENSWEAR
 The close of the 1930s had brought with it the start of
World War II. As World War I had in the 1910s, WWII
had a profound impact on fashion in the first half of the
1940s, and even after the war had ended. France, the
United Kingdom, and the United States all had distinct
fashion stories during the first half of the 1940s due to the
impact of the war. After the war, those fashion stories
began intersecting again with the arrival of Christian
Dior’s New Look.
 By the dawn of the 1940s, France had long been
established as the center of women’s fashion design.
However, just six months into 1940, German forces
occupied Paris, an occupation that would last until late
1944. While some designers left Paris at the start of the
occupation, many stayed and continued to design (Ewing
141). Because France was cut off from the US and the UK,
these designs were not seen outside of France and
diverged drastically from what other countries were
wearing. This difference can be seen as early as 1940 as
the Bergdorf Goodman sketches by American designer
Philip Hulitar (Fig. 2 and 3) show a much sleeker
silhouette than the full-skirted wedding ensemble by
French designer Jeanne Lanvin
 MENSWEAR
 Just as World War II stalled women’s
fashion, it also slowed change in men’s
fashion. Rationing, of course, affected all
ages and genders indiscriminately and
Utility suits were created for men as well.
With so many men going to war or doing
their part at home, it was more unusual to
see men out of uniform than it was to see
them in it. As such, men’s fashion
remained largely the same as it had been
in the late 1930s throughout the first half
of the forties, with new Utility styles
changing primarily to accommodate the
use of less material.
 While women’s Utility clothing was
designed by established designers like
Claire McCardell in the US and Norman
Hartnell in the UK, men’s Utility clothing
was marked by its pared-down look
rather than its fashion credentials.
Shrimpton writes,
 FASHION HISTORY 1950-1959
 WOMENSWEAR
 Fashion is rarely contained neatly in one decade, and
the popular look that dominated womenswear in the
1950s actually emerged in the late 1940s. When
Christian Dior’s “New Look” appeared in February
1947, it became an instant success and the nipped-in
waist and full-skirted silhouette remained the leading
style until the mid-1950s. As the decade progressed,
the dominant silhouette became progressively
straighter and slimmer, and as fashion began to look to
the new “teenager” for inspiration, the elegance and
formality of the early part of the decade began to
lessen.

 As the 1950s began, the initial resistance to the

extravagance of the New Look had died down and the
silhouette was entrenched in both women’s daywear
and eveningwear. Dior himself continued to produce
designs that followed the feminine line even while
incorporating new elements, like the structural collar
seen in figure 1. While this shape remained popular
until at least 1954, in his Fashion Sourcebooks: The
1950s, John Peacock describes how this figure evolved
throughout the decade:
 MENSWEAR
 Although womenswear in the 1950s prided formality,
men’s fashion moved towards an informality it had not
yet seen before. Though young women wore tight
sweaters and sought clothes that suited her age, it was
young men who really started the so-called “youth
culture” of the 1950s. Since the rise of the suit in the
18th century, men’s fashion had seen little dramatic
change until the rise of the Teddy Boys in Britain and
the rebellious youths who looked to Hollywood stars
Marlon Brando and James Dean in the fifties.
Significantly, both of these styles were adopted or
inspired by working-class men, rather than coming
from the elite.

 In the years after World War II, tailors on Savile Row

in London introduced a slim cut suit with a velvet-
collared suit that was referred to as the New
Edwardian (Milford-Cottam 53). While it was
originally elegant, upper-class men who wore these
suits with narrow trousers, in the early 1950s, young
working-class men began to adopt and adapt the style
for their own purposes. Nicknamed “Teddy Boys”
(Teddy being a nickname of Edward), these young
men, seen in figure 15, wore extremely narrow
trousers, velvet-collared jackets and greased their hair
back into quiffs. While the style was popular and
signified a certain type of rebellious young working-
class man, it also signified a shift in the ability of the
working-class young to consume.
 FASHION HISTORY 1960-1969
 WOMENSWEAR
 Broadly categorized, there were three main trends in
1960s womenswear: 1) the lady-like elegance inherited
from the previous decade seen on the likes of First Lady
Jacqueline Kennedy, 2) the fun, youthful designs
popularized by Swinging London, and 3) the Eastern-
influenced hippie styles of the late 1960s. Along with
these diverse styles, there came a shift in the way that
women shopped and for whom the styles were created.
 In the early years of the decade, fashion continued
along the lines of the 1950s. Skirt suits and coordinating
accessories were emphasized as one decade transitioned
into the next. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy epitomized
this look during her husband’s presidential campaign
and short presidency. She was admired around the
world for her put-together, lady-like look consisting of
boxy skirt-suits like the Givenchy suit in figure 1 and
navy suit in figure 2, sheath and A-line dresses (Fig. 3),
and luxurious coats–all accessorized with white gloves,
pearls, and a matching hat. This look was being
produced by the likes of Hubert de Givenchy and
Cristóbal Balenciaga (Fig. 4), but as the decade
progressed, it became clear that the momentum was
towards a new kind of designer in the 1960s.
 MENSWEAR
 Just as womenswear became more casual and
colorful throughout the 1960s, so too did menswear.
While menswear began moving towards a more
casual style in the 1950s, the frenetic energy of
Swinging London found its way with bright prints
and colors for men. As there had not been very
much movement in men’s fashion for over a
hundred years, the change was striking. The V&A
writes,
 Where the mid- to late-1950s saw a rise in the
popularity of Italian style suits with narrow striped
ties, menswear gradually incorporated brighter
colors and patterns, and ties began to widen again
as the decade progressed. The difference between
the conventional suit seen in 1963 and those
designed by Cardin and worn by George Harrison
is striking.

 By the mid-1960s, even the suit itself was seeing

changes. Brightly striped or patterned suits were
worn by bold young men, while even the trousers
and jacket did not escape from new styling.
 FASHION HISTORY 1970-1979
 WOMENSWEAR
 As the Swinging Sixties turned into the
1970s, the influence of boutique stores
and diffusion lines made ready-to-wear
clothing increasingly accessible. New
synthetic fabrics meant that fashionable
styles could be bought at any price
point. So pervasive were these
materials that the seventies became
known as the “Polyester Decade.” The
decade saw a wide range of popular
styles: from the early prairie dresses
influenced by hippie fashion, to the
flashy party wear worn to disco
nightclubs, to the rise of athletic wear
as the decade looked towards the
1980s, the seventies was a decade that
explored fashion, but also looked back.
 MENSWEAR
 Men’s fashion in the 1970s continued to get brighter
and bolder. By the early seventies, the so-called
“Peacock Revolution” that had started in the 1950s
had made it acceptable for men to wear brighter
colors, bolder prints and wear their hair long. While
the suit continued to be a staple for many men, new,
inventive styles were popularized (Fig. 18).
 In the early 1970s, men’s fashion tried to emphasize
a tall, lean figure. Turtlenecks, slim-fitting shirts,
and tight-fitting flared pants all worked to
popularize the silhouette. Milford-Cottam writes,
 Shirts and trousers were tighter than they’d ever
been and the long hair popularized by the hippies
in the late 1960s continued to be widespread.

 Just as womenswear embraced elements of

menswear, men’s fashion also became more gender-
neutral in the 1970s (Fig. 21). “Fashion had reached
a new level of gender equality, particularly in
informal wear,” says Milfrod-Cottam (40). Tight t-
shirts, jeans, shirts and sweaters were worn by both
men and women and some skinny men even opted
to wear women’s clothing instead of men’s.
 FASHION HISTORY 1980-1989
 WOMENSWEAR
 Adecade typified by its “power dressing,” the 1980s actually
opened with stylish sportswear and the soft “New
Romantics” style. Carrying on from the late 1970s trend for
sportswear and encouraged by a fitness craze, women
increasingly wore stylish gym wear in their day-to-day life.
This was captured in Jennifer Beals’ attire in the 1983 movie
Flashdance (Fig. 1). Dance-wear inspired fashion including
off-the-shoulder sweatshirts and leggings, while Jane
Fonda’s exercise videos also encouraged these styles (Fig. 2).

 Normal Kamali continued to produce fashionable

sportswear using comfortable materials such as jersey.
Meanwhile designers such as Donna Karan and Azzedine
Alaïa moved to using stretchy fabrics such as Lycra for
body-conforming clothing. Editor Kathryn Hennessy notes
how this produced a significant shift how fashion was worn
in Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Fashion and Style:
“Women’s bodies were now shaping the clothes, rather than
clothes shaping the body” (388). The dresses by Donna
Karan and Azzedine Alaia (Figs. 3-4) show how dresses
conformed to the body while the ensemble by Versace (Fig.
5) is an example of how sportswear made its way into high
fashion. The ensemble features a popular piece from the
  MENSWEAR
 Fashion for men in the 1980s largely
followed the trends in womenswear. Like
women, there was a craze for fitness wear,
classic American workwear, preppy styles
and “power dressing” (Laver 276). Many of
the big names in women’s fashion also
began designing men’s fashion in the 1980s:

 “The 1980s also saw many designers

expand their ranges to embrace menswear.
These included Mugler (1980), Comme des
Garçons (1983), Jean-Paul Gaultier (1984)
and Karl Lagerfeld (1989).” (Laver 276)

 Gaultier especially looked to play with

gender and throughout the decade
produced skirts for men, among other
designs (Hennessey 395). The suit from
Thierry Mugler’s first collection show a
move toward the wide shoulders of the
eighties (Fig. 1) while the Butterick patterns
showcase the bold patterns and colors of
men’s sports coats
 FASHION HISTORY 1990-1999
 WOMENSWEAR
 In the final decade of the twentieth century, fashion
continued to move towards a more casual style of
dressing and minimalism. While there were periods of
more formal dress, the twentieth century largely saw
fashion moving towards a much more minimalist and
casual style and as the eighties ended, this approach
became widespread. By the end of the decade, it was
clear that this approach to dressing was here to stay.

 At the beginning of the decade, the high fashion

supermodel peaked with models such as Cindy
Crawford and Naomi Campbell pictured on the front of
Vogue in 1990 . Kathryn Hennessey writes in Fashion:
The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style (2012):

 While the decade began with the popularity of these

high fashion and larger-than-life styles of the eighties,
fashion quickly moved toward less glamorous and more
casual dress.
 MENSWEAR
 Like womenswear, in the 1990s menswear also became
more and more casual. Jeans and untucked shirts
became typical casualwear as trends in music like
grunge, hip-hop and Britpop influenced styles
throughout the decade.

 In the early part of the decade, the sartorial influence

of grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam pervaded.
The look was simple: an oversized flannel shirt,
sometimes worn over a t-shirt, and jeans. Other grunge
styles included beanies, band t-shirts, knitted sweaters
with patterns and Converse shoes. Nirvana’s Kurt
Cobain epitomized the look with holes in his jeans and
cardigan sweaters (Fig. 1). The overall look was
disheveled and could be bought second-hand in a
thrift store. Though it became a fashion trend, it was
born of a desire to not engage with fashion at all.

 Towards the mid-nineties, grunge began to fade in

popularity, but the casual approach to fashion
remained. Other styles of music, including hip-hop
and rap, continued to influence fashion during this
period. The popular styles to come from this
predominantly included sportswear, including
baseball caps and jackets, basketball shorts, tracksuits,
and hoodies, but flannel shirts also carried over from
grunge
 FASHION HISTORY 2000-2009
 WOMENSWEAR
 At the turn of the millennium, fashion looked to the future as
technology began seeing the rapid development that would lead to
the widespread use of smartphones and social media by the end of
the decade. The emphasis on new technology inspired fashion with
metallic silvers, blacks and the use of straps and belts to create a
Matrix-esque look. The catwalks in Spring and Fall 2001 were
dominated by the use of black, with designers such as Balenciaga
(Fig. 1), Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (Fig. 2), and Calvin Klein
(Fig. 3) using black almost exclusively in Fall 2001 (Brillson). The use
of leather, trench coats, and straps contributed to a style that
harkened towards a new age of technology and innovation.

 However, after the events of 9/11 and the mortgage crisis of 2001,
fashion turned back towards conservatism. In America especially,
this marked the rise of jeans for every occasion. This stayed true
throughout the decade, however, the dominant style changed over
the years. In the early 2000s, low-rise, flared jeans were prevalent
while by the mid-2000s, bootcut jeans had grown more popular.
During this period, True Religion and 7 for all Mankind were staple
denim brands. Jeans were even worn on the red carpet with True
Religion a popular option as chosen by Jessica Alba (Fig. 4). In 2005,
skinny jeans were introduced and were commonplace by 2006.
Distressed jeans – purposefully ripped, frayed, or otherwise worn
jeans – were a hallmark of the era, and jeans were accepted as
appropriate attire in nearly all situations during the decade.
 MENSWEAR

 Like womenswear, menswear at the beginning of the 2000s looked to

the future for inspiration. Futuristic styles for men included a
dominance of black with some silver additions, trench coats and thin,
square sunglasses (Fig. 1). However, after September 11, men’s
fashion also returned to more conservative dress with sportswear the
dominant style. This included tracksuits, polo shirts (sometimes
layered or with the collar popped), cargo pants, and rugby shirts.

 In the mid part of the decade, retro 1960s-inspired styles emerged

inspired by British indie-pop bands. Smart casual was acceptable for
businesswear at this point as fashion continued towards a more
informal trajectory. Later in the decade, there was a 1950s and 1980s
revival including leatherman jackets and slim-fit suits.

 One of the defining brands of the early- to mid-2000s for both men
and women was Ed Hardy. Embraced by celebrities, t-shirts
emblazoned with the tattoo-inspired art and Ed Hardy logo could
not be avoided. Complementing the Ed Hardy clothing were Von
Dutch trucker hats which were seen on celebrities such as Justin
Timberlake (Fig. 2), Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, and Paris
Hilton, making it a must-have It item for several years in the middle
part of the decade.
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