WOMEN AND FASHION
by: Fatima Fyaaz
The famous five included five Canadian women named Emily Murphy-leader of the group, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards. These women asked the supreme court of Canada to answer the question “Does the word 'persons' include female persons?” The Canadian supreme court answered “no” so the five determined Canadian women fought for their rights to have women legally considered a person. This case went on for many years. During the 1920s, many people believed that girls couldn't handle the stress of interscholastic competition. Sports gained popularity in the 1920's. School teams were formed for students. Several sports, such as golf, that had previously been unavailable to the middle-class became open. Record-breaking athletes also attracted many new people to various physical activities. The 1920's is the decade in which fashion entered the modern era. It is the decade in which women stopped wearing clothes that were old and redistricted for the new comfortable and more modern cloth's such as: short skirts, trousers... Clothing fashions change with woman's role in society. The most popular fashion trend in the roaring twenties was the “Flapper look”; the flapper dress was functional and flattened the bust line rather then accentuating it. The straight-line chemise topped by the close-fitting cloch hat became the uniform of the day. Women "bobbed", or cut, their hair short to fit under the popular hats, a radical move in the beginning, but standard by the end of the decade. Low-waisted dresses with fullness at the hemline allowed women to literally kick up their heels in new dances like the Charleston. In 1925, "shift" type dresses with no waistline emerged. At the end of the decade, dresses were being worn with straight bodices and collars. Tucks at the bottom of the bodices were popular, as well as knife-pleated skirts with a hem approximately one inch below the knee. Undergarments began to transform after World War I to conform to the ideals of a flatter chest and more boyish figure. The women's right movement had a strong effect on women's fashions. Most importantly, the confining corset was discarded, replaced by a chemise or camisole and bloomers, later shortened to panties or knickers. During the mid-1920s, all-in-one lingerie became popular. For the first time in centuries, women's legs were seen with hemlines rising to the knee and dresses becoming more fitted. A more masculine look became popular, including flattened breasts and hips, short hairstyles such as the bob cut, Eton crop and the . Marcel wave was bohemian and forthcoming for its age. One of the first women to wear trousers, cut her hair and reject the corset was Coco Chanel. Probably the most influential woman in fashion of the 20th century, Coco Chanel did much to further the emancipation and freedom of women's fashion. Women in the 1920's had specific times to wear specific clothes. During the 1920's men also abandoned their highly formal clothing for more comfy athletic clothing. In menswear there were two distinct periods in the 1920s. Throughout the decade, men wore short suit jackets, the old long jackets being used merely for formal occasions. In the early 1920s, men's fashion was characterized by extremely high-waisted jackets, often worn with belts. Lapels on suit jackets were not very wide as they tended to be buttoned up high. This style of jacket seems to have been greatly influenced by the uniforms worn by the military during the First World War. Trousers were relatively narrow and straight and they were worn rather short so that a man's socks often showed. Trousers also began to be worn cuffed at the bottom at this time. By 1925, wider trousers commonly known as Oxford bags came into fashion, while suit jackets returned to a normal waist and lapels became wider and were often worn peaked. Loose-fitting sleeves without a taper also began to be worn during this period. During the late 1920s, double-breasted vests, often worn with a single-breasted jacket, also became quite fashionable. During the 1920s, men had a variety of sport clothes available to them, including sweaters. trousers, commonly known as knickers. For formal occasions in the daytime, a morning suit was usually worn. For evening wear men preferred the short tuxedo to the tail coat, which was now seen as rather old-fashioned and snobby. Men’s fashion also became less regimented and formal. Men favored short jackets with two or three buttons rather than jackets with long tailcoats as well as pinstriped suits. Casual-wear for men often included knickers, short pants that came to the knee. Just like women, men had certain attire that was worn for certain events. Tuxedos were appropriate attire at the theater, small dinner parties, entertaining in the home, and dining in a restaurant. Men's hats were usually worn depending on their class, with upper class citizens usually wearing top hats or a homburg hat Middle class men wore either a fedora, bowler hat or a trilby hat. During the summer months a straw boater was popular for upper class and middle class men. Working-class men wore a standard newsboy cap or a flat cap. The change that the roaring twenties brought in fashion was very hard for people to adapt to. The change in fashion was very slow but some caught on fast and were very pleased with the new style. |