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History of the 1900’s Costumes
Fashion in the period 1900-1909 in European and European-influenced countries continued the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment of fashionable women.
The fashionable silhouette in the early 1900s was that of a mature woman, with full low bust and curvy hips. The "health corset" of this period removed pressure from the abdomen and created an S-curve silhouette.
Blouses and dresses were full in front and puffed into a "pouter-pigeon" look over the narrow waist, which sloped from back to front and was often accented with a sash or belt.
Skirts brushed the floor, often with a train, even for day dresses, in mid-decade.
Around 1908, the fashion houses of Paris began to show a new silhouette, with a thicker waist, flatter bust, and narrower hips. By the end of the decade the most fashionable skirts cleared the floor and approached the ankle. The overall silhouette narrowed and straightened, beginning a trend that would continue into the years leading up to the Great War.
Lingerie dresses
Frothy washable day dresses of translucent linen or cotton, called lingerie dresses, were worn in warm climates. These were trimmed lavishly with tiny pin tucks, lace insertions, embroidery, and passementerie. Their origins lie in the artistic or aesthetic dress and the adoption of the uncorseted tea gown for wear outside the home.
Sportswear and tailored fashions
Unfunny, tailored clothes were worn for outdoor activities and traveling. The shirtwaist, a costume with a bodice or waist tailored like a man's shirt with a high collar, was adopted for informal day wear and became the uniform of working women. Wool or tweed suits called tailor-mades or (in French) tailleurs featured ankle-length skirts with matching jackets; ladies of fashion wore them with fox furs and huge hats.
Rise of haute couture
This decade marked the full flowering of Parisian haute couture as the arbiter of styles and silhouettes for women of all classes. Designers sent fashion models or mannequins to the Longchamp races wearing the latest styles, and fashion photographs identified the creators of individual gowns. In 1908, a new silhouette emerged from Callot Soeurs, Vionnet at the house of Doucet, and most importantly, Paul Poiret. The styles were variously called Merveilleuse, Directoire, and Empire after the fashions of the turn of the nineteenth century, which they resembled in their narrow skirts and raised waistlines.
The new styles featured formfitting gowns with high or undefined waists, or ankle-length skirts and long tunic-like jackets, and required a different "straight line" corset. The Paris correspondent for Vogue described this new look as "straighter and straighter ... less bust, less hips, and more waist...how slim, how graceful, how elegant...!"
Hairstyles and hats
Huge, broad brimmed hats were worn in mid-decade, trimmed with masses of feathers and occasionally complete stuffed birds, or decorated with ribbons and artificial flowers. Masses of wavy hair were fashionable, swept up to the top of the head (over horsehair pads called "rats" if necessary) and gathered into a knot.Large hats were worn with evening wear.
By the end of the decade, hats had smaller drooping brims that shaded the face and deep crowns, and the overall top-heavy effect remained.
The 1920’s
The 1920s was the decade in which fashion entered the modern era. It was the decade in which women first liberated themselves from constricting fashions and began to wear more comfortable clothes (such as short skirts or pants). Men likewise abandoned overly formal clothes and began to wear sport clothes for the first time. The suits which men still wear today are still based, for the most part, on those which were worn by men in the late 1920s.
The 1920s were characterized by two distinct periods of fashion. The early 1920s were relatively conservative in nature and changed progressed slowly as many were reluctant to adopt the new styles. From 1925, the styles that have been associated with the Roaring Twenties were passionately embraced by the public and would continue characterize fashion until late in 1930.
n the aftermath of World War I, America entered a prosperous era and, as a result of her role in the war, came out onto the world stage. Social customs and morals were relaxed in the giddy optimism brought on by the end of the war and the booming of the Stock Market. New music and new dances came on the scene. Women got the vote in 1920 and were entering the workforce in record numbers. The nationwide prohibition on alcohol was ignored by many when it suited them. There was a revolution in almost every sphere of human activity, and fashion was no exception.
Clothing changed with women’s changing roles in modern society, particularly with the idea of freedom for women. Although society matrons of a certain age continued to wear conservative dresses, forward-looking and younger women now made sportswear into the greatest change in postwar fashion. The tubular dresses of the ‘Teens had evolved into a similar silhouette that now sported shorter skirts with pleats, gathers, or slits to allow motion to rule women’s fashion for the first time in history.
The straight-line chemise topped by the close-fitting cloche 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 kick up their heels literally in new dances like the Charleston.
Jean Patou, a new designer on the French scene, began making two-piece sweater and skirt outfits in luxurious wool jersey and had an instant hit for his morning dresses and sports suits. American women embraced the clothes of both designers as perfect for their increasingly active lifestyles.
By the end of the Twenties, Elsa Schiaparelli stepped onto the stage to represent a younger generation. She combined the idea of classic design from the Greeks and Romans (think "tunic") with the modern imperative for freedom of movement. Schiaparelli wrote that the ancient Greeks "gave to their goddesses . . . the serenity of perfection and the fabulous appearance of freedom." Her own interpretation produced gowns of elegant simplicity. Departing from the chemise, her clothes returned to an awareness of the body beneath the gown.
During the Twenties, Tirocchi clients asked for designs by known designers rather than work with Madame Tirocchi directly to create gowns for them. Most of these dresses were copies produced by New York fashion houses like Harry Angelo and Maginnis & Thomas, although some came from the New York City department stores B. Altman and Lord and Taylor.
Some Tirocchi clients purchased designs by old favorites from the ‘Teens, like Agnes, Callot Soeurs, Jeanne Lanvin, Poiret, and others. However, they bought a lot from the new designers Chanel and Patou (who was the special favorite of the young set)..
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