Review Of Garment Silhouette Changes In The 20Th Century

1900s clothing silhouette

Time: Victorian period (1900-1914), known as“ luxurious Age ". The fashion rules of this period were strict and formal. Disobeying these rules may be socially excluded, because clothing represents a person's age, status, and social class.

Silhouette: In this period, the silhouette of women wearing tight corset is S-shaped or hourglass shaped. The tight corset includes a slender waist and a connected chest, and is balanced with a rounded hip. If the hip curve is not obvious, add a hip pad under the skirt as support.

Accessories: decorative and exaggerated headwear; Small feet are very popular. Women deliberately wear shoes of several sizes smaller. Some fashion fanatics even cut off their toe bones to make their feet appear smaller.

Clothing silhouettes in the 1910s

Time: In 1914, the First World War broke out. Great changes have taken place in this decade. The invention of the power locomotive, the feminist movement, more and more women going out to work, and the increasingly strong sense of social and economic independence all mean that the tight corsets that bind the body are no longer suitable for the new lifestyle. The war also urged people to live less ostentatiously.

Representative: French designer Paul Plirot

Silhouette: Influenced by the Middle Eastern style long skirt and Islamic skirt, Paulie created a tottering skirt. Although this skirt is easier to wear than corset, its bottom hem is very narrow, which makes walking difficult. Later, the bottom hem was raised by 1~2 inches, changing from a tottering type to a more wearable horn type, some of which were also pleated or stacked, in harmony with the soft and round shoulders.

Accessories: The clothes are matched with large wide brimmed dome hats, which together form the silhouette of this period.

Clothing silhouettes in the 1920s

Time: In the noisy 20th century, a new silhouette called "boy style" appeared.

Representative figures: COCO Chanel, Jean Patou.

Silhouette: The silhouette of this period is flat chest, flat hips, wide shoulders and low waist. Most of the skirts in this period were just as long as the calf, with handkerchief style or asymmetrical hem, which made shorter styles appear. This simple silhouette allows family made clothing to imitate popular styles, and fashion becomes easy to achieve, not just the privilege of the rich.

Accessories: very short, boyish hair style Eton short hair, bell shaped bonnet.

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Clothing silhouettes in the 1930s

Time: In the 1930s, the worldwide economic recession and the bankruptcy of Wall Street triggered mass unemployment, which eventually evolved into the famous world economic depression in history.

Silhouette: The smooth and shapeless silhouette of the 20th century was replaced by a softer and more feminine silhouette. This silhouette emphasizes curves and the waist line returns to its natural position. For the first time in history, skirt length changes with time in a day. The cap sleeves of the dress are very short, so the cape is widely used. Women are busy with their work. These practical and multi-functional wearing styles and fashion awareness reflect the new lifestyle. Fitted clothes are still popular, paired with unprecedented short skating skirts and shorts, and worn in public.

Clothing silhouettes in the 1940s

Time: With the outbreak of World War II, the textile industry in Europe was forced to turn to munitions production. Paris is isolated from the world and has lost its status as the world's fashion center. Many local designers fled to New York and London. In the war years, idleness was considered unpatriotic, and clothing became more functional than ever before. Many women began to serve in the military, while the rest maintained their families.

Representative: French designer Christian Dior announced the arrival of a revolutionary silhouette.

Silhouette: In the 1940s, the silhouette was a military appearance, with thick shoulder pads forming a square shoulder, matched with a practical knee length skirt.

1950s Clothing silhouette

Time: In the 1950s, Paris regained the title of "fashion capital" in the world.

Silhouette: After the war, women were encouraged to be housewives, and women wore tight tops and wide hem skirts or box shaped fitted jackets with pencil skirts. The typical marks of silhouettes in this period are soft broad shoulders, thin waist with corset and plump buttocks.

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Clothing silhouettes in the 1960s

Time: The society's attention to the young generation is growing. Their dress taste, music preference and wanton consumption contributed to the consumer protection movement in the 1960s. During this period, fashion soon became "outdated" and popularity rapidly changed.

Representative: Jackie Kennedy's "innocent image" influenced the early 1960s silhouettes, such as three-quarters sleeves, round basin hats, fashionable two-piece suits (dresses and cardigans) and two-piece sports suits.

Silhouette: In the 1960s, the silhouette was type A and shirt skirts of different lengths. The mini skirt was the best representative of this period. Boys' hairstyles of the same sex were all the rage. The popular hairstyle was very short and cut into a ball shape.

Clothing silhouettes in the 1970s

Time: The 70th generation of the 20th century announced the beginning of women's liberation movement and rights (including obligations) movement. The massive increase of tourism has globalized fashion, and the influence from all over the world may impact the fashion field. For example, Turkish gowns, kimono style dressing gowns, Yelaba cloaks (Moroccan cloaks with pointed hats) and clothing styles from the Indian subcontinent and Africa have been transformed into long skirts and other comfortable clothing. Fashion techniques from all over the world, such as tassel lace and crochet lace, have become popular.

Representing cultural phenomena: crazy rock music and disco.

Silhouette: In the 1970s, the silhouette was more relaxed and slender. For example, romantic and elegant fabrics are used; The bottom of the country style pullover is flared, hiding the lines of the waist; Bell bottoms with platform shoes. The hairstyle is slightly curly.

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Clothing silhouettes in the 1980s

Time: This decade is the peak period of economic prosperity, excess and consumption. Designer brands and high-end cars are a way to show off wealth and success. A well performing stock market means that someone can become rich overnight. At this time, in some jobs, women wear strong clothes and compete fairly with men. They need everything in life - successful careers, equal social status and happy families. The most popular is aerobics, especially the sports image of wearing leg guards and famous brand sports to serve a sentence.

Silhouette: women's silhouette is dominated by large shoulder pads and military style shoulder pads, with oversized and colorful jewelry, wide belts, narrow skirts on knees and pointed shoes with dagger heels.

Clothing silhouettes in the 1990s

Time: After the 1980s, when there was excess material, it began to decrease in the form of "minimalism". With the emergence of the Internet, fashion has begun to globalize. With less monopoly and more choices, people can freely choose their favorite clothes. Fashion is easier to copy, and is often sold at a discount in the mall. Consumer consumption has become more rational and demanding.

Silhouette: fashionable and sexy two-piece Trouser suit 。 The trousers are paired with a simple shirt with narrow shoulders, plus a few prominent accessories.

1990 clothing silhouette