-
1900 - The Belle Epoch
Fashion in the beginning of the 20th century was embossed by the S-bend corset women wore underneath their clothing to gain the fashionable shape (of a pouter-pigeon). Their hips were moved backwards and the chest was forced forwards, folded together by the corset. Women used to wear puffed, frilly blouses and skirts that were fitted over the hip. - Image -
1910 - A-line and Hobble Skirts
In the end of the last decade Paul Poiret appeared as the designer of the day with his revolutionary idea to slim and straighten the skirts, while not using a corset to shape the women's body. He created the empire line and A-line and in the following years a higher waist became fashionable.
During World War I the clothing changed to becoming more practical, as women sometimes even wore uniforms, overalls and trousers. - Image -
The 20ies - Flapper Girls
After the high-waisted styles of the last decade, the waistline dropped down to hip level and the trend was moving towards simplicity. Though there was simplicity in the straight line of the dress, to celebrate the end of World War I, everything was about the details to show the euphoria. With the ‚flapper era‘ the simplicity of the style changed towards shortened skirts with floating panels and decorative elements. - Image -
The 30ies - Decade of the Couturiers
The change of the silhouette in the 20ies prepared the way of a new slinky femininity in the upcoming years. Especially simple but nice fitted satin gowns became popular. They moved backwards to the natural shape of the woman’s body but give her the freedom of dressing without a corset. Besides the fashion in movies had a big influence on how people thought about fashion. - Image -
The 40ies - Rosie the Riveter
When the World War II started, there were fabric shortages and restrictions about what types of garment could be manufactured. Everything was needed for military purposes and the civilian use of materials was restricted. There was no frivolity and extravagance left but everything focused on utility and practicality. ‚Rosie the Riveter‘ became the role model and the wide-shouldered and slim-waisted silhouette was established. Image -
The 50ies - The New Look
Though the New Look created by Dior in 1947 belongs to the 40ies, it became the popular style of the 50ies. After the World War II women were seeking for a way to embrace the new hope. It was the rise of the hourglass silhouette with its very full skirts, thin waists and sloping shoulders. To read more about this developing decade get further information here - Image -
The 60ies - Less is more
From decade to decade fashion, especially skirts and dresses became shorter and shorter. The 1960ies invented the mini-skirt, colurful shifts and prints and the It-girl Twiggy. Brigitte Bardot influenced another youth look with the french ‚baby doll‘ look. With the first wave of the baby boomers, the market shifted towards a more youthful silhouette and more mass production. - Image -
The 70ies - Woodstock vs Studio 54
While the world was evolving so was fashion. The 70ies can count a lot of important new looks and styles. First of all there was the Woodstock festival celebrating peace and love in the Flower-Power look. Next to it people were wearing jeans in every shape and color and to every occasion. And of course the famous Studio 54 glam and glittery look. - Image -
The 80ies - Yuppies & Fitness Boom
The variety of fashion grew with every decade and the 80ies just made everything bigger. The Yuppie style of the career driven Young Urban Professionals came along with oversized shoulder pads. Different to that were the blurred lines drawn by David Bowie and Grace jones in case of androgyny in fashion. The opposite to that was the fitness driven fashion that brought exercise wear to the streets. - Image -
The 90ies - Heroin Chic and Grunge
The 90ies became the era of the Supermodels - Naomi Campell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista - just to name a few. But next to them a new upcoming star in fashion was Kate Moss who was controversy to any know fashion rules. With her Heroin Chic came also the Grunge and Gothic chic. Everything was dark and black and people got inspired for fashion in the upcoming drug culture. - Image -
2000 - The Beginning of a new Century
With the turn of the century there was a complete turn in fashion. Actresses and music stars became fashion icons and influenced the fashion in the beginning of the century. The mini-skirts from the 60ies became micro-mini-skirts and wearing a lacy slip dress looked like running around in underwear. The dress over jeans or the Juicy Couture Tracksuits seemed to be fashionable too. - Image
