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Fashion The Definitive History of Costume and Style 2012

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Published by IKBN Peretak, 2021-04-19 03:21:57

Fashion The Definitive History of Costume and Style 2012

Fashion The Definitive History of Costume and Style 2012

LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE 249

DESIGNER

COCO CHANEL

Credited with inventing everything from the suntan were key to Chanel’s relaxed mode—encapsulated in the △ TIMELESS ALLURE
to the little black dress, “Coco” Chanel (1883–1971) sensibly placed pocket, for example. More importantly, Effortless chic and an air of enduring
was one of a number of designers, including Jean Chanel clothes spoke of youthful effortlessness, so different youth came naturally to Chanel and were
Patou, who set the tone for informal womenswear. She was from prewar styles, but with high price tags; her market key elements of the clothes she designed.
a towering fashion figure, expertly anticipating the post- was the leisured wealthy.
World War I spirit, representing the modernist woman, and ◁ THE CLASSIC SUIT
adding weight to many trends. Her 1920s and 30s women’s Chanel promoted an often muted palette of gray, Still going strong in the 21st century,
wear developed a cleverly “simple” look that chimed with black, white, and navy, and fed a major craze for beige. the Chanel suit with its collarless jacket,
the sober functionalism of wartime clothes. It embraced Enlivening additions included gilt buttons and gilt-chained relaxed style, and easy-to-wear fabric
relaxed Chanel suits in jersey and tweed, as well as bags, as well as costume jewelry, which under her influence is instantly recognizable.
streamlined shift chemises and the LBD (Little Black became not just acceptable but desirable. She pioneered
Dress), costume jewelry, wide-bottomed trousers,
and signature accessories. mixing real gems with fake ones—artificial pearls
were a favorite.
Capitalizing on her own boyish figure, Chanel
embraced the less constricted approach, creating Closing her couture house during World War II,
clothes that were comfortable and easy for Chanel (now in her 70s) relaunched herself in 1954.
“new” women to wear. Her own appearance
—and lifestyle—personified modernist ideals, Her reinvented simple skirt suit with braid-trimmed
providing powerful publicity and giving her collarless jacket was an enormous success,
an enduring, iconic status. especially in the US, where Jackie Onassis was a
high-profile 1960s fan of the boxy ensemble and
Making the right connections pearls. Chanel’s enduring appeal is thanks partly
to loose lines that suit a wide variety of women
After a hard start in life, support from and partly to her beautifully perfectionist finish,
wealthy male admirers helped Chanel while her separates have promoted the all-
establish a Parisian millinery business important concept of the mix-and-match,
in 1910, followed by shops in the investment capsule wardrobe.
fashionable beach resorts of Deauville and
Biarritz. She began experimenting with Reinventing the look—Lagerfeld
menswear styles and making women’s
garments from jersey, a soft, easily draped Chanel was still overseeing her collections when
fabric. By 1919 she had a booming she died, in her 80s, in 1971. The couture house
business in Paris. continued and in 1978 the first prêt-à-porter
(ready-to-wear) line was launched. In 1983 Karl
The 1920s established her staple range of
pullovers and loose or cardigan jackets, short Lagerfeld became head of design, raising the
skirts, and simple blouses. There were fancier brand's profile globally and promoting cult use
dresses for evening but still with a lean, stylish of the Chanel logo. That he has found so many
simplicity. Acclaim followed. Practicality and comfort fresh ways to mine Chanel concepts proves that

Coco had tapped into a timeless purism. Many
designers have drawn on her approach, from
Claire McCardell to Betty Jackson.

TIME LINE 1883 Born 1921 Launches ◁ 1930 Goes to Hollywood to 1953–54 Relaunches 1983 Karl Lagerfeld
Gabrielle her fragrance design movie costumes for United and reinvents prewar takes over Chanel haute
Chanel No. 5 Artists stars such as Gloria ideas to produce
Bonheur Chanel, Swanson and evening dresses a classic collarless suit couture (1983) and
in Saumur, France ◁ 1918–19 After running for the modern age prêt-à-porter (1984)
shops in Deauville and Paris, 1939 Closes her
1910 moves business to 31 rue couture house 1971 Dies in
Opens hat Cambon, Paris, selling Paris, age 87
shop in Paris ensembles and separates.
It remains there today
1880 1910 1930 1950 1970 1980
1920

◁ FINISHING DETAILS Chanel makes a few final adjustments to a new design created in her Paris couture house, 1959.

250 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Hair cropped Plain wool
short sweater
1920 – 1929
1922 Twisted
THE NEW cord belt
KNITWEAR
Simple
In the late 1910s women began to wear cardigans tote bag
and long sweater tunics, mainly for sports or resort
wear. Coco Chanel famously donned a long jersey On vacation For her spring vacation this
sweater on the Normandy beach as early as 1913. stylish woman has accessorized a hip-length
This knit textile had previously been used only for tunic sweater with a twisted belt. The white of
underwear but Chanel fashioned it into coats and her plain skirt is picked up in her hat, Peter Pan
suits. Knitwear was the perfect fit for the active, collar, long gloves, and two-tone strapped shoes.
modern woman, personified by the French tennis
ace Suzanne Lenglen who patronized Chanel’s Plain, black
rival Jean Patou. While not everyone could wool jersey
afford his patterned sweaters—with matching
accessories—cheaper versions were available for Black,
the mass market. Knit cardigans, tunics, short coats, satin cuffs
or entire knitwear ensembles were easy to put on,
comfortable to wear, and survived transportation Finely pleated
in a suitcase to the Riviera or the Alps. jersey skirt

JEAN PATOU White scarf to
match dress
In the Paris of the 1920s and early 30s the
dashing Jean Patou was as famous and Skirt hemmed
successful as Coco Chanel. Often credited to knee
with the invention of the knit sweater and
swimsuit, and sportswear in general, the 1927
couturier dressed sports stars, actresses,
and dancers such as the Dolly sisters White,
and Josephine Baker. The French tennis lace-up
champion Suzanne Lenglen, a major pumps
popularizer of la mode sportive, here
models a long, belted tunic sweater with
zigzag bands on sleeves and hem, a
pencil-pleated, white crêpe de Chine skirt,
and a fashionable felt
cloche hat. Patou also
designed the daring
short-sleeved cotton
attire Lenglen
wore on court.

Suzanne Stylish sportswear This young woman steps Jersey Coco Chanel’s perfect “little black
Lenglen off the court in style, wearing a tennis dress dress” is in fact made in two parts from one
of white crêpe de Chine with a knee-length of her trademark materials: wool jersey. The
pencil-pleated skirt. Her simple silhouette is unlined skirt, attached to a deep waistband, is
fashionably slimline. paired with a short sweater edged with satin.

Straw hat Wide-brimmed THE NEW KNITWEAR 251
trimmed cloche hat
Fitted cloche hat
with fabric
Fashionable Graduated
1923 V-neck stripes

Belt Leather
clutch bag
1924
1925
Fuller skirt

Low hem

Shoes with Practical, Flat sandals
multiple straps low-heeled
strapped shoes Zigzag The simple shape of this knit
ensemble shows off its dynamic striped
On the beach Mrs. Sherwin of New York wore Graduated stripes The explorer Violet Cressy- design in colored wool. The button-front
an all-white outfit while on vacation in Palm Marcks could scarcely be more fashionable. closures on both garments provide an
Beach, Florida. Hip-length tunic sweaters were She wears a simple hip-length, V-neck sweater easy-fitting, versatile outfit.
usually worn with matching or contrasting with a short, full skirt, accessorized with
belts, often fastened to one side. a belt, long necklace, and clutch bag.

Neat cloche hat Fabric Fake buttons KNITWEAR
Geometric corsage on insert
The “knitted wear” available from Gorringes,
designs 1929 Pattern created the London department store, in 1926
through seams was declared “suitable for the smartest
1928 occasions.” All the styles incorporate a
Ornamental low waist and are patterned, some models
belt buckle reflecting the vogue for ornamentation based
on eastern European traditional dress. While
the top left model is wearing a patterned
cardigan for golf, the other styles were clearly
suitable for more than just sportswear.

Skirt Side pleats
hemmed
just below
knee

Strapped shoes with Simplicity This deceptively simple, British 1924 Gorringes advertisement
button fastening going-away outfit has geometric seams to create
a pattern, pleated side panels in the skirt that allow
Cardigan suits These ladies wear fashionable movement but keep the straight line, and a collar
knit jersey ensembles by Wilson’s of London, facing that echoes the V-neck insert.
inspired by the casual chic of leading designers
Chanel and Patou. Long cardigans are layered over
simple sweaters, teamed with pleated jersey skirts.

252 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Soft line The straight Hat decorated
outline of this outfit is with owers
1920 – 1929 softened through the use Fur shawl
of fluid fabrics, pleating,
RISING HEMS layering, and pattern. Patterned
Many trademark blouse worn
Victor Margueritte’s scandalous novel La Garçonne, accessories of the over the skirt
published in 1922, describes the transformation of 1920s are displayed:
a young woman into the “tomboy” of the title. The the small hat, the Sash is part
androgynous, youthful look came to represent the decade, long necklace, and of blouse
though not every woman could carry it off. Thankfully there were the strapped shoes.
several styles to choose from, as long as they had a low waist. Pleated skirt
Hemlines rose and dropped at least twice, skirts being at their 1920
shortest around 1927. The gowns’ straight silhouettes were often
broken up or emphasized by geometric decoration, and different Low
colors could be used for the top and bottom halves. Fuller skirts strapped
remained in fashion, becoming more prominent when hemlines
were lower. The tight, bell-shaped cloche hat with its diminishing shoes
brim became universally popular and indicated that its wearer’s
hair had been cut fashionably short, but hats with wide brims
also remained in vogue.

LINGERIE Embroidered Hat with Cloche (bell-
chiffon collar wide brim shaped hat)
While women could choose from a bewildering array of
undergarments, they all served one purpose: to reduce or Abstract Clutch Cape
entirely remove any curves that even vigorous dieting could shape bag
not eliminate. Brassières had been introduced the previous
decade but now shrank into a flattening band. Underpants Embroidered
remained large and could also be attached to camisoles. naturalistic
Artificial or real silk, crêpe de Chine, and georgette in pink, owers
peach, apricot, or brighter colors such as cyclamen (pink)
replaced white cotton. Edgings and inserts were made of 1925 1926
lace. Corsets were still used but now often took the shape
of girdles compressing the hips with and without the help
of elastic.

Lace trim

Artificial silk or
rayon, popular
fabric for lingerie
at end of decade

Elasticated
waist

Green triangles Knee-
emphasize garden length
association skirt

Rayon slip and underpants Folk dress The shape of this short day dress is a Similar theme Both women sport the tubular
mixture of the simple tubular silhouette and the silhouette with a low waistline and hem just
more voluminous robe de style. The colors and below the knee. Variations are provided by the
style of the embroidery might have been derived use of different outer garments, shoes with and
from the traditional dress of eastern Europe. without straps, and different hat styles.

Hat with Fur shawl Scarf in RISING HEMS 253
small brim collar matching
SHOES
1922 Small handbag design
Strapped shoes had been worn in the
Hemline Simple but effective previous decade but became one of the
rises up use of color defining trademarks of the 1920s. Women
could choose between tie shoes closed with
Long, loose a bow, shoes with single or multiple buckled
sleeves straps, or so-called sandals with T-straps.
Strapless pumps and dress shoes remained
1923 in vogue including the Cromwell, which had
a high tongue reminiscent of 17th-century
footwear. Laced shoes derived from men’s
styles such as the Gibson, Derby, and Oxford
were also available. These usually featured
straighter and lower heels than strapped
shoes and pumps. Fringe brogue shoes were
recommended for the country.

Low V-neck

Colored
band at
hem

Country shoes

Wrapped up The clever use of two Art deco Unlike much of the Buckled,
different fabrics meant that this wrap clothing of the previous decade, strapped shoes
coat could be mistaken for a skirt and this day dress is easy and fast to slip
jacket combination. Fur was a popular on, perfect for the active, modern
material for outerwear in the 1920s but woman. The matching scarf softens
has been used here for just the collar. the straight lines of the decoration.

V-neck and Asymmetric
shirt collar decoration

Smaller Sash marks Straw hat with
pattern low waistline brim to shade
on sleeve from the sun

Sleeveless,
simple top

Sash marks Bands in
low waist matching color

1928 Short skirt In 1927–28 dresses Fashionable
were at their shortest, sometimes strapped shoes
Geometric rising almost above the knee. This
embroidery outfit incorporates several 1920s Summer dress Not everyone wore tubular
trademarks: dress made to look like slip-on dresses all the time. This summer dress
Finely pleated separate top and skirt, sash, low has a voluminous skirt but is still fashionably
underskirt V-neck, and geometric decoration. short. Stockings were an important accessory
and always had a high sheen.
Day couture The long sleeves and open shirt Matching
collar of this creation by the French couture shoes
house Goupy mark it as a day dress. The silk and
metallic thread embroidery in geometric patterns
imply luxury or a special occasion.



LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE 255

INTO THE

JAZZ AGE

During the Roaring Twenties women’s clothes became a
powerful expression of the modernist approach to all forms
of art. Many old attitudes were swept away by World War I,
and with them the long skirts and waist-cinching corsetry
of the early 1900s. Such constrictions were unsuited to
the vital, active wartime roles women took as land workers,
drivers, and machine operators. By the 1920s more women
could vote, and more entered the professions. They drove,
smoked, drank cocktails, and worshipped screen stars such
as Clara Bow. Dress became relaxed and strikingly simple.

One key aspect of the modern woman’s look was pour
le sport. Clothes developed for physical activity left their
mark on fashion, while sport itself helped to achieve the
stovepipe silhouette. Women hankered after the image of
La Garçonne (Bachelor Girl or Tomboy) from the eponymous
1922 novel by Victor Margueritte. Hair was bobbed or cut
into the "Eton crop" and hugged by cloches, waists
abandoned or dropped to the hips, and chests flattened.

Believing that clothes should be casual and easy to wear,
and borrowing from men’s garments and sports and leisure
fabrics, Coco Chanel and Jean Patou took a fashion lead.
Their plain sweaters, short, pleated skirts (hemlines rose to
the knees by the mid-1920s), and use of soft wool jerseys
allowed free movement and won immediate international
success. Everyday clothes featured unstructured jackets,
hip-length sweaters, and simple blouses and skirts. By night,
drop-waisted, full-hemmed dresses allowed flappers another
important freedom—to dance the night away at jazz clubs.

Fashion is not something that
exists in dresses only. Fashion is
in the sky, in the street, fashion has
to do with ideas, the way we live,
what is happening.

COCO CHANEL

◁ POUR LE SPORT
Models seated in the back of a luxury yacht showcase the fashion of
the day with linen jackets, pleated skirts, and berets or cloche hats.

256 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Slip-on
design
1923 –1929
False eyelashes
ROARING now available
TWENTIES
Low waist
Despite the brevity of their reign, knee-length evening accentuated
gowns sprinkled with beads and paillettes are
probably the main garments associated with the with belt
Roaring Twenties. Hems moved upward during 1923, peaking
just below the knee a few years later—only to inch toward 1925
the ground again almost immediately. As sleeves were
abandoned, women invested in safety razors and tried Geometric
out the new deodorants. The French designer Jean Patou patterns
remarked that it was “the taste for dancing” that determined
the line of evening gowns. It also influenced their decoration above hem
—beaded fringes and feathers attached to thin crêpes and
georgettes swayed to the rhythm of the Charleston and Black Layers Evening dresses of this period often
Bottom. For a few years everything glittered: real diamonds consisted of two garments. Here, a silver
or rhinestones decorated tiaras, bandeaus, and detachable lamé foundation shines through the lace
heels. Anticipated by pointed hems and trailing shawls fabric of the overdress. The entire gown is
attached at the waist or shoulder, the long evening gown covered in tiny red and pink bugle beads.
returned by the end of the decade; the dancing was over.

Relatively wide Embroidery Multicolored
shoulder straps looks like embroidery
reptile skin
Beads used Black edging
in waist area
Waist not
1927 marked

Shawl falls Scalloped
from shoulders hem

Free-hanging to give longer Matching Chiffon The deliberately asymmetric hem of this
beaded hem at back shoes chiffon dress is echoed in the irregular embroidery
tassels consisting of a semiabstract floral design. This
Pointed hem This dress marks beaded pattern seems to be expanding, which
Reptile English-born couturier Edward Molyneux the transition stage between the gives the appearance of movement.
created this unique dress. A variety of beads are short, straight evening dress and
used to make the fabric appear as if made from the longer gowns of the end of
snakeskin. Long, triangular inserts emanating from the decade. Round at the front,
the skirt underneath the hips end in beaded fringes. the neckline turns into a low
V at the back, where shawls of
transparent fabric hang from the
shoulders to below the hemline.

ROARING TWENTIES 257

Sleeveless Thin shoulder
gown straps

Gown made
of chiffon

Gold Top encrusted
embroidery with beads

Clear beads Red
form rings foulards
attached to
waistband

Dress worn Black
with underskirt underdress

Lining visible visible
under hem
Irregular
Egyptian-inspired hem
geometric beadwork

Slip-on Most evening gowns in the 1920s did Egyptian style Popular interest in archaeology Beadwork This transparent chiffon gown is
not have any closures and were just slipped on. led to the use of shapes and colors that were embroidered with black and clear beads. The black
This dress is embroidered all over in gold. Its inspired by artefacts and imagery of ancient underdress, visible underneath, has narrow shoulder
peach-colored chiffon lining is used as a decorative cultures. The architectural nature of the embroidery straps. Foulards (scarves) of red gauzy material
feature and shines through below the waist. here would have given the wearer a statuesque air. attached to the waist soften the straight silhouette.

Dress sets Vertical lines Mimics low STRAPPED PUMPS
off tan of beads V-neck
Evening dresses were worn with closed
Fringed belt Overhanging top Very long sandals or strapped pumps in a variety
fringe of materials, including fabric and metallic
1928 leathers. The quest for decoration and
ornament extended to shoes: leather was
Embroidery Dress nearly tooled (stamped or painted), and fabric
ends in points ankle length was embroidered with beads, spangles,
above hem and rhinestones. Some manufacturers
even offered separate heels ornamented
Strapless with rhinestones that were laid in
pumps geometric shapes into a celluloid base
imitating mother-of-pearl. These heels
Glow worm The name given to this design, Ver could be attached to different pairs
Luisant (glow worm), might allude to the iridescent of shoes.
beads with which it is covered. The top is embroidered
with beads in vertical lines that give way to swirls Green brocade
below the waist, finishing in a fringed sash. shoe

Pointed hem

Shades of red This bright red chiffon Gold
gown has several rows of deep flounces leather
below the hips. It is decorated with layers shoe
of two types of deep fringing in lighter
to darker shades of pink and coral.

V-neckline BEADED EVENING WEAR 258 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE
emphasized by
embroidered and DANCE
DRESS
beaded band
This iconic evening gown, designed by the London
Short cap sleeves company Reville and Rossiter c. 1925–28, has all the
showed off hallmarks of a Jazz-era “flapper dress.” Popular
features were thin, fluid textiles like this cream silk chiffon,
dancers’ arms deep V-necks, and a dropped waist. This tubular, slip-on
dress falls straight from the shoulders and has little shaping.
Geometric motifs in embroidery, silvery beading, rhinestone
studs, and fringing grab the attention—elements that
would create a spectacular display on the dance floor.

Row of silver and
rhinestone studs

Panel of scrolled
beadwork down the
front elongates torso

Delicate silk chiffon BACK VIEW SIDE VIEW
in soft ivory color

Silver glass IN DETAIL
bugle beads
◁ CAPPED SLEEVES
Triangle of black silk Small, capped sleeves
covered with beads trimmed in silver and
draws attention to rhinestone studs were
the dropped waist typical of the period.
The new revealing style
not only showed off
bare arms but also
encouraged women to
experiment with the
newly available razors
and deodorants.

Dress falls ◁ RHINESTONE BEADS
straight down The heaviest decoration
to the hips appears at the dropped
waist with a wide band
Overskirt of of rhinestone
long strands of embroidery, a variety of
glistening silver glass beads, and silver
bugle beads studs. Most of the
design comprises
Cream tassels scrollwork patterning
emphasize the but roundels are also
short hem a feature.

◁ INFLUENCE OF ART
Beadwork patterns on
the dress reflect the art
movements of the time:
Art Deco-style, organic
scrollwork and
geometric shapes, as
well as the metallic
shimmer of the
Machine Age.

◁ FRAGILE BEADING
The density of the
beadwork weighs
heavily on the delicate,
silk chiffon fabric. This
helped to maintain the
straight line of the dress,
though it also took its
toll on the fragile
material, especially
during dancing.

◁ FRINGED HEM
The fringed skirt is
created from ornate silk
tassels. Tightly wound
threads are covered with
beads and the ends
wrapped in silver wire.
The tassels are hung at
a variety of lengths to
mimic feathers.

260 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Thin Block
shoulder of color
1920 –1929
straps
AT THE BEACH
Contrasting
For centuries respectable women had feared the effects of the belt
sun, but now that fashionable clothing exposed more skin,
men and women entered the “suntan era.” If the real thing was 1923
elusive, sunlamps, suntan stockings, and suntan powder could be used
to achieve the desired complexion. Alabaster skin once denoted Collar in
a life free of outdoor work; now it signified an indoor life of office contrasting
or factory drudgery. From 1922 wealthy sun seekers and those satin
wanting to try their luck in one of the Grand Casinos could
board the luxurious Blue Train in Calais at 1 pm and arrive on Cool bathing The wealthy stockbroker E.F.
the Côte d’Azur the next morning. These novel pursuits Hutton, owner of the largest private sea-going
provided opportunities for sartorial invention—revealing yacht of the era, shows off his tanned physique
bathing suits cried out for a practical cover. The “divine in the typical, fashionably striped and belted
sloppiness” of beach or Lido pajamas became so irresistible one-piece male bathing suit of the 1920s.
that in 1933 the Riviera resort of Juan-les-Pins was
christened “Pajamapolis,” a tag that equally could
have been applied to Malibu or Palm Beach.

PARASOLS Short sleeves Striped bathing
leave arms suit underneath
While at the beach, parasols provided shelter exposed
from the sun and wind, as well as being
stylish accessories. Pants loose
at top
At this time bold printed fabrics were
often chosen, in silk or its newly popular
synthetic alternative, rayon. Asian parasols,
that were made from varnished paper and
decorated with exotic designs, were also
fashionable at seaside resorts across Europe.

1926 Contrasting
cuffs and
lapels

1927

Striped silk Satin ankle Wide
bands pants
Floral print rayon
Strapless Patterned
pumps shoes

Lido wear The sandy beach of the Venetian Lido Palm Beach The riotously patterned beach
island gave its name to seaside resorts and pools, pajamas of Mr. Kenneth B. Van Riper of New
as well as fashionable beachwear. These pajamas York are a far cry from formal wear, but they
of royal blue georgette feature a collar, tie, and do feature adorned side seams also found on
facings of contrasting jade satin. tuxedo or dinner suit pants.

Cap reminiscent of Fashionable AT THE BEACH 261
previous decade headband
Decorated
Rompers This novelty outfit, Beach pajamas The wearer tiepin
paraded on the beach of New of these beach pajamas
Jersey’s Atlantic City, did apparently, and not entirely Very
not catch on but foreshadowed narrow
a later trend. Rompers met a surprisingly, caused a waist
need for a loose pants ensemble sensation in Palm Beach.
that could easily be slipped The large floral pattern,
over a bathing suit. tasseled cords, and
unusual shoes all
Bathing contributed to the
suit startling effect of
the pajama outfit.
1924
Canes
Pants remained
gathered fashionable

at hem White
summer
Shoes tied shoes
around ankle
Summer suit Seasonal heat in the French
Fashionable resort of Deauville demanded a lightweight
turban suit. Probably showing far too much cuff to be
respectable, this gentleman has accessorized his
soft-collared shirt with a dark tie and a tiepin.

SPORTSWEAR

Easy- Fashionable
to-wear V-neck
wrap top
Zigzag,
Wide pants legs Geometric low waist
pattern
Sleeveless
bodice

1929

Bold stripes Very wide Full skirt
pants legs
Special beach Tennis dress
shoes Deep hem
band French tennis champions René Lacoste and
Suzanne Lenglen both influenced sports
Wrap top The flamboyance of beach and fashion. The turbaned Lenglen inaugurated
lounging pajamas inspired dressmakers and the short, sleeveless sports dress, while
fashion designers. Here, the black and orange Lacoste went on from his tennis career
color blocks of the wide pants are picked up to establish La Chemise Lacoste in 1933,
in the geometric pattern of the wrap top. which sold tennis whites, as well as golf
and sailing clothes, of his own design.

262 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Top hat

1920 –1929 At the opera Full dress consisted of tail
coat, white vest, stiff bosom shirt with
SETTING wing collar, and white bow tie. Black top
STANDARDS or opera hat and black patent leather
boots or pumps completed the ensemble.
Although there were no major additions to the vocabulary of Overcoats were a must, even in summer.
men’s formal wear in the 1920s, the move toward increasing
informality continued in that decade. The constant changing 1920
of rules could cause anxiety and embarrassment. In the casinos of
French resorts or at the dinner tables of ocean liners, a dinner suit Peaked, never
or tuxedo was now considered appropriate when previously only full notched, lapel
dress would have done. The tail or dress coat remained a must for an
evening spent at the opera, a ball, or a formal dinner party where it Black
provided the perfect foil for colorful, sparkling evening overcoat
dresses. Frock coats could still be seen on city streets
but mainly worn by older men. Magazines and
etiquette books were prescriptive about
what was considered good form, but those
wealthy, famous, or good-looking enough
such as Hollywood stars were granted
a certain sartorial licence.

ARROW COLLAR MAN Tails
reach
This advertisement for collars and shirts to knee
bearing the American Arrow label sets
almost unobtainable sartorial and physical
standards. The stiff, white shirt front, wing
collar, and white bow tie draw the eye to
the typically chiseled feature of J.C.
Leyendecker’s creation. White carnations
were the recommended buttonhole for
full dress, although gardenias were also
accepted. The illustration highlights the
close fit of full dress, emphasizing the
chest and confining the waist.

1927

Trousers with
pleated front

Narrow fit
exaggerated in
fashion illustration

Arrow Lanvin Although essentially the same as its
advertise- prewar predecessor, this Lanvin tailcoat is shorter
to accommodate high-waisted trousers held up
ment by suspenders. The French couturier’s touch can
be seen in the unusual closure of the vest.

Silk top hat Sometimes Silk top hat 263
with black gray top hats
ribbon Sloping
were worn shoulder
Ascot cravat Four-in-hand Wing collar line
with tiepin Peak lapel is simple, and bow tie
most usual Long cane
Coat edged tie knot with tasseled
with narrow ribbon
Gloves had Rounded-off
braid to be worn front
or carried
1924 1926
1925
Moderately
tapered legs Gray trousers Trousers with
with black and small check
white stripes

Light-colored
spats

Father of the bride This cutaway coat with At the races Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan, Hollywood George K. Arthur is dressed as
braided edges, white vest, and gray worsted sports a morning coat, matching vest, striped Madame Lucy, the flamboyant gay couturier in the
trousers with black and white stripes are the correct trousers, turn-down collar, and four-in-hand tie. 1926 film Irene. This might account for the unusual
attire for a Philadelphia wedding. It had to be worn According to one writer, shoes should never be pairing of black dinner jacket with checked
with a four-in-hand, Ascot cravat, or black bow tie. worn with a top hat unless with spats. trousers, normally teamed with a morning coat.

Silk plush Very high
top hat turn-down

Double collar Sloping
round shoulders
collar
Customary
pocket
handerchief

Homburg Front cut
hat square

1929

Front
crease

Black boots

Morning coat The US Secretary of the Navy, Business suit Alfred P. Sloan Jr, the president Opening of parliament What looks at first
Charles Francis Adams III, wears a black morning of General Motors, is in a relaxed variation of glance like a frock coat is in fact a double-breasted
coat with matching, single-breasted vest, and semiformal wear. After 1925 a dark, single-breasted Chesterfield, the correct overcoat to wear with a
striped trousers. A top hat and stylish, leather business suit became known as a Stresemann in morning coat. The matching vest is worn with a
Oxford shoes complete his formal look. Germany after the country’s foreign secretary. white slip just visible near the four-in-hand.

264 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Homburg with
dark ribbon
1920 –1929
Stiff turndown
SUITS FOR ALL collar

In 1922 one fashion critic declared that the lounge suit had 1920
become “the almost universal utility dress for men,” but
this did not mean that sartorial distinctions had become French style This suit
extinct. Differences in the quality as well as the quantity of advertised by the Paris
suits a man owned remained. A suit could be bought ready- tailor Barclay has a close-
to-wear or secondhand, but many men still “bespoke” fitting, waisted coat with
a suit from their tailor or had it made to measure. Many slanted hip pockets and
appreciated the English cut promoted by London’s Savile peaked lapel. The ankle-
Row tailors, but others preferred the less fitted and softer length, tapering trousers
American “sack suit,” or the more overtly fashionable shapes focus attention on the black
provided by the French tailleur. Suit fabrics became lighter, boots worn with spats.
particularly for summer—as demonstrated by the cloth used
to make “Palm Beach” suits in the US. This affected male
underwear and slowly undershirts worn with cotton shorts
replaced the earlier “union suit” (all-in-one undergarment).
Toward 1930 the high-waisted suits of the early part of the
decade made way for a straighter silhouette.

Belted overcoat

Flat cap

Large Peaked lapel
shawl collar

Sweater
replaces
vest

1926

Trousers with
crease

Wide legs with Tapering
deep cuffs trousers with
front crease

Raccoon The American football idol Harold Casual “Red” Grange wears a low-cut American
“Red” Grange wears a comfortable-looking sack suit with little or no shaping around the waist
tweed suit with a three-button jacket. Coats and natural shoulders. The sportsman’s V-neck
made of the fur of the North American raccoon sweater, tucked into his belted trousers, and flat
were hardwearing and recommended for driving. cap denote informality.

Panama hat Homburg SUITS FOR ALL 265
with rolled brim
1924 HATS AND SHOES
Sports shirt
with soft collar Men in the 1920s could choose from a
variety of hat shapes that had all been
Straight ap introduced in the previous century. Other
pockets than the top hat, lounge suits could be
worn with every hat type. The bowler, also
1925 called derby or coke, was the most formal,
followed by the homburg, a stiff felt with a
center crease and rolled brim. The trilby and
wider-brimmed fedora, both named after
literary characters, were everyday city hats,
while the boater or other varieties of straw
hat were for summer or the beach.

Cuffs Dark Bowler hat
umbrella
Felt trilby
White summer Light-colored
shoes spats Straw boater hat
Shoes had gradually replaced boots since
Seaside “White flannels,” trousers made of Double-breasted By mid-decade the suit was the turn of the century. These were mainly
light, brushed wool cloth, were recommended less fitted and worn with slightly wider trousers. of the lace-up Oxford type and had to be
for summer, whether staying at the Riviera or an Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wears his double-breasted matched to the rest of the outfit and the
English seaside town. Flannels were worn with suit with a soft collar shirt and club tie. The light season. Dark business suits were worn with
belts, rather than suspenders. color of the homburg hat is echoed in the spats. black or tan shoes, but in summer shoes of
white leather or cotton duck accessorized
Stiff bowler hat Horn-rimmed Straw boater white flannels or Palm Beach suits. Toward
glasses with dark ribbon the end of the decade two-tone shoes
became all the rage.
Four-in-hand tie

Race club Breast
badge pocket
attached to with ap
buttonhole

1927

Front Box calf sandal
crease Two-tone Oxford
Tan Oxford
Boots worn Front Walking
instead of crease stick
shoes

The races The meaning of a lounge suit could Florida beachwear Marcus Lowe, vice president
be transformed by the choice of hat and shirt. of Metro-Goldwyn Pictures, wears a lightweight
This Yorkshire race goer teams a light, “Palm Beach” suit for a day at the beach. He sports
double-breasted suit with a starched collar a boater, which remained fashionable for summer
and a relatively formal bowler hat. wear throughout the decade.

266 LA BELLE EPOQUE AND THE JAZZ AGE Scarf worn Sleeveless top
as turban
1919 –1928 Soft crêpe
Tight fit fabric
MODERNISM around

Some artists-turned-fashion creators were inspired waist
by the past. Others, spread around Europe and in
postrevolutionary Russia, looked toward a variety of futures Turquoise
and created clothes for the new world. Aleksandr Rodchenko pants
in Russia and Thayaht in Italy developed an early form of the
functional overall, and Hungarian Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
customized existing work wear. The Italian Futurists' love of
speed and movement found expression not only in their art, but
also in bright, one-off clothes with abstract patterns. Varvara
Stepanova and Lyubov Popova designed textiles based on
universal shapes to rationalize mass production in Russia. In Paris
the Russian-born Sonia Delaunay also used geometric forms in
bright colors but in the service of the moneyed few. That the
straight silhouette of the 1920s lent itself to decoration with
regular lines and shapes occurred to creative people besides
artists, and similar designs could be found outside elite fashion.

Worn with
open white

collar

Soft collared
shirt and tie

Practical Voluminous
pockets trousers

Adjustable Adjustable
length strap

TuTa In 1919 the artist and designer Ernesto Work suit Between 1923 and 1928 the Malibu Geometric shapes were fashionable
Michahelles not only adopted the name Thayaht Hungarian Moholy-Nagy was a teacher at the farther afield than Europe, as demonstrated
but also designed the TuTa, an early example German Bauhaus school. Its aim of fusing crafts by the silk crêpe beach pajamas worn by Lilyan
of an coverall. The soft lines created by this and fine arts was echoed in his Arbeitsanzug Tashman. “Hollywood’s best-dressed star”
“universal garment” followed those of the body. (work suit), presenting the artist as craftsman. allegedly owned a million-dollar wardrobe.

Star pattern MODERNISM 267
around collar
Large diamond
pattern

Contrasting
pink and
yellow

Harlequin Light Low
pattern green V-neck
color
Contrasting
Belt of shades
same fabric

Short legs

Bright red
pattern

Harlequin The Standard Oil heiress Millicent Sawtooth The decoration on the back of Soft ats
Rogers liked the fabric of this creation so much this linen coat by Sonia Delaunay is deliberately Diamonds Artist Sonia Delaunay used her
that she acquired a second one in yellow and asymmetrical. While the coat's cut is simple, the bold, geometric, abstract patterns on many
gray. A practical slip-on garment, it was probably aggressive jagged-edged shapes separating the textiles and garments, including swimsuits.
made for wearing at the beach or by the pool. light green central parts supply drama. In this example, light blue silk is embroidered
in red, white, and green diamond shapes.
White edging Cloche with Diane The Paris Maison Fourrures
asymmetric brim Max commissioned Paris-based Low waist
Wide artist Edouard Benito to illustrate
sash Black and their fur creations for a novel
white fur chronicling the visits of a Persian
collar
tourist to various Parisian
luxury haunts. This model
is called Diane after the
goddess of the hunt.

Geometric Corresponding
shapes cuffs

Productivism In 1921 the Russian artist Lyubov Rectangular shape
Popova turned away from the easel and focused of dress echoed
her attention on textile design. The straight-lined in pattern
geometric forms of her fabric patterns contrast
with the more fluid shapes of her dress designs. L'Orage Between 1919 and
1925 Thayaht designed for the

French couturier Madeleine
Vionnet, here illustrating her
”Storm” dress for the Gazette
du Bon Ton. The simple lines of
the garment are enlivened by
graduated geometric shapes.



FROM GLAMOUR

TO UTILITY

1929 –1946

270 1929–1946

FROM GLAMOUR
TO UTILITY

The Wall Street Crash in the fall of 1929 brought the Roaring 1929–30 1931–32 1933–34
Twenties to an abrupt halt. Hemlines dropped suddenly while
waistlines rose to a little above the natural waist—the reign of 1930 ◀ Astaire’s elegant style
the youthful flapper was truly over. "Austerity day wear" for women
was angled and slim fitting, with wide shoulder pads and calf-length As fashion becomes more
skirts. During the day, the slimline silhouette was broken up and conservative, dresses are
softened with clever seaming, belts, novelty buttons, deep cuffs, and generally styled with a
pussy bows. In the evening, the focus shifted from legs to plunging lower hemline.
backs with designers such as Lanvin, Mainboucher, and Chanel
producing shimmering, floor-length dresses. ▼ Depression hits, hemlines fall

Fashion at the movies 1934

During the 1930s New York ready-to-wear designers developed a new The word “brassiere”
style that seemed to embody the nation’s values. Their practical is gradually shortened to
approach resulted in easy-to-wear pieces that could be adapted to “bra” through the decade.
different occasions by mixing and matching. At the opposite end of According to a survey by
the scale, Hollywood designers Adrian, Walter Plunket, and Travis Harper’s Bazaar, “bra” is
Banton created glamorous outfits for stars such as Jean Harlow, Joan the most commonly used
Crawford, and Marlene Dietrich. These Hollywood styles were expression among college
arguably the biggest influence on fashion in the 1930s. Out of reach women for the brassiere.
for most, patterns and pared-down versions were available for those
of less lavish means. Hollywood stars Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, and 1932 1934
Gary Cooper set impossibly high standards for male beauty and
elegance. The look became a best seller on both sides of the Atlantic, Flying Down to Rio pairs Fred Women’s sports clothes
and many bought their suits in London’s Savile Row. Astaire and Ginger Rogers become briefer than
for the first time. Astaire was ever. Bathing suits are
Effects of the war an impeccable dresser on and slashed and backless,
off the screen, favoring suits and shorts begin to be
The start of World War II in 1939 brought an end to lavish, excessive made on London’s Savile seen on the tennis court.
designs. Many countries established a rationing system, trying to Row.
prevent the waste of scarce resources and ensure a fair distribution
of garments. Decorative features such as excessive pleating and lace T First shorts at Wimbledon
were abandoned, leading to simplified styles that constituted a kind
of civilian uniform. Paris retained a skeletal couture industry after 1932
The movie Letty Lynton
the invasion in 1940, but by MGM, starring Joan
the rest of the world was
cut off from French fashion Crawford, begins a craze
dictates. New US fashions for padded shoulders
emerged and some hoped in the US.
that French couture's
sometimes excessive use of ◀ Joan Crawford
fabric and decorations had in Letty Lynton
been banished forever, but
this was not to be.

US WOMEN’S ARMY UNIFORMS, 1940S
Three women model, from left to right,
officer’s winter uniform, officer’s summer
uniform, and auxiliary private’s uniform.

TIME LINE 271

It’s no longer smart to be chic…The new
mode is casual, bold, chunky and realistic.

VOGUE, 1936

1935–36 1937–38 1939–40 1941–42 1943–44 1945–46

1935 1937 1939 1943

Italian-born Elsa Schiaparelli The Spanish designer England and France declare The Zoot Suit riots explode in
opens her first designer Cristóbal Balenciaga opens war on Germany in September Los Angeles, California. White
Boutique at 21 Place his couture house in Paris. 1939. Clothes have to be sailors and marines take
Vendôme, Paris, France. He had had boutiques in practical. Vogue patterns are umbrage at young Mexican-
Spain since 1918. now for pants for volunteer Americans wearing suits that
drivers. Sweaters become the use large amounts of cloth.
basis of most looks; skirts are
long and full.

▲ A pair of nylon stockings ▲ Rosie the Riveter Wartime pamphlet X
1935
Nylon is invented by Wallace 1942 1944 1946
Carothers at DuPont’s Rosie the Riveter is the star
research facility. It is used as of a song that praises the Rationing becomes severe, The first Paris collections after
a substitute for silk in many American women working in and where economies in the war foreshadow Dior's
different products. factories. Her much-admired designs can be made, New Look of 1947.
practical image has her they are. Fabrics are cheap
1936 dressed in a blue coveralls, and cuts are sparing.
Edward VIII abdicates hair concealed underneath a
the throne of England. His red spotted scarf.
American mistress, Mrs. Wallis
Simpson, is dressed by ▲ Gone with the Wind 1944
Mainbocher for their wedding. A highly visible, military
1939 presence provides inspiration
◀ Mrs. Wallis Gone With The Wind for designers during wartime.
Simpson’s is released, picking up Civilian fashion seeks to
wedding dress brilliantly on the air of emulate the uniform of
insecurity and emphasizing servicemen and women.
1936 a feminine, romantic note in
As more women take on paid fashion that would not be ▼ American GIs in Paris, 1944
employment, daytime looks seen again until Dior’s New
are tailored and angular, with Look in 1947. ▲ Slim-cut
square epauletted shoulders, herringbone suit
frogging, plumed hats, low 1940
heels, and gauntlet gloves. Ties become wider, with
bolder patterns that range
from art deco designs to
tropical themes.

◀ Hand-painted tie

272 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Collar and cuffs Astrakhan
(from a young lamb), fox, and
1930 –1939 other furs were often used
for cuffs and, sometimes
AUSTERE detachable, collars. Seams
TIMES were used for decoration.
Gloves and hats remained
The Wall Street Crash forced the frivolous single girl of indispensable accessories
the 1920s to grow up and take life more seriously. The for the fashionable woman.
new silhouette was long and lean, emphasized by hemlines
several inches below the knee, vertical seams, and slanting pockets. Fur shawl collar
Perhaps in empathy with those actually on the breadline, anything
round or full was abhorred, and women were all sharp angles and 1931
hipbones, their outlines sometimes softened by fur collars and cuffs.
Linings or facings in contrasting colors, large pussy bows, belts, Deep
buttons, and deep cuffs were popular decorative features. Floral fur cuffs
patterns were still fashionable for summer, while checks and plaids
became particularly popular toward the end of the decade. Clutch Zigzag
bags, as slimline as their wearers, were held in hands sheathed in seaming
gloves with spiky gauntlets. Hair was worn close to the head in a
permanent wave, at first still covered by close-fitting cloches and
later adorned by a tiny hat worn at a jaunty angle.

MISS MODERN Stand-up Toque with
collar Astrakhan
Aimed at the unmarried working girl, Miss (lamb-fur) sides
Modern was a “sixpenny,” a cheap monthly Astrakhan
British magazine first published in October border Oversized
1930. Its ideal reader, shown here on the bow
cover, was not afraid to check her makeup
and adjust her hat in public using the mirror Fabric of cuffs
inside the flap of her fashionable clutch matches that
bag. The business girl could add to her of bodice
stylish wardrobe using the free pattern for
an “ideal office dress” inside the magazine. Fur cuffs

1934

Black
satin skirt

Very slim
skirt

Black Inverted
slip-ons or pleats

step-ins

Miss Modern Cossack coat In the winter of 1934 Satin This “Sunday night” dress is
magazine cover every stylish woman was said to hanker constructed of a high-waisted skirt of
for a Russian Cossack coat. Underneath, black satin and a bodice of palest pink
a blouse with cross-over fronts and a lamé. Gathered loops at the neck are
straight skirt were recommended. made to look like a large bow.

Hat had to Neat Hat worn AUSTERE TIMES 273
be worn on cloche at an angle
hat Lace yoke
one side extends with
Stand-up Bolero with
1932 collar crescent- sleeves

Very Belt with shaped seams
slight metal buckle
Tartan belt
are Hem below
knee White cuffs
with notch

Slightly Hidden
aring skirt inverted pleat

slims hips Skirt falls
in folds

Strapless
pumps

Sharp angles This modern take Sober elegance The white facing Tartan Two vertical seams highlight Satin and lace The crêpe satin of this
on the trench coat is provided with of the lapels, pockets, and cuffs the long lines of this dress of white gown is draped at the waist to form a belt
feminine touches such as metal buttons, emphasize the diagonal lines and wool jersey. Green and black écossais that turns into a small basque (skirt) on
ornamental cuffs, and contrasting lapel jagged edges that so often appeared (Scottish) fabric was used for the yoke, one side. Buttons above the bust and on
facings in blue leather. in women’s clothing in this decade. puff sleeves, and belt. the hips emphasize the asymmetric cut.

Tyrolean-style hat Matching SHOES
blue hat
The 1930s saw a range of shoe and
Checked Cowl Decorative heel shapes to choose from, particularly
“Harlequin” neck collar toward the end of the decade. Shoes
blouse with straps were gradually replaced with
strapless opera pumps for everyday
Flared Front wear. “Sandals” (pumps with one or
peplum button more straps) nevertheless continued to
fastening be worn in the summer and for dancing.
Belt in Piping in a contrasting color or metallic
contrasting 1937 leather was often used for decoration.
color Shoes with higher vamps, referred to
Popular as “slip-ons” or “step-ins,” and lace-up
1936 checked styles, usually called Oxfords, were
practical daytime choices. Wedge
Pleat Mid-calf- fabric Very heels and open-toe styles
detail length narrow narrow heralded the 1940s.
skirt
skirt Strapped shoe

Simple Leather strapped Button
pumps closure
shoe

Classic Stylish suit Gracing the front page of Shirtdress In the 1930s many Woven leather
pumps Spanish magazine Moda Practica, the women still made their own clothes
jacket of this stylish navy suit has a full at home. The pattern for this simple, Early
Versatility This suit could be made peplum, which flares over the hips to practical shirtdress came with a copy 1930s sandal
with plain or fur lapels and worn contrast with the slim line of the skirt. of Woman’s Own magazine.
with or without its cape and vest.
The blouse was worn untucked at the
waist to keep the hips looking slim.

274 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Inventive piecing
of upper sleeves
1930 –1939
Tight drapery
SHIMMERING across waist
GOWNS

At the end of the 1920s the relatively brief 1933
reign of the short evening dress was over.
The fashionable sipped cocktails in long, Lamé dress American designer Jessie
figure-hugging gowns that sometimes left little to Franklin Turner used lamé to great effect
the imagination. Frequently cut along the lines of in this bias-cut evening gown, making the
swimwear, dresses were often precariously suspended wearer look as if sprayed with liquid metal.
from the thinnest of shoulder straps and left the backs Unusually, the dress has long sleeves but
of their wearers completely exposed. Shiny, fluid still exposes glimpses of the upper body.
fabric—such as satin and lamé—was cut on the bias and
manufactured into confections that clung to the body.
If dieting did not have the desired effect, women could
buy foundations made of the new “tu-way stretch”
materials to achieve the all-important smooth,
unbroken line. Women stepped out in whites,
off-whites, silver, gold, and shades of apricot, peach,
and salmon—if they were not wearing black.

Shoulder straps Graduated Two wide
form long shawls lengths of shoulder
silk thread straps
Belt of same form fringe
material Very low back

Asymmetric Now slightly
embroidery tarnished, fabric
would have been
on skirt
much brighter
originally

1937 1938

Scallop arcs
increase in size

toward hem

Silver spangle
embroidery

Fashionable apricot The base color of Silk fringing It looks as if widening bands of fringing
French designer Jeanne Lanvin’s evening dress is have been applied to this clinging rayon dress by
accentuated with silver sequin embroidery. The French designer Madeleine Vionnet. Closer inspection
simply but elegantly cut dress is made of a synthetic reveals that individual silk threads have been sewn on
material, which was used even in couture houses. to the dress; each forms two drops of fringe.

V-neck Simple SHIMMERING GOWNS 275
décolletage embroidery
Material is
Slimming, design gathered to
deep waist form straps
Belt at natural
panel waistline

Waist-
enhancing cut

Light, shiny
fabrics were
popular for
evening wear

1934

Skirt extends
into train

Different kinds Very narrow skirt
of metal thread

Skirt kicks Fluid material The cut and material of this Revealing cut The cut of this dress by French
out at English dress would have necessitated the right designer Coco Chanel would have highlighted the
kind of underwear. The gown bears no label wearer’s fashionably bronzed back and arms.
bottom but the simple embroidery design suggests that Gathered and draped in front and hugging the
it might have been made by a local dressmaker. waist, the gown’s skirt flares out below the hip.
Modernist pattern The relatively simple cut
of American designer Elizabeth Hawes’s evening JEAN HARLOW
dress ensures that the focus is on the modernist
pattern of the fabric. The large falling leaves
accentuate the movement of the flaring skirt.

Bows High neckline Very thin
accentuate with bow detail shoulder
at back of neck straps
breasts
Embroidery in Narrow belt
iridescent decorated with
spangles butter ies

1939

Lamé underdress
shines through

Bows Larger butter ies When Howard Hughes’s movie Hell’s Angels
grow larger at bottom of hem was released in 1930, 19-year-old Jean
toward hem Harlow became an international star. Harlow
popularized the white evening gown, and by
Cap-sleeved overdress The overdress of Butterfly embroidery This fine silk dress by bleaching her hair weekly completed the
Madeleine Vionnet’s design is made of very French designer Mainbocher is embroidered with look and had an indirect influence on the
fine black lace decorated with black bows. The butterflies in iridescent spangles, which grow sale of peroxide. American designer Adrian
shimmering silver lamé underdress, with a halter larger toward the hem. The dress would have been (Gilbert Adrian) created gowns for Harlow’s
neck and very low back, could be worn on its own. worn over a flesh-colored slip. role in Reckless (1935, above), accentuating
her body with clinging, bias-cut dresses
made of light-reflecting materials.

276 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Figure-hugging top

1930 –1944 Gathered Three
shoulders bands create
CLASSICISM “Greek” shape

In September 1930 the French magazine L’Officiel Narrow
de la Mode observed “a tendency towards pleats
classicism and pure Greek lines” in the latest
collection of the Paris fashion houses, singling out below waist
Vionnet as having been “decidedly” influenced
by Greek art. In the previous decade appreciation Symmetrical
of ancient styles had found expression in the use of décolletage
patterns such as the meander or the Greek key. The
return to long evening gowns in the 1930s enabled 1931
couturiers to transform their clients into Greek or
Roman statues. The look of original garments from Fabric drawn
the classical period had been a matter of chance together at
coupled with the wearer’s skill for drapery. waist
Neoclassical gowns were more structured—the
drapery and folds more controlled—drawing Skirt very
attention to the body underneath. The use of fluid wide at hem
fabrics such as silk jersey or satin, asymmetry, and
decorative borders were trademarks of this new line. Pleating It is not surprising that dieting was
White and off-white governed this style, but black, much discussed in the 1930s, since evening
and occasionally brighter colors, were also used. dresses of this decade focused attention on the
body while providing little support. This skirt’s
MADAME GRÈS width is created by narrow pleats fanning out.

1937 Cape or shawl Smooth
at back top

Slim skirt Metallic
leather
decoration

In 1933 Germaine Krebs began to create Slightly
clothes under the assumed name of Alix trained
Barton. She changed her name again when
she opened the House of Grès in Paris in Alix Barton Silk or wool jersey was a favorite Leather accents This dress’s classical feel is
1942. Having trained as a sculptress, Mme material of Alix Barton (later known as Madame created through very clean lines and the belt's
Grès liked to drape her pleated evening Grès), which she used to create gowns reminiscent gold and silver pattern. The scrollwork is made
gowns on a model or stand. She often used of Ancient Greek dress. The drapery is often held of metallic leather, a material French designer
silk jersey, which molded itself to the together by drawstrings, ties, or girdles. Lanvin experimented with in the mid-1930s.
wearer’s body, for her neoclassical designs.
Her success continued until the 1980s.

Narrow Brooch in CLASSICISM 277
straps shape of
Asymmetric
branch design

Gold Central ruching Waist achieved
sequinned through draping
1934
belt Pleated
peplum
1932
1936

Soft fabric, Long scarf Shorter
probably jersey falling from overskirt
shoulder

Trompe l’oeil
(pretend) pleats

Pink and gold French designer Patou’s tulle evening Scarves Trailing pieces of fabric, often attached Simple drapes White and black were common
dress is covered in pink and gold glass bugle beads, to the shoulders, were a common feature of colors for neoclassical dresses, but Madeleine
creating the illusion of drapery and folds. The shape of neoclassical dresses. The statuesque silhouette of Vionnet chose a deep orange for this pared-down
the gown is reminiscent of the Greek peplos that gave this Dove evening gown by the English company Motley design. Fabric gathered at one shoulder is draped
its name to the peplum (short overskirt). is emphasized by the brooch and the model’s hairstyle. over the bust while falling to the floor at the back.

Embroidered Abstract Asymmetric top BRASSIERE
tendrils embroidery
Pleating Tight First patented in 1914, it was during
1938 below bust overdress the 1930s that the brassière (a term
in use at least since the early 20th
1944 century) came into its own. Rather Kestos brassière
than compressing the bust, it now
provided lift, support, and separation.
Kestos developed a brassière with two
formed cups. The brand name derived
from the Greek cestus or cestos, the
magic girdle or belt of the goddess
Aphrodite. Kestos also developed
special brassières for low-backed
evening dresses.

Softly Finely
draped, pleated skirt

ared skirt

Beaded
border on
shawl and
overdress

Scrolls Unlike the evening gowns of the 1920s, Ancient Rome The Hungarian-born American Kestos advertisement
neoclassical dresses were usually only sparsely designer Eta Hentz transformed the loose and more
embroidered so that the sculptural lines were not accidental drapery of Ancient Rome into an evening
broken. The halter neck of this gown is reminiscent gown that left little to chance. This neoclassical
of a pectoral (crescent-shaped) necklace. silhouette is supported by a decorative border.

278 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY

LIVING

SCULPTURES

In the short period of peace between the two world wars
designers turned to the classical era of ancient Greece and
Rome. To those reeling from the horrors of World War I,
classical antiquity stood for a golden time of proportion,
pared-back beauty, purity, and a life-affirming appreciation
of the human body.

French fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet (1876–1975)
created her women's wear shapes of the 1930s from the
drapery and perfect body forms of classical statues. Her
twin concerns were fabric and the body. Famous for her
genius with the bias cut, she draped fluid materials such
as silk crêpe to create simple, loosely structured day wear
and dramatic evening wear with minimal sewing and
embellishment and without corsetry or petticoats. Her
garments clung sensuously, shocking her customers. Early
1920s dresses with pointed drapery resemble the Greek
peplos, while a dress from 1918–19, which hangs from the
shoulders with an uneven hemline and cowl neckline, recalls
the chlamys and chiton from ancient Rome.

She made a Greek dress in a way
the Greeks could never have
imagined; there was nothing
archaic about her lines. Everything
Vionnet created had a cling or a
flow, and women dressed by her
were like moving sculptures.

CECIL BEATON

THE CLASSICAL MUSE ▷
This photograph by leading photographer George Hoyningen-Huene, c.1931,
shows Sonia, Vionnet's favorite model, looking like a graceful dancing figure
from a Greek vase in her pale silk crêpe romaine pajamas and long scarf. The

model had to lie down for the photographer to achieve the desired effect.



280 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Sleeveless top Shoulder
shows off tan ties have
1928 –1939 small
Scarf worn geometric
PARED DOWN as belt pattern
AND SPORTY

Sports continued to play a part in pushing fashion forward,
although women did not take up new sports during this period.
“Form follows function” was the guiding principle for clothing
worn for physical activities. This usually meant partial or complete

abandonment of ornament, which resulted in a pared-down and

modern look. Particularly in America, the term sportswear Sea
captain’s
became common not just for clothes worn cap

for tennis or golf, but also for resort wear Dark blue
turtleneck
designed for travel and leisure, and for Wide pants

casual but stylish clothing for town and

country. The aviatrix Amelia Earhart

designed a range of sportswear for

American department stores. Open-toed sandals

Pajamas—ensembles incorporating On the beach The English aviatrix Amy
Johnson Mollison wore beach pajamas for a
wide-legged pants—continued to be party in 1933. She and her husband had just
flown nonstop to the US, surviving a crash-
a fashionable choice for the beach landing in Connecticut.

and on the yacht, and provided scope Tight-fitting Leather helmet
for innovative designs. sweater

FOR THE YACHT Masculine tie

Sailing for pleasure was a relatively new Short leather
phenomenon, requiring a special set of trench coat
clothing. Etiquette books and magazines
advised planning so that all occasions were
covered. This advertisement for Clarks
shoes was probably intended to appeal
to the aspirational shopper.

Clarks shoes
advertisement

Tight jodhpurs

Pajamas de Bateau Paris-based Jane Regny, a High, lace-up
golf and tennis player herself, was known for her leather boots
sports and travel clothes such as these boat pajamas
illustrated in Femina. The uniform of sailors and sea Air-sportswoman To keep out the cold, aviators
captains inspired these nautical creations. customarily wore leather clothing. Amelia Earhart,
here photographed in 1928 before crossing the
Atlantic, reportedly slept in her first leather
jacket for three days to make it look worn.

PARED DOWN AND SPORTY 281

Hockey The goaltender of the Peaked cap DRIVING GLOVES
Wiesbaden Women’s Hockey Club, with ear aps
Germany, surveys the field during
Cloth cap a match in 1936. Thick wool Low belt Gloves for driving incorporated gauntlets
sweaters were worn by both sexes echoes for practical reasons but they also began
Cable-knit for a variety of sports, including fashionable to appear as a decorative feature in fashion
sweater cricket and skiing. line accessories. That this hand-sewn pair was
intended for driving rather than everyday
Suit made Adjustable wear is indicated by the strap with which the
of red wool sleeves gloves could be buttoned closely around the
wrist. In a period when hand signals were still
used for indicating, the reflective triangle was
functional. Black and white were popular
colors for women’s gloves in the 1930s.

Contrasting
stitching

White leather used
for back of hand

Narrow pants

Leather Skiwear In the absence of special fabrics, ski clothes
gloves were usually made of wool. Elastic bands were
attached to pant legs to prevent them from riding up.
A matching turtleneck sweater with red stripes at the Driving gloves
cuffs, neck, and waist completed this ensemble.

Pants for Visor HEALTH AND BEAUTY
women had
side closures

Golf
blouse

Leg guard Inverted
pleats to ease
In 1930 Mary Bagot Stack founded the
movement Women’s League of Health and Beauty.
Her daughter, Prunella, became the poster
Lace-up girl of the league with its motto “Movement
shoes is Life.” The league organized several
performances of exercise routines en
Golf Lady Nancy Astor, the first female member masse—one occasion involved 5,000
of Parliament, seems to have worn shoes women. The official exercise uniform
resembling Scottish ghillies when playing golf. consisted of black satin shorts and a
In this 1933 photograph she is wearing a golf sleeveless white “waist” (blouse). Apparently
blouse, sensible pleated skirt, and visor. members were advised to shave their
armpits and to use deodorant.

282 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Long scarf

1931–1944 Cable-knit
pattern
RELAXING
THE RULES Polo shirt Legs
exposed
On the slopes, the tennis court, and the Sports
yacht the sartorial rules governing men’s blazer Lace-up
clothing in the city could be stretched sports
or even abandoned. The move toward lighter shoes
fabrics continued, increasing the emphasis
on the body underneath. In summer gray, Boat race President of the Cambridge
white, beige, or striped flannels (trousers made University crew for the annual boat race in
of a light wool fabric) were popular. In England 1937, this gentleman wears cotton sports
their cotton or linen equivalent—white ducks— shorts. He keeps warm with a thick cable-knit
were supposed to be paired with a blue blazer sweater and wool scarf.
only. The sports jacket had emerged
in the late 19th century when it could be seen Tennis Blazer with
in rowing clubs. Team blazers could be brightly rackets wide stripes
colored, striped, or have contrasting edging,
and often displayed a crest or insignia on
the breast pocket. The polo shirt, despite its
name, was originally worn for tennis and golf
and had been around for at least a decade,
but now became ubiquitous.

Flat cap for
country wear

Riding coat

Binoculars Riding Front
case breeches crease

Tight riding Derby day Spectators of Athletic shoes Sandals
boots the steeplechase at Derby with rubber sole Beachwear In 1935 Country Life announced
Racecourse usually dressed that “men can get away with more in the way
more formally than this Tennis The dark V-neck of tennis of colorful beachwear.” This thought might have
gentleman. His riding legend Fred Perry’s white sweater is just been behind Orson Welles’s choice of a striped
breeches and boots, discernible underneath his sports jacket blazer and jersey top, light trousers, and sandals.
long-skirted riding coat, and with club crest. A white, open-neck polo
flat cap suggest he might shirt completes the ensemble.
have owned a horse or stable.

Sikh turban Peaked RELAXING THE RULES 283
cap with
Narrow blazer club crest Cloth cap
with club crest
Flap pocket Racing
Double- goggles
breasted
Plush or
blazer fur material

Wide-legged White ducks
trousers
Knickerbockers
Pointed shoes
White Before the race German
Punjabi prince The trousers worn by the dapper buckskin racing driver Heinrich
Raja Ravi-Sher Singh of Kalsia, India, at Croydon or canvas Joachim von Morgen wears
Aerodrome are almost wide enough to qualify as an informal attire of tweed
“Oxford bags.” The Raja’s slim frame is emphasized shoes cap, buttoned sports jacket,
by his tight, single-breasted sports jacket. and knickerbockers,
Henley Regatta While many men used the appropriate for a box at the
occasion of the boat race at Henley to don blazers Nürburgring race track.
in colors or stripes that declared their allegiance to
a club or country, this gentleman opted for white
ducks and a double-breasted blue blazer.

Patterned
socks

Trilby with
wide hat band

Open collar

MDRP favored Polo shirt JAEGER
artificial silk
Pleated The London company of Jaeger had
Knit vest front promoted wool clothing since the late
19th century. After the Prince of Wales
Waterproof championed the distinctive Fair Isle pattern,
fabric golf pullovers became a staple of the sports
wardrobe. Both men in this advertisement
wear their pullovers with shirt and tie.
Matching golf hose (knee-length knit socks)
were also available.

Lightweight,
wide shorts

Lace-up shoes Cuffs Jaeger advertisement,
c.1936
Health and comfort The Men’s Dress Reform Golf Life magazine in 1938 declared Charles
Party (MDRP) was founded in London in 1929 Munn, who made his money from greyhound
to rail against restrictive clothing. During a tracks, “Palm Beach’s most eligible bachelor.”
Dress Reform competition a male model poses Here, Munn replaces the more customary plus
in a waterproof jacket and shorts. fours with wide trousers with cuffs.

Slightly sloping TWEED THREE PIECE 284 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY
shoulders
PLUS FOURS
SUIT

Made popular in the 1920s by the British Prince of
Wales (later King Edward VIII), plus fours (baggy
breeches) had first appeared at the beginning
of the century. Named for the number of inches they fell
below the knee, and roomier than the more traditional
knickerbockers, plus fours were respectable enough by the

1930s to be worn outside their natural environment—the
golf course. This suit by Couch & Hoskin, London, is of
checked tweed in brown, beige, and gray. The pattern

matches exactly at every seam, a mark of good tailoring.

Three button
closing on jacket

Waist-level
pockets with aps

BACK VIEW SIDE VIEW

IN DETAIL

◁ BREAST POCKET
In traditionally tailored
jackets, breast pockets
are usually set at an
angle. For this jacket
the tailor has tried to
place the welt, or stand,
so that the pattern is
not interrupted.

Central pleats, ◁ SLEEVE BUTTONS
front and back Two or three buttons
continued to be placed
Unlined tweed at the bottom of the
cut into loose, coat sleeves, although
full shape they no longer served
a function.
Knee Six buttons down
socks the front, plus an ◁ BELT AND
extra buttonhole SUSPENDERS
for a watch chain The waist could be
adjusted by buckled
Watch fob (chain straps at the back.
or strap) fits into Additionally, suspenders
were worn to ensure the
a small pocket trousers stayed in place.

◁ FRONT PLEATS
The front of the trousers
is set into two pleats on
each side—here tucked
neatly underneath the
vest—to create fullness.

◁ BUCKLED STRAP
Plus fours had to sit
tightly around the knees
to achieve the desired
effect. Knit “cuffs” were
considered more
comfortable than the
closure seen here.

◁ VEST
The front of the vest
is made of tweed; the
back from the same
brown silk that lines
the jacket. The vest is
finished at the back
with a small self-belt
and buckle so that the
garment can be
adjusted to fit.

286 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY

FASHION ICON

EDWARD VIII

△ STYLISH SUITING Edward VIII’s reign as British monarch may have been Colors, collars, and cuffs
This photograph from around 1936, the brief, but he left a lasting imprint as a fashion icon.
year of Edward’s abdication, shows him in After abdicating in 1936 to marry US divorcée Edward’s trendsetting role extended to evening wear.
a draped suit with notched lapel, a tabbed Wallis Simpson, the Duke of Windsor became one of the His casual style included wearing double-breasted tuxedo-
shirt collar, and a boldly patterned international leaders in men’s fashion and was largely style jackets rather than tailcoats. His love of midnight-
handkerchief in his breast pocket. responsible for the rise of casual menswear in the 1930s. blue evening wear also caught on, while other jacket
favorites included longer hems, and lapels that extended
GOLFING GEAR ▷ Dressing down all the way down to the bottom buttons; he preferred
This iconic portrait, painted by William four buttons to the usual six.
Orpen in 1927, highlights Edward’s famed Charming, youthful, good looking, and with
love of Fair Isle sweaters and large plus a slight frame, the blond prince was an ideal model Edward is further credited with having popularized
for a revolution in tailoring. The early 1930s saw a number of details in men’s formal attire, such as tab
fours, which helped to bring casual the introduction of a new style of suit that became collars, nonstiffened shirt cuffs for evening wear,
sportswear into everyday dress. known as the “English drape,” characterized by a
loose-fitting cut in the jacket, with a full chest and cuffs on trousers, soft collars, and striped ties.
a defined waist. This relaxed style was promoted The wide “Windsor” tie knot was named after
by Savile Row tailor, Anderson & Sheppard, and him, as was the “Prince of Wales” or “Windsor”
Edward soon adopted this less stuffy approach. collar, widely cut to accommodate the knot.
Many of Anderson & Sheppard’s other high-
profile clients, such as Fred Astaire and Gary The face of men’s fashion
Cooper, emulated the prince’s style by sporting
the pioneering casual look he popularized. Edward’s impact on men’s fashion spread
well beyond his contemporaries. His checked
Edward’s promotion of casual style also led and plaid suits were a likely influence on the
to the rise of lounge suits, which increasingly postwar American fashions for plaid sports
superseded more formal attire from the 1920s. coats and checked shirts.
By the 1940s a sweater was often worn in place
of a vest. The Fair Isle sweater, previously worn More recently, designers such as Tom
only as sportswear, was widely adopted as Ford have been inspired by his elegance
casual wear. He also helped to promote and admiration for tailoring. Other innovators
wearing plus fours off the golf course. emulate the way in which Edward subverted
and adapted traditional styles: Hedi Slimane’s
Among Edward’s other style statements emphasis on a slender silhouette, Lucas
were tweed sports jackets; low, two-tone Ossendrijver’s loose-fitting suits, and Thom
or brown suede shoes; chalk-striped wool Browne’s conscious revival of 1930s style
fabrics; bold patterns and colors—such through bold prints and cropped trousers,
as checked and plaid suits (including to name just a few.
the Prince of Wales check); and belts More than any other factor, however, it was
rather than suspenders, a practice Edward’s questioning of conventions of male dress,
drawn from American style. along with his desire to adapt clothes to the needs
of the wearer, that left a mark on men’s fashion that
has lasted from the 1920s to the present day.

TIME LINE 1911 Invested as 1918 Returns 1936 Ascends the throne 1937 Marries twice- 1945 Wallis ▷ 1960 Publishes his book,
Prince of Wales at home at the end as King Edward VIII in divorced American and Edward A Family Album, charting the
Caernarfon Castle of World War I January. Abdicates in Wallis Simpson return to Europe
changes in royal life and
1914 Begins his ▷ 1923 Cuts a December the same year 1940 Installed fashions through history
service in the army dashing figure as Governor of
1931 Meets Wallis the Bahamas, a 1957 Gives a heart-shaped
at the start of in riding outfit with Simpson for the first post he holds Cartier brooch with the
World War I double-breasted time at the house of
for five years couple’s initials engraved on
1910 coat and leather boots Lady Furness it to Wallis on their 20th
wedding anniversary
1920
1930 1940 1950 1960

MOVIE-STAR LOOKS Edward, pictured with his wife Wallis, displays his love of color and bold statement in his wide, bright trousers; patterned shirt, tie, and socks; and two-tone shoes. ▷



288 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Gray “topper” with
dark hatband
1930 –1940
Narrow tie
THE ELEGANT knot, known as
MALE a “four in hand”

Just as the female body had become toned and tanned during the 1920s, 1930 Striped
so the male physique had also been modified into the new ideal shape of trousers
wide shoulders, prominent chest, and narrow hips. If wholehearted Tightly rolled
participation in outdoor sports had failed to produce results, then his suit might umbrella
do the trick. The master of the flattering cut was the London tailor Frederick
Scholte, who distilled three characteristics of the uniform of the Household
Cavalry—narrow waists, wide shoulders, and roomy armholes—into what came
to be known as the “London cut.” First popularized in the US by the Prince of
Wales, this was soon followed by Hollywood celebrities, who began to displace
the British aristocracy and upper class as fashion icons. Double-breasted coats,
peaked lapels, and striped suiting were popular, since they further
helped to achieve the desired athletic silhouette.

Felt homburg Derby Day In the 1930s morning coats would
rarely have been seen on city streets but were still
SUITS FOR WOMEN worn at the races. Here, Sir John Buchanan-Jardine
has chosen a double-breasted waistcoat (vest) with
a shawl collar to wear underneath his coat.

In a famous scene from the 1930 film Morocco, White, linen vest
Marlene Dietrich, playing a nightclub singer,
performed in a black tailcoat. Dietrich also wore Long, pointed
suits offscreen and her studio exploited her style. shirt collar
Publicity photos showed Dietrich in a gray suit with
black turtleneck sweater and beret, and the star
turned up for a film premiere in a tuxedo. Dietrich’s
preference was said to have started a trend, but
formal trousers for women did not really catch on.

Only one
button
closed

1936

Front crease
in trousers

Cuffs White canvas or
buckskin shoes
Lounge suit Conservative politician Anthony
Eden was a fashion leader. His trademark outfit White suit Born in Corsica, singer Tino Rossi
was a white linen waistcoat (vest) worn with a performed in clubs on the French Riviera before
lounge suit and his favorite silk-brimmed homburg moving to Paris in the 1930s. White suits were
hat, which became known as the “Anthony Eden.” usually for resort wear, and were accessorized
with white or tan and white shoes.

1933 White Butter y THE ELEGANT MALE 289
handkerchief bow tie
Double-breasted White bow tie
jacket Trousers Enlarged sleeve
pleated head
1935 at top
Made for dancing The tails
Creased Wing collar worn by the always dapper Fred
trousers Astaire in the film Top Hat (1935)
are said to have been made by
Honeymoon suit Newly wed Lord Furness Mess jacket For a short period during the the Savile Row tailors Kilgour
is dressed for a honeymoon trip in his private 1930s the tailless “mess jacket” became an French & Stanbury. The coat’s
airplane. He wears a stylish double-breasted alternative for the white dinner jacket in hot sleeve head was enlarged to
jacket with peaked lapels; the black carnation weather. This fashion was borrowed from facilitate Astaire’s dance moves.
buttonhole may be a symbol of mourning. military “mess dress” (formal evening wear).
Pleated-front
Homburg hat Stiff-fronted trousers
dress shirt
Peaked Lace-up
lapels Double- dance shoes
breasted
Flap
pockets jacket

1940

White Front
annels with crease
front crease

Reefer jacket Prince Arthur of Connaught, Dinner jacket suit The double-breasted
Queen Victoria’s grandson, shows how to dinner jacket was considered slightly more
wear this jacket correctly. All three buttons informal than the single-breasted variety.
should be closed when there are no “show” It usually had shawl lapels that could be
(purely decorative) buttons at the top. faced with gleaming satin instead of silk.

290 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Dark stage
makeup
1917 –1935
Short skirt made of Thick
BERLINER CHIC feathers or fringe tights

In 1929 the writer and translator Franz Hessel published observations 1917 Dance
made during walks in Berlin. He remarked that the sight of young shoes
women in “well-fitted clothes and little hats oozing a lock of hair” Dance Valeska Gert first
should be enough to convince anyone that “Berlin is well on the way appeared on the stage
to becoming an elegant city.” The many Konfektion (ready-to-wear) during World War I.
manufacturers based in Berlin had long transformed the dictates of In her grotesque dance
Paris into clothes displaying the famous Berliner chic. While the performances she parodied
“golden twenties” lasted—from around 1923 to 1929—Berlin themes such as ballet,
became a magnet for artists, writers, and performers such boxing, and prostitution.
as Josephine Baker who appeared with La Revue Nègre Her costume foreshadows
in 1925. Audiences flocked to the theaters, watched the silhouette of the robe
productions of the Berlin-based UFA—Germany’s largest de style of the 1920s.
movie company—in thousand-seater cinemas, and
gaped at synchronized chorus lines. Entertainment
of a different kind could be found in Berlin’s many
gay and lesbian clubs, including the Eldorado
where transvestites mingled with members of
Berlin’s high society.

KaDeWe Wide-
brimmed hat

Matching
scarf

Ostrich-
feather sash

1927

Asymmetric Dark silk
hem stockings

KaDeWe advertisement Strapped shoes of Theatrical cane
metallic leather
Kaufhaus des Westens (Department Store Modernism Berlin-style elegance found a home
of the West), or KaDeWe, was and still is Ostrich feathers This 1925 evening gown created in other European capitals. In 1927 Marlene Dietrich
one of Berlin’s leading retail establishments. by the Berlin fashion house Jacob Hobe is modeled appeared on the stage in Vienna and also found
Opened in 1907, its 120 departments by a lookalike of the surrealist muse Lee Miller. time to appear in the silent movie Electric Café.
housed smaller shops. The owner hoped Ostrich feathers dyed in a matching color floated Here, she models a modernist day ensemble.
to satisfy the desires of Berlin’s high society. around the wearer while dancing.
This poster advertises Lindener Samt (velvet
from Linden)—a high-quality cotton velvet.

Soft Ornamented BERLINER CHIC 291
toque bandeau
Ostrich-
The Berlin look This feather fan
couple, from a 1920
sheet-music cover, is Asymmetrical
dressed in the height of dropped waist
fashion. She wears a long
jersey top over a very short 1925
skirt, while he has belted
his trench coat at just Fox Tiered skirt
the right height and neckpiece
brushed his hair back Skirt lower
aviator style. Narrow at back
trousers
1920 Wide-skirted
trench coat
Long jersey top
with hem in Window shopping This mannequin, displayed
contrasting in a draper’s shop window, perfectly conveys the
color fashionable silhouette and showcases popular
accessories of the period, such as the long pearl
Short, necklace and the ostrich-feather fan.
pleated skirt
Soft, wavy Shoulder
Dark hairstyle straps and
stockings belt encrusted
Feather boa with jewels
CHORUS LINE
1935
In 1924 Eric Charell, director of a large
theater in Berlin, produced his first revue. Fluid fabric
Much of its success was due to the
appearance of the famous Tiller Girls from Lamé German actress Brigitte Helm’s choice of
London, who dazzled audiences with their shimmering lamé might be related to the title of
synchronized movements. Troupes danced the science-fiction movie Gold, in which she starred
in identical costumes such as these skimpy in 1934. Metallic fabrics like lamé draped over the
ensembles with short hemlines, playful top body and caught the light on camera.
hats, and tap shoes. One critic wrote that
“the rhythm, the lightness, the exactness
are electrifying.”

292 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY Diaphanous
sleeve ruf es
1930 –1944
High waist
ROMANTIC
NOSTALGIA 1932

There seems to be a limit to the amount of modernity and restraint Ruf es
fashion can endure. Robes de style (with loose bodices, dropped grow deeper
waists, and full skirts) had preserved prettiness and the traditional toward hem
idea of femininity throughout the 1920s. Now diaphanous concoctions
trimmed with an abundance of frills, ruffles, and lace became popular Shoes of
with those too young, too old, or not streamlined enough to squeeze their metallic
bodies into an unforgiving lamé or satin sheath. Adrian’s design for Joan leather
Crawford playing Letty Lynton in the eponymous 1932 film is widely
credited with starting this trend. Deflated versions of the gigantic ruffled Debutante look This high-waisted gown
sleeves of the star’s dress of white mousseline de soie (a thin fabric made of Devonshire silk net in love-in-a-mist blue
of silk or rayon) remained fashionable until the end of the decade, and would have been considered more appropriate
even crept into Walter Plunkett’s costume designs for Gone with the Wind as evening wear than a clinging dress for a
in 1939. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth gave her royal seal of approval when young, unmarried woman.
she wore her famous “White Wardrobe,” a series of romantic gowns
based on Winterhalter paintings during a state visit to Paris in 1938. Velvet
band
Flowers made of Very puffed collar
ruched fabric sleeves
“Faggotted” seams
Skirt gathered Wide rayon (fabric joined with
at waist waistband with
decorative stitches)
Diaphanous simple bow
fabric at back

1937 Slim
A-line
Black
“branch” skirt
provides
contrast

Flower trail French designer Lanvin opted for Nostalgia Chanel’s white cotton Fragility French designer Vionnet has not only
a more sophisticated romanticism avoiding puff evening dress, with its slim silhouette, used a lingerie technique for some of the decorative
sleeves, ruffles, or lace. The prettiness of the puffed sleeves, and low neckline, is seams of this gown, but also a color that was
flowers in different shades of pink that seem to reminiscent of Edwardian fashion. fashionable for delicate underwear. The covered
be encircling the wearer’s body is counteracted Narrow rows of delicate ruching add décolletage, elbow-length sleeves, and wide skirt
by the use of black for the tendrils or branches. to the nostalgic feel of the 1937 design. contradict this association.

Deep Lace ruf es Gently Full, ROMANTIC NOSTALGIA 293
V-neck form short gathered translucent LETTY LYNTON EFFECT
sleeves
Hip area is collar sleeves
kept slim

1932

Skirt ares This outfit was created by Paramount
out toward Picture’s star designer Travis Banton, and
hem modeled by the actress Lilyan Tashman.
The lace jacket with its ruffled sleeves and
Black swan French designer Chanel did not apronlike front is a clever take on Joan
just create simple jersey gowns. The heightened Crawford’s Letty Lynton gown, injecting
prettiness of this dress, covering the wearer’s body the right dose of romanticism into a sharp,
entirely in lace, is toned down by keeping uncompromising white sheath dress.
the midriff silhouette simple and using black.
Draped
Sequins decorate neck
bodice and skirt
Corset
Organza is bodice
lightweight and
semitransparent Bishop
sleeves
Gathered
tulle for 1944
a soft,
romantic look Motif of
bunches of
1939
grapes

Victorian This embroidered tulle gown was Organza Made from layers of delicately printed silk Contrasting shapes American Charles James
photographed for the high-end Texan department organza over fine netting, this meticulously crafted created this gown for the socialite and fashion
store Neiman Marcus in 1939. Sequins encircle the evening gown by Madeleine Vionnet has an ethereal icon Millicent Rogers. The corsetlike bodice
skirt to create a tiered appearance, evoking the beauty. Full sleeves of translucent panels and a gently contrasts with the diaphanous silk draped softly
Victorian charm of a Winterhalter painting. gathered collar enhance the romantic style. at the neck and gathered at the wrists.

294 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY

1935 –1945 Worn with underslip

DREAM DRESSES Wide
straps

Surrealists tried to trick the subconscious into revealing Belt in Silk organza
itself by using methods influenced by the writings of lobster red and horsehair
Sigmund Freud: free association, dream analysis, and
automatic writing. Seeking to achieve freedom from 1937
rationality, much of the output of this loose, Paris-centered
group of artists, writers, and filmmakers had a dreamlike Dali lobster print
quality. Ordinary objects were taken out of their natural
environments and plunged into new ones, creating a world Bands Lobster Salvador Dali had incorporated lobsters into
“beyond realism.” Many surrealists were fascinated with extend from his work a few years prior to his collaboration with
disguise and costume dress, and some were directly sleeves French designer Schiaparelli. Cecil Beaton photographed
involved in the creation of fashionable clothes and Wallis Simpson in one of the few copies of this dress,
imagery. Man Ray’s fashion and advertising not long before her marriage to the Duke of Windsor.
photographs were published in Vogue and
Harper’s Bazaar. Salvador Dali, Alberto
Giacometti, Meret Oppenheim, and Jean
Cocteau all collaborated with Elsa Schiaparelli
on designs of clothes and accessories.
Startling juxtapositions and the use of motifs
from other contexts could be found in the work of
several couturiers in the late 1930s and early 1940s,
and surrealism continues to influence fashion today.

SURREALIST ACCESSORIES Puff sleeves

Handbags and hats in particular lent Skirt ares out Cuffs
themselves to the surrealist treatment, since below hip
they did not have to fit to the human body. Contrasting
These telephone and champagne bucket ribbon feature
bags were made by Anne Marie of Paris,
a store based in the Parisian Hotel Meurice Cross-over
in the late 1940s. Possibly the most famous drapery
surrealist accessory was a hat in the form of
a high-heeled shoe turned upside down. It 1939
was based on a sketch by Salvador Dali and
featured in Elsa Schiaparelli’s 1937–38 Fall/ Fabric printed Horses
Winter collection. with masks printed
on fabric
Handbags
Pants worn
underneath

Short fishtail

Masks Jean Cocteau designed the fabric for this dress Horses Lounging pajamas were in some ways
by US-based Charles James, incorporating portraits of the successors of the tea gown and could be worn
himself and his lover—actor Jean Marais. Cocteau for receiving guests at home. The rearing horses
denied the influence of surrealism on his work, but give a fantasy flourish to this witty example by the
his movies, in particular, have surrealist qualities. American designer Elizabeth Hawes.

Crin lace DREAM DRESSES 295
(horsehair net)
Exaggerated
Puff sleeves Feathers The French House of Lanvin is shoulders
not generally associated with surrealism.
But the pattern of the fabric of this evening Bones outlined
gown featuring outsize feathers tumbling in “trapunto”
to the hem, as well as the surprising name
Fusée (Rocket), give it Decoration
a dreamlike quality. ends at elbow

1938 Silk crêpe
fabric
Butter ies look
as if pinned Very narrow
skirt
Slim skirt Some feathers are
embroidered in red

Butterflies Dali often used symbols of Fine cartridge Skeleton Part of Schiaparelli’s 1938 Circus
transformation and change in his work, including pleats collection, this dress is the result of another
caterpillars and butterflies. This wide-meshed collaboration with Dali. Trapunto (stuffed
“crin lace” worn over Schiaparelli’s dress is technique) quilting is used to create raised shapes,
reminiscent of a butterfly net. resembling a human spine, ribs, and leg bones.

Boat neck

Printed Wide
fabric shoulders

Appliquéd Shoulder
decoration pleats

1944 1945

Dress Colors picked
provides dark up at hem

background Elephant Jo Copeland’s dinner dress with
its appliquéd elephant and turbaned rider is
Stallion Hollywood designer Adrian was a faintly reminiscent of Schiaparelli’s 1938 Circus
fan of Schiaparelli. He used textiles by Dali in collection. Copeland also made reference to
some of his creations and transformed this fellow-American Adrian in this design.
simple black column of a gown with a
menacing-looking Roan Stallion.

Dress designing, incidentally, is
to me not a profession but an art.

ELSA SCHIAPARELLI

FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY 297

DESIGNER

SCHIAPARELLI

Courageous and highly original, Italian-born Elsa famous Paris embroidery firm dating back to the mid-19th △ THE DIVIDED SKIRT, 1935
Schiaparelli was one of the leading designers of the century. Schiaparelli was one of the first fashion designers Schiaparelli models one of her own
1930s. Like her rival Coco Chanel, “Schiap” did not to realize the creative potential of zippers, although, as creations, a jupe-culotte (pants-skirt),
have any couture training, which seems to have made it she admitted, “King Button still reigned without fear in London’s Hyde Park. Considered
easier for her to disregard sartorial conventions. Observing at Schiap’s,” at least before World War I. appropriate resort wear, this kind of
the trend toward sportswear while living in the US in the garment probably raised eyebrows
early 1920s, Schiaparelli started off with practical knitwear Stars of the stage and screen loved this mixture of being paraded on city streets.
that already displayed her determination to inject humor practicality and flamboyance, and Schiaparelli counted
into fashion. The sign outside her first establishment Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and ◁ THE TEARS DRESS
at 4 Rue de la Paix in Paris displayed Pour le Sport Marlene Dietrich among her clients, not forgetting Wallis Designed in collaboration with Dali for the
underneath her name, later to be joined by Pour la Simpson, the future Duchess of Windsor. Circus Collection in 1938, the textile for
Ville and Pour le Soir—for the city and the evening. this evening dress and matching veil was
Daring to be different printed to look as if it was torn, apparently
Art and inventions revealing the shocking pink lining.
Schiaparelli delighted in wearing head-turning
Schiaparelli was interested in art from a young age creations herself, remembering in her 1954
and published a selection of poetry as a teenager. autobiography that before World War II, “People
She was not the only designer to work with artists were not afraid of being different.” Her clients
but her collections seem to bear a more obvious had to have a similar attitude. When tennis star
trace of the influence of collaborators such as Lily d’Alvarez appeared at the Wimbledon
Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali.
tournament in 1931 wearing a Schiaparelli
Like the surrealists, Schiaparelli enjoyed shaking divided skirt, there was a public outcry.
up tradition and introduced fabric and other items
into new and unexpected contexts: she used Schiaparelli’s signature color was a shade
tweed for evening wear, waterproofed taffeta for of magenta which she called “shocking pink,”
raincoats, and fashioned hats into the shape of and in 1937 her perfume Shocking was packaged
shoes and lamb cutlets. Buttons brought out in a bottle shaped like the film star Mae West’s
particular spurts of inventiveness, and they torso. Schiaparelli introduced themed collections
appeared in the shape of animals, such as fish and in the late 1930s was inspired by music, the
and butterflies, as well as chessmen, lollipops, circus, astrology, and even shopping. Her Cash
and even miniature trapeze artists. and Carry collection for the spring of 1940
featured large pockets.
Excited by anything new, Schiaparelli worked with
enterprising fabric manufacturers such as Charles After World War II ended, the “hard chic”
Colcombet and was happy to use synthetic textiles look of the 1930s was replaced by ultra-
such as rayon and nylon, and even cellophane and feminine styles, which did not suit Schiaparelli’s
Rhodophane, a transparent plastic. At the same particular brand of creativity. While her star
time the designer had a long-standing no longer shines as brightly as in her own
working relation with Lesage, the lifetime, Schiaparelli’s irreverent take on
fashion was later emulated by Moschino
and Jean Paul Gaultier.

1890 Born in Rome into 1922 Returns to Paris 1932 Wears slim evening ▷ 1941 Moves to New York 1954 Stops
a conservative family of where Poiret encourages dress of white crêpe with for duration of World War II. designing and
aristocrats and intellectuals red velvet bolero in Saint Returns to Paris in 1945 and publishes her
her to design clothes Moritz, further popularizing continues to shock with new autobiography
the short evening jacket twists on evening wear Shocking Life
TIME LINE 1913 En route 1919 Moves to New York
to London, attends where she mixes with an 1927 Launches her first ◁ 1935 Moves business to 1973
her first ball in arty crowd including Man collection of hand-knit sweaters 21 Place Vendome (the “Schiap Dies in Paris
Paris in a blue and Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and opens her first store at Shop”). Collaborates with
orange ballgown Francis Picabia, and his 4 Rue de la Paix a year later artists Salvador Dali, Alberto 1970
she made herself wife Gaby Giacometti, and, for this piece,
1930 Jean Cocteau

1890 1920

◁ A TOUCH OF THE UNUSUAL This 1930s black crêpe dress with small turtles printed at the neckline was one purchased by Wallis Simpson. A striking black straw pole bonnet tops the outfit.

298 FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY

1939 –1945 Fashionable
hairstyle

WOMEN Blouse has
puff sleeves

IN WARTIME

During World War II about 400,000 women joined Large patch Deep pockets
the US army and nearly half a million women pockets
served in the British armed forces; an even Baggy
greater number was involved in voluntary services. An Straight canvas
attractive uniform could work as a recruiting tool and trouser coveralls
the blue double-breasted jacket and skirt of the British legs
Women's Royal Naval Service (WRENS) was considered Lace-up
especially becoming. In contrast, Life magazine Sandals with work boots
remarked that the “Women’s Land Army is unpopular peep-toe
because of the drab costume.” Ladies of means had opening Coveralls Going about her wartime
uniforms made to measure at Austin Reed and Moss occupation, this woman sports heavy-duty
Bros; others had to alter and adjust the standard issue. Overalls This young woman might have coveralls and solid leather boots. Despite
Regulations not only governed dress—members of the chosen her outfit because cotton overalls the masculine clothing, she maintains her
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force had to ensure that their did not use up any of her rationing femininity with her carefully styled hairdo.
hair was cut or coiffed so that it did not touch their coupons. She has swapped her work shoes
jackets. Some services tried in vain to ban makeup, for peep-toe sandals.
but this proved difficult to enforce.

Garrison cap

KNITTING Notched lapel

Cotton
twill coat

Sleeves
rolled up

Trousers worn
with a belt

Knitting Breeches Breeches
pattern tied at knees would be
tucked into
Women were urged to assist in the war effort by knitting with cord long socks
gloves, scarves, gum-boot stockings, knee caps, and chest
protectors for “our boys in the forces.” The scarcity of wool Deep cuffs
meant that knitters were encouraged to unpick their old
garments. In the US the Red Cross issued pamphlets with Co-respondent
patterns and instructions, and was responsible for the shoes
distribution of the knit items. America’s first lady, Eleanor
Roosevelt, addressed a “Knit for Defense” tea in New York, Summer uniform This woman working Land Army The Women's Land Army uniform
and was frequently photographed knitting. in a US Naval Base in Texas wears a uniform included corduroy or whipcord breeches and
similar to that of a US army private. The long-sleeved, cotton twill coveralls worn with brown
outfit is made from cotton khaki. Women’s brogues and tan knee-length socks. Recruits also
trousers usually closed at the side. wore a green V-neck sweater, tan shirt, and tie.


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