Tuesday, June 9, 2009

A Return to Tailoring

If you group fashion styles into decades ie: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s etc., someone somewhere will have a good idea of what you are talking about. If you look closely, fashion is often a reaction to the decade before.


1930s advertisement

Take the 1930s for example. The style of the 30s has similarities to today. After the stock market crash of 1929, there was a return to a more modest and womanly form. Skirt lengths were lowered to 6 inches above the floor and tailored outfits were the style. It became poor taste to flaunt one's wealth. Hard times typically see an increase in investment pieces like well-made suits and jackets. The 1930s saw a practicality in day clothes across all classes of women for the first time ever.

1920s flappers

....the complete opposite of the flapper 20s style that had abandoned corsets, raised hemlines, bared arms and had no waistlines. The age of overt decadence had disappeared.

Today, we have returned to tailoring, more serious colors and the dress has taken it's feminine centre stage following the frivolity of the late 90s and early 2000s. Again, it's in poor taste to flaunt one's wealth, so please leave your Hummer in the garage! Today, the well-to-do are turning to these investment pieces again which are still luxurious, but not obviously so.

But not just for the well-to-do. We can all own a well tailored suit and I suggest you do that as it will be a piece to own for years to come!

4 comments:

Keith said...

It is always neat to see how fashion is related to what's going on in a nation at the time.

Couture Allure Vintage Fashion said...

Really good point! It's the same with the 50's full skirts as a reaction to the fabric restrictions of war time.

muchlove said...

That is so interesting that skirts were longer in the 30s after the stock crash.
I love the images you used.

Witchcrafted Life said...

Common sense, elegant but not ostentatious dressing is always the way to go. I hope the current desire to cut-back on focus on quality and long-term value sticks around for good (though history says that's not too likely ;D).

Wishing you a beautiful weekend,
♥ Jessica