1920’s Fashion
The 1920's is probably the most daring decade for men and women
alike since it revolutionized the fashion world. With the arrival of the
'jazz age', women's skirts rose scandalously to the knees, the hair was
cut short in a boyish bob, women shamelessly smoked and drank in
public and defied the rigid social status that the early 1900's brought.
Braziers were worn to bind the breasts giving
women a boyish look; a look that commanded
power and equality with men. This look was
called 'The Flapper'.
Men's fashion didn't change much in
the 20s; Fedoras were a major fashion
statement, and with the arrival of
gangsters like Al Capone, pin-striped
suits came into fashion.
Icons of the 1920s:
Louise Brooks - Coco Chanel – Rudolph Valentino
The Beginnings
The first recorded use of a form of a
bathing costume was in Greece in
350 B.C. Later, a 4th century mosaic
wall was discovered depicting girls dressed in what looks
like the modern-day bikinis. After that, bathing suits
seemed to have vanished for centuries.
T he 1 8th Century
It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that bathing suits
showed up again in the form of “bathing gowns.” Women wore
long dresses made from a non-thinning material that
prevented transparency when wet. These bathing suits also
featured little weights hung around the lower hem to restrain
them from rising in the water.
Bathing Gowns - 18th century
During that period, men and women still rarely bathed and the typical "swim" was a brief dip
in the water with ladies on one side of the beach and men on the other.
The 19th Century
By the mid 1800's bathing became considered
a recreation whereas previously it had been
merely a therapeutic device. People started
swimming, surfing and diving, so the time was
ripe for change in women's swimwear. The
nineteenth century brought the two-piece
bathing suits for the women, featuring a gown
shoulder-to-knees over a set of pants
extending to the ankles. Men had similar
bathing suits, only without the gown.
Women didn’t swim too much; the prevailing attitude of the day
was that only men should swim. By the end of the 19th century, swimming had become an
"art," as well as an Olympic sport. In this environment, it finally became acceptable for
women to swim.
The 20th Century – 1900-1920
The beginning of the twentieth century marked a new daring era. In 1909,
Australian Annette Kellerman was arrested in the United States for wearing
a loose, one piece suit. A couple of years later, swimsuits became shorter,
showing a little more of the figure and allowing for exposure to the sun.
Annette Kellerman
A softer, more feminine style replaced the boyish, flapper look of the
twenties. However, with the Great Depression and with the majority of
people poor and without work, no one had much money to spend on
leisurely things like clothes and shoes.
The entertainment industry exerted a strong influence over fashion.
Movies were one of the few escapes
from
the
harsh
reality
of
the
Depression.
As far as swimsuit Fashion goes, it’s
during the 1930’s that swimsuits began
resembling those of today.
Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo,
Clark Gable
Swimsuits in the 30's
World War II set in. The men went off
to war. The fashion for women was as
conservative as possible so that extra
material could be used to support the
men at war. Mixing and matching
became stylish in this era. To save
money, people made bras and skirts
from tablecloths (left) and suits from
men's clothes.
The 1940’s brought more feminine swimsuits that were more revealing.
Swimsuits really needed experts to design garments that hid faults in a
woman's shape. They achieved this by adding stretch tummy control
panels to hold in the stomach.
Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn, Fred Astaire