The Changing Face Of Fashion - 1900's

Fashion Through The Decades.
1900-1920's

Fashion is a way which an individual can express themselves. It began with them proving their wealth with big, over embroidered and imported garments which then revolutionised to simpler yet still thought-out-to-the-tiniest detail garments. Recent decades have shown us fashion on a whole new level. It has become more practical and is more of a way of personal self expression.

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Industrial Revolution.

The industrial revolution impacted fashion, vice-versa. Many of the new machines invented during the Industrial Revolution involved the manufacture of textiles. The cotton gin changed how cotton was cleaned and processed, increasing cotton production and use. The flying shuttle, spinning jenny and "mule" machine led to innovations in weaving, leading to mass-produced fabrics. Cylinder printing on cotton goods changed the look of patterns. The Jacquard loom allowed complex patterns to be woven into the fabric and was later used for lace. The sewing machine enabled new complicated styles and cheaper ready-made clothing.

Spinning Jenny.

Richard Arkwright.

About 1770, Englishman Richard Arkwright designed a frame that utilized power provided by a water wheel. With power from water rather than manual human labor, the number of spindles and productivity of the water frame dramatically increased. 

Arkwrights patent application in 1768.

Arkwright’s water frame not only changed the efficiency of the cloth-making process, it also changed the entire cloth production system. Instead of a “cottage industry” in which thread and cloth were produced in individual homes by families, cloth-making shifted to factory production.

Arkwright's Cotton Mill. 

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Exposition Univereselle.

The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 15 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. The style that was universally present in the Exposition was Art Nouveau. The fair, visited by nearly 50 million, displayed many machines, inventions, and architecture that are now nearly universally known, including the Grande Roue de Paris Ferris wheel, Russian nesting dolls, diesel engines, talking films, escalators, and the telegraphone

The staging of the first International Exhibition in 1855 was motivated by a desire to re-establish pride and faith in the nation after a period of war.

The Exposition Universelle was where talking films and escalators were first publicized, and where Campbell's Soup was awarded a gold medal (an image of which still appears on many of the company's products). At the Exposition Rudolf Diesel exhibited his diesel engine, running on peanut oil.

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Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau is style of art, architecture and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was most popular during 1890–1910. It was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants, but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment.

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Edwardian Era.

The Edwardian era is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910. The death of Queen Victoria and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era. While Victoria had shunned society, Edward was the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of Continental Europe; perhaps because of the King's fondness for travel.

The era was marked by significant shifts in politics as sections of society that had been largely excluded from wielding power in the past, such as common labourers and women, became increasingly politicised.

The upper classes embraced leisure sports, which resulted in rapid developments in fashion, as more mobile and flexible clothing styles were needed. During the Edwardian era, women wore a very tight corset, or bodice, and dressed in long skirts. The Edwardian era was the last time women wore corsets in everyday life. According to Arthur Marwick, the most striking change of all the developments that occurred during the Great War was the modification in women's dress, "for, however far politicians were to put the clocks back in other steeples in the years after the war, no one ever put the lost inches back on the hems of women's skirts".

King Edward VII

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The 1900's was a real turning point for all things fashion. Silhouettes changed, women were susceptible to show more flesh, and bolder colours were introduced. 

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In the beginning of the 1900's, fashion reflected a significant turning point in history and style. It was the end of the Victorian era and beginning of the Edwardian era; this period was when both men's and women's clothes became less rigid of their formality and became more useful and helped begin the trend of self expression through clothes.

This photograph shows how womenswear moved on from the corset to more floaty and free fabrics, yet still elegantly cinched in at the waist with either a bow styled belt or a peplum styled over jacket.

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Womenswear from 1900 to 1910 was a reflection of fashions from the previous decade however restrictive corsets and high collars were relaxed slightly. Dresses no longer needed to be puffed up around the hips with petticoats and skirts became floor length instead of trailing, the skirt’s silhouette was slim at the hip, achieved with pleating and smocking. Any fullness in the skirt was confined to below the knee. Decoration was applied using large and small tucks, hem ruffles, buttons and lace insertions and everything was complimented by an oversized hat.

1900's skirts.

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There was also the pigeon breast or monobosom bodices. These often featured wide cape type collars that dropped off the shoulders.

The old styled corset vs the new S bend corset.

S bend corset.

Typical outfit worn withe the S bend corset (mono-bosom corset.)

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The Hobble Skirt.

One of the popular styles later in the decade between 1900 to 1910 was the hobble skirt. This skirt was somewhat full at the waist and tapered towards the ankles. Hats were still all the rage and the larger the better. It didn't matter what your hat was decorated with, as long as it was decorated and big.

Ladies wearing the hobble skirt at the races. 

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Paul Poiret.

The retro look quickly faded in favor of the revolutionary designs of Paul Poiret. He quickly became the most prominent fashion designer in Paris. He showed slim, straight skirts and insisted on fewer undergarments. Due to his decrees, the high boned collar disappeared and women’s corsets were loosened. This new freedom made it possible to sport a higher-waisted look and Poiret’s empire line became popular. Most representative of the period were the detailed and superbly constructed gowns. These gowns featured lace, cord work, appliqué, soutache, beading, tucking and insertion – very often on the same gown. The great Haute Couture houses of this era include Worth, Doucet, Lanvin, Boue Souers, Callot Souers, Paquin, Lucile, and Fortuny.

Paul Poiret.

A Poiret design.

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The Suffragettes movement.

A suffragette is someone who fought for women's right to vote. Demonstrations included chaining themselves to railings and setting fire to mailbox contents. One woman, Emily Davison, died while trying to throw a 'Votes for Women' banner over the King's horse at the Epsom Derb on 4 June 1913. Many suffragettes were imprisoned in Holloway Prison in London, and were force-fed after going on hunger strike.

'Votes for women' banner.

Emily Davidson's fatal protest.

Suffragettes opted for main stream fashion. They adopted Purple, White and Green as the “Votes for Women” colours – Signifying: Dignity, Purity and Hope

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Menswear.

Men's fashion persisted from the 1890's to the 1900's, carrying on with the long, lean and athletic silhouette and hats were generally worn, however beards were less pointed and mustaches were curled.

Three-piece suits were the normality, consisting of a sack coat with matching waistcoat and trousers, as were matching coat and waistcoat with contrasting trousers, or matching coat and trousers with contrasting waistcoat. Trousers were shorter than before, often had turn-ups or cuffs, and were creased front and back using the new trouser press.

Waistcoats fastened high on the chest. The usual style was single-breasted.

Single breasted waistcoat.

The blazer was a navy blue or brightly colored or striped flannel coat cut like a sack coat with patch pockets and brass buttons, was worn for sports, sailing, and other casual activities.

Sack coat.

The Norfolk jacket remained fashionable for shooting and rugged outdoor pursuits. It was made of sturdy tweed or similar fabric and featured paired box pleats over the chest and back, with a fabric belt. Worn with matching breeches, it became the Norfolk suit, suitable for bicycling or golf with knee-length stockings and low shoes, or for hunting with sturdy boots or shoes with leather gaiters.

The Norfolk jacket.

The cutaway morning coat was worn for formal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere, with striped trousers.

The morning coat.

The most formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark or light waistcoat. Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with a winged collar. The less formal dinner jacket or tuxedo, which featured a shawl collar with silk or satin facings, now generally had a single button. Dinner jackets were appropriate formal wear when "dressing for dinner" at home or at a men's club. The dinner jacket was worn with a white shirt and a dark tie.

The Dinner coat.

The classic smoking jacket is a mid thigh-length jacket made from velvet, silk, or both. It has a shawl collar and turn-up cuffs and toggle or button fastenings, or may simply be closed with a tie belt.

The smoking jacket.

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Titanic.

The use of fur shown on the hems, sleeve hemlines of both the evening dresses and the day clothes show how lavish and sumptuous clothes had become for those with enough money to afford high fashion designer models.  Ladies who sailed the Titanic in 1912 may well have worn gowns based on similar designs.These clothes are a perfect example of the fashion of the lost golden age. They were at the end of an era of an elaborate fashion etiquette that places the wealthy, late Edwardian woman in a different world to the rest of the 20th century.  By 1913 hemlines began their slow rise showing a little of the ankle.  Extravagance in dress was soon frowned upon as utilitarian clothing was enforced on many during the 1914-18 Great War years.

Belle Epoque. 

Belle Epoque was a period in French and Belgian history that is conventionally dated as starting in 1871 and ending when World War I began in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Third French Republic (beginning 1870), it was a period characterized by optimism, peace at home and in Europe, new technology and scientific discoveries. The peace and prosperity in Paris allowed the arts to flourish, and many masterpieces of literature, music, theater, and visual art gained recognition. The Belle Époque was named, in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" in contrast to the horrors of World War I.

The outfits worn by fashionable women of the 'Belle Époque' were strikingly similar to those worn in the heyday of the fashion pioneer Charles Worth. By the end of the 19th-century, the horizons of the fashion industry had generally 'broadened', partly due to the more stable and independent lifestyle many well-off women were beginning to adopt and the practical clothes they demanded. However, the fashions of the La Belle Époque still retained the elaborate, upholstered style of the 19th century. The changing of fashion was unthinkable so,the use of different trimmings was all that distinguished one season from the other.