The Changing Face Of Fashion - 1930's

Fashion through the decades 

1930's

In the 1930s, the straight, up and down style was belted again, and lengthened. It began to hug the body. Dresses were cut on the bias so that they fitted to and moved with the body. These designs required very lightweight fabrics such as satins and silks.
Sport dressing became even more popular in the Thirties. Patterned with contrasting yellow and green, the suit has a felt jacket and huge straw hat to match, with huge modern flowers in felt trimming both jacket and hat. These modern motifs were in bright colours.

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The Wall Street Crash

The Wall Street Crash, also known as Black Tuesday or the Stock Market Crash, began in late October 1929 and was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout. The crash signaled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries.

The Roaring Twenties, the decade that followed World War I and led to the Crash,was a time of wealth and excess. Building on post-war optimism, many rural Americans migrated to the cities in vast numbers throughout the decade with the hopes of finding a more prosperous life in the ever growing expansion of America's industrial sector.

Crowd gathering on wall street after the crash

The Wall Street crash and the Great Depression would had a strong influence on women's fashion in the 1930s. Because of the need to save money, the average women could no longer buy new clothes every few months. Instead, they had to remake the clothes they already had, reusing any material that was on-hand. Only after clothes had been patched and mended beyond what was reasonable would they consider buying a new dress, or the fabric to sew a new one.

"Renovation helps the nation"

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The Wealthy

For the wealthy, or even those who were able to secure full-time work and earn a modest salary during the early 1930s, circumstances for many of them actually improved. Average wages dropped but the cost of living dropped to an even greater extent. This meant that their standards of living actually rose, because they could afford more than before. In response, many of the wealthy men who had business and financial acumen capitalised on the poverty of the less affluent classes. The wealthy did this by purchasing the exceptionally cheap land and homes of those who were no longer able to make their mortgage repayments. For similarly low prices, they also bought businesses and belongings from those who had been forced into bankruptcy. If they were willing to take a risk on the rise of the stock market, some people bought shares when the prices were at all-time lows. Even though the benefits of their purchases were not immediate, if they had enough financial resources at their disposal to keep their assets until the economy improved, these investors reaped the financial benefits.

The Divide

 there was a great deal of tension between the wealthy and the poor. This division between the two had grown wider during the Depression, with the wealthy becoming better off and the poor reaching new depths of despair. In an attempt to defy the wealthy, a number of the poor refused their charity and attempted to find food and other commodities by resorting to, among other things, stealing.

The Poor

Seeing the way the wealthy continued to shop at department stores and eat at restaurants, when the poor had to rely on soup from relief centres and clothing from charities, caused anger amongst working-class people. A number of them took to the streets in public demonstrations, protesting to the State and federal governments. Meanwhile many of the wealthy, some of whom were completely unaware that the nation was in a state of depression, came to fear the working class and their demonstrations which often ended in violence and had to be broken up by police.


Working class family in the 1930's.

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Hats

The 1930s marked a return to femininity in women's clothing and hat styles. The rebellious, boyish looks of the 1920s flapper era had led many women to bob their hair and wear cloche caps. Women of the '30s grew their hair  into waves and wore stylish hats on top of updos as the finishing touches to dresses and suits that hugged their curves.

Wide Brims

Large hats with wide brims made a return in the '30s, following an era of brimless hats worn very close to the head. These hats were often quite pliable, and women wore them many different ways, including turned up in the front and pinned with a brooch or decoration, such as flowers. In the early '30s these hats had large brims and large crowns that covered much of a woman's hair as cloche caps had done in the '20s. As the '30s progressed, the crowns of these hats grew more shallow, and the large brim sat at an angle higher on the head.

Pert Hats

Before long, smaller hats came into vogue in the '30s, and by the middle of the decade, perky hats were in style. They were similar to European sporting hats in design. They were small and sat high on the head, angling down toward the front. At their highest point they often had an embellishment that stood up, such as flowers or feathers. Sometimes they had ribbons or netting that hung down, covering the back of the head. Women often wore pert hats to show off the glamorous updos of the day.

Turbans and Snoods

Women in the '30s endeavoured to look polished and pulled together at all times. With the constraints of the Great Depression being felt by many, women often could not sport styled hairdos every day. Perhaps partly because of this, turbans came into vogue by the mid '30s. Turbans allowed women to look chic without having to style their hair at all. They simply tucked their hair into the turban. Snoods also caught on in the later 1930s. They were crocheted or made of netting, and women gathered the back of their hair into them then tied them at the top of their heads.

Fedoras

Fedoras caught on and were a huge hat trend for men in the '30s. Men wore them for work and began wearing them at social occasions over more formal hats, such as top hats. Fedoras were soft and pliable but held their shape well. Before long, they caught on with women as well. Greta Garbo was one of the biggest stars of the day, and she was photographed wearing a fedora slouched down, covering one eye, a look which would become her trademark. Women began wearing fedoras in this manner, and smaller versions of fedoras were even created just for women.

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Mens fashion

Men's wear had a more casual feel in the 1930s, thanks to the celebratory attitudes of the Roaring '20s following the end of World War I. The younger generation in the '20s had a great interest in dressing well and pushed fashion boundaries. This trend continued into the '30s, but the Great Depression forced many men to be resourceful in creating an impressive wardrobe.

mens suits

Men of the '30s wore suits for work and for all but the most casual social functions, so most men owned more than one. Due to the financial restraints of the Great Depression, however, many men opted to own just a few versatile suits in dark colours as opposed to different suits for morning and evening. Double-breasted jackets with wide lapels were in vogue, as were drape suits from London. These jackets had rounded, draped lapels and were cut narrow at the waist and broader at the shoulders. Trousers were baggy at the top, but tapered at the ankle more than those of the '20s.

Men who could afford to own a variety of suits in the '30s had many trendy patterns at their disposal. "Gangster wear," which was being made popular by gangsters of the day such as Al Capone, featured pinstripe suits and they became all the rage. Men also wore hound's-tooth jackets and a variety of plaid patterns. Later in the decade, full suits with wide stripes on both the jackets and trousers came into vogue. For summer, designers made them from cotton in light colour combinations such as light blue and white stripes. In winter, men often wore suits made of wool and wore silk suits year-round.

Casual wear

Men had begun wearing more casual styles for leisure time in the '20s and that trend continued into the '30s. As the economic climate improved later in the decade, men spent more money and time relaxing. Many men took their cue from the dashing Hollywood stars of the day such as Cary Grant, and wore more casual blazers with open-necked shirts and no tie for relaxed social occasions. They often wore light-coloured, baggy trousers with pleats and cuffs and wore knee-length knickers and knee socks for sports such as golf. Sweater vests came into style and men often wore argyle or tartan vests over button-down shirts.

Cary Grant

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