The Silhouette After 1890 (Essay Sample)

Title; Describe the changes that occurred in women’s wear between 1890 and the first decade of 1900, including the changes in 1908-1909 and their effect on women’s silhouettes.
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Word count:Describe the changes that occurred in women’s wear between 1890 and the first decade of 1900, including the changes in 1908-1909 and their effect on women’s silhouettes.
Introduction
The changes in 1890-1909 and their effect on women’s silhouettes are characteristically underscored through the understanding that the first decade of 1900, including the changes in 1908-1909 in the women wear. In this paper, I will be reviewing the events, culture and clothing; presenting the change, explaining the importance of the change, analysing the purpose of it while at the same time, present interesting ideas on the social-cultural and artistic context. This period presented a new columnar silhouette, abandoning the corset. For instance, women skirts had curves that were outward especially over her full behind and turning inwards easily towards the knee level, and sharply inwards at the hem. (Steedman, 1997). This started as early as the Victorian age, where women were in private sphere, governed by Victorian morality. Their clothing restricted movement and controlled the body, e.g. the corset.
The 19th century feminist reacted to these cultural inequities of the Victorian era, both in fictional writing and physically. An example of Florence Nightigale, had a conviction that women all had the men potential but zero opportunities. The had a storied nursing career
It can be reported that as early as 1850, the Langham Place circle of feminists started campaigning groups, with the first one was a periodical and then a library for women in west London. This was shortly followed by debating groups as well as social clubs exclusively for women thereafter.
The silhouette after 1890
The bustle disappeared from the day dresses. The one that came was a skirt style that was smoothly over the hips. It descended from the handspan waist and it widened gradually at the hemline.
In around 1895, the leg mutton sleeves were swelled to big proportions and used on décolleté evening dresses. These sizes comparing the belted waist to the simple gored skirt, showed the highlight. ( Steedman, M. 1997)
The tailors then made, ready to wear costumes. They were of wool or serge. The women of the middle and upper class wore the costumes with shirtwaist and the blouses. By the year 1890s-1910, the gored skirt looked more tailored and marched the jacket style. The tailored suit in 1890s was thought to be both masculine and not lady like. Therefore, to describe female dress as masculine was derogatory.
These Edward tailored suits were described as ideal for travel. They became a lot more versatile, i.e. lighter and suitable for wedding. It became a useful all purpose fit for commercial work place. The woman of this day was under the authority and the suits presented a challenge to men, with women looking authoritative. ( Agins, T. 2010).
The Gibson girl then emerged. This was represented as a cartoon character, by D. Gibson. For twenty years, this image satirised the society. The woman was competitive, sporty and emaciated but beautiful.
The Edwardian silhouette 1900-1907
This which belonged to the mature woman of ample curves and full bosom, was a fashionable hour glass silhouette. This was fully described by the S-bent health corset. The dresses were made in two pieces, with the bodice heavily boned. A top bodice acted as a stay garment, providing contour, giving extra stability and directional shape under the delicate top fabric. The straight sleeves of 1890s were transformed into bloused effects that gathered into wrist bands. The right –high neck blouse came in 1906. The high necks were day time trade mark but at night, exceptionally low necklines, allowing women to war large quantities of jewellery. Then there was the S-bend silhouette, with, bend corset, a high collar, trained skirt with a lavish hat, giving the woman a swaying grandeur. Between 1906 and 1909, they began to show changes and skirts lost their usual fullness with the silhouette straightened. Feet showed up again. ( Barnard, M. 2002)
1900-1910 Charles Frederick Worth– Key Designer
This individual is remembered for establishing how discourses of art were deployed in the business of elite fashion during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was successful in consolidating all fashion operations, like, choice of fabric, trims, into one. The common bespoke, includes, dropping of the waistline to the hips and raising the hemlines. He also introduced the couture techniques, that included, hand stitching, shaping with seams. Darts and pressing, finished edges with helms. These were all elements of romantics. ( Arnold, R. 2001)
Paul Poiret- Out of corset and Hobble skirt-1879-1944
He is the initiator of modern fashion. There was thus a shift from tailoring skills to draping skills. Moreover, he presented a unified body, no longer separated into two parts by corset and petticoat. In 1903, he liberated the body from the petticoats and in 1906, from the corset.
Conclusion
From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that change in women wear were made on the dresses worn over the new bustles and they were brawnier a characteristic brought by the materials that they were made of (Finkelstein et al, 1991, pp. 19-35). This marked the changes in women fashion that would continue for the rest of the years. As a result, changes in fashion are mostly repeated in a cyclic form and this has been witnessed in history of fashion designs (Kawamura, 2004, pp. 135-152). Many of the changes that occur in fashion, they are either modifications from existing fashion or borrowed from some old fashions that have ever existed before and this evidently makes the changes to be cyclic in nature (Finkelstein et al, 1991, pp. 19-35). Contemporarily, there are fashion designs in existence whose existence can be traced back to the early years of the coming of modernity. However, the changes are continuous and this makes fashion design an ever-living aspect.
Annotated Bibliography
Agins, T. 2010. The End of Fashion: The Mass Marketing of the Clothing Business Forever. HarperCollins.
This article shows that the changes in fashion in late 19th century and early 20th century have highly been attributed to the changing attitude of women about life. In the past, women’s purpose in life was to marry, have children and develop a “good” family.
Arnold, R. 2001. Fashion, desire, and anxiety: Image and morality in the twentieth century. IB Tauris Publishers.
The author underscores that everything was under modification to make it tastier to the eyes and city life was very important in the modification of women clothing as it promoted not only change but also creativity. City life is associated with artistic discoveries and artistic models were being added on women fashion.
Barnard, M. 2002. Fashion as communication.Routledge.
This article points out that Being involved in outdoor activities required more flexible clothing and ribbon gowns and petticoats worn by the home women started to be abandoned by women. Cuirass bodices which appeared in mid 1870s also were abandoned at this time.
Breward, C. 1995. The culture of fashion (Vol. 1).Manchester University Press.
According to this article, the difference between the circular skirts of the 19th century and the ones worn today is that the ones used today are very short (Kawamura, 2004, pp. 135-152). The wearing of slimmed and elongated silhouette was also very common in late 1890s and more so in 1897.
Breward, C. 2003. Fashion. Oxford University Press.
This author notes that in early 20th century, changes in the skirts worn by women both during the day and in the evenings were experienced and the skirts became elongated at the back to form a train.
Bruzzi, S., & Gibson, P. C. (Eds.). 2000. Fashion cultures: theories, explorations and analysis. London and New York: Routledge.
The author contends that social changes mainly comes in cyclic form wherein old ways of doing things are incorporated in present practices and between 1880 and 1890 the adoption of bustles which had emerged in mid-19th century affirmed the cyclic nature of social change.
Craik, J. 2003. The face of fashion: Cultural studies in fashion. Routledge.
The author argues that society is always on the move and during the movement many things do change; a change that may be permanent or a cyclic one where things that happened in the past are repeated.
Crane, D. 2012. Fashion and its social agendas: Class, gender, and identity in clothing. University of Chicago Press.
In replacement, the women of the 19th century with specific reference to the women of 1890s and the first decade of 1900 adopted the wearing of ready-made dark suits and simple blouse a dress code that would be common for women for the rest of the years
Crane, D., &Bovone, L. 2006. Approaches to material culture: The sociology of fashion and clothing. Poetics, 34(6), 319-333.
While the new clothing were positively received by many women, many men opposed such kind of dress codes wherein they viewed the women in such new clothing as promiscuous and deviants who could not live with any man.
Davis, F. 1994. Fashion, culture, and identity.University of Chicago Press.
David shows that decoration was also adopted on women clothing of women and the products used in the decorations included buttons, laces and hem tousles.
Entwistle, J., & Wilson, E. B. (Eds.). 2001. Body dressing. Berg.
Traditionally, clothes worn by women did not dispose the shapes of their bodies but the new clothing became tighter showing the shapes of the women.