Cara Cummings Cummings 1

Mrs. Rogers
English 11
22 November 2010
The Impact of Women’s Fashion in the Twentieth Century

Fashion has been an important aspect of women’s lives for thousands of years. Women

have always been concerned with their appearance and have been impacted by trends throughout

the centuries. Whether the current mode was to pluck the hairline to show a more exaggerated

forehead, or to bind feet so that they would not grow, women abided by the current fashions

whether good or bad. In addition to society, women have looked to movie stars, royalty, and

other celebrities and imitated the styles set by those individuals. Because people are always

adopting new styles, fashion has constantly been adapting to the world around it. Many people

have watched trends change throughout their lifetimes, but many do not realize the effect of

fashion on their lives. In the past century, fashion has impacted women’s lives as a form of self-

expression, entertainment, and liberation.

The first way women have used fashion is to express their individual and group identities

(Mendes, 8). The most lasting impression of a woman is often derived from her appearance,

therefore, a woman is delivering a message whether consciously or unconsciously, by the clothes

she chooses. When dressing for a specific occasion she sends a message. It may be that she

wants to be taken seriously, or that she just wants to have fun. A woman can alter the way she is

perceived simply by changing her outfit. Betsey Johnson, a popular American designer known

for her distinct style and loud personality, said, “I like personal dressing, anything and

everything as long as you’re happy.”(Hoobler, 141). On a certain level, happiness can be found

in an individual’s ensemble; many women instantly feel more confident and poised when

wearing a good pair of heels or a perfectly tailored dress. Women have learned to harness the

power of a first impression; after all, it may be the only chance they have to make an impact.
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Similarly, a group of people often set themselves apart by their selection of apparel. This

is illustrated by a choir’s robes, a sports team’s uniforms, or a school’s dress code. Clothing can

act as a unifier; in theory allowing everyone to be perceived, at least initially, as equal. It allows

a group to be perceived as a single unit, instead of a collection of individuals. In the past, fashion

was used to distinguish class protocols, but more recently it has illustrated the erosion of the

social hierarchy (Mendes, 8). An woman’s choice of apparel no longer signals her

socioeconomic status, but is a manifestation of her personal preferences.

The second way fashion has impacted women’s lives is as a form of entertainment. In the

early 1900s, many women began to buy popular weekly fashion magazines. The editors of those

magazines quickly recognized the power of photography and the impact it could have on the

fashion industry. Towards the beginning of the public’s recognition of photography, Vogue and

Harper’s Bazaar began employing the most talented photographers for their illustrated spreads

(Hoobler, 87). This decision was the beginning of fashion as an art form; allowing women to

observe the way a garment could realistically be worn.

Movies first began to influence culture during the Great Depression, ushering in a decade

of sophistication and glamour (Hoobler, 84). Film gave fashion a life that was impossible to

achieve on paper (Watson, 30). Movies became more popular and many women began copying

whichever movie star was currently in vogue. The increasing obsession with the personal style of

each star resulted in many women asking their hairdressers to imitate a celebrity’s popular hair

style, such as Greta Garbo’s signature bob or Shirley Temple’s perfect ringlets.

In addition to the impact of magazines and movies, political figures, such as Jackie

Kennedy Onassis and Princess Diana, have held considerable influence in the fashion world.
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Jackie was an elegant, timeless, American original; she understood her body and chose the finest

clothing to reflect her easy sophistication (Tauber, par. 7). Diana, Princess of Wales, is noted for

developing her classic style under the scrutiny of the Western world. She was one of the first

celebrities to embrace fashion designers as friends who did not simply design her dresses, but

molded her into the woman she became. (Menkes, par. 3,22). Consequently, both Jackie O and

Princess Diana represent an elegance many women attempt to imitate.

One of the most important impacts of fashion has been as a form of liberation. During the

Age of Opulence, from 1900 to 1914, fashions were strictly followed and affected all women

from birth to death. Young girls were allowed to wear their hair down until they were considered

to be of marrying age; from then on their hair would always be worn up when in public (Mendes,

10). The rich required their servants to wear muted colors so they would not be perceived as a

member of the upper class. In addition to the rules governing a woman’s visible adornment,

beneath a woman’s outer clothing were required layers of cumbersome underwear. These

undergarments were used to manipulate a woman’s figure into the desired hourglass shape.

Women quickly became repulsed by how their lives were governed and began pushing for social

reforms such as the right to work and vote.

Between 1912 and 1926, woman’s suffrage became an increasingly prevalent political

theme in the United States in which fashion played a major role. When suffragettes, rallying for

their right to vote, walked down Fifth Avenue in New York, the women were some of the first to

proudly wear makeup. At the time wearing visible makeup was seen as vulgar, but the leaders of

the demonstration associated their right to enhance their looks with their petition for political

equality (Hoobler, 58). These women fought for both social and political reforms; eventually
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winning the fight on both fronts. By 1926 the genders had begun blending and continued to do so

throughout the following decades.

Similarly, the 1960s was an important time in American social history, and women’s

fashion was no exception. Dresses were taken above the knee for the first time in Western

history, and subsequently, women were allowed the freedom to dress in ways they never had

before. Perhaps the most lasting image of the decade was that of the hippie. The hippies of the

1960s paved the way for the kind of liberation often seen in Western culture today, and

according to a TIME magazine article from 1967, “[The hippie culture] has touched the

imagination of the ‘straight’ society that gave it birth.” (Youth: The Hippies, 1967). Even though

many American women did not agree with the free love preaching, drug using hippies, they

related to their desire for an easy life. That ease is now seen in the very essence of our society.

That American ease is one of the greatest impacts of fashion on women’s lives.

Women follow fashion for many reasons, some do so for attention, or as a form of social

communication, others choose to do so because it’s fun, but regardless of why a woman chooses

to follow fashion, being fashionable has its rewards when done right (Potts, 10). Throughout the

past century, fashion has impacted women’s lives as a form of self-expression, entertainment,

and liberation. As society continues to transform itself, fashion will follow; there will always be

women who challenge fashion, and as American fashion consultant Tim Gunn would say, the

rest of the women will just have to “make it work.”.