| For centuries, women have used the art of dressing to represent how they want the world to see them. Using clothes, accessories, and jewellery to show their beauty. Style has evolved, been adapted and recycled to suit each woman's need to make her own mark in fashion. The Roaring 20's Liberation of women saw a dramatic change in fashion. Free to experiment, women were wearing shorter dresses and skirts, and pleats, gatherings and slits were seen in women’s fashion for the first time in history. As skirts were getting shorter, attention was drawn to the feet and shoes became an essential fashion accessory. The most influential fashion characteristic of this period was the birth of the flapper dress in the late 20's. These dresses were made straight and loose, exposing bare arms and legs - a look worn by actress Louise Brooks and worshiped by every young woman of that era. In complete contrast to the flapper look was Greta Garbo - one of the first women to popularize trench coats & berets in the 1930s. Garbo often wore men's clothing - tailored shirts, silk ties and pyjama pants.
Actress, Alice Joyce
Stylish 30's "Strutting your stuff" summarised fashion in the 30's. Clothes were more provocative and were made to show off the female form. Daytime suits and dresses were neatly tailored, featuring wide shoulders and nipped waistlines to give a hourglass shape. Evening gowns were cut on the bias to emphasize a woman’s sensuous figure and were often backless, accompanied with elbow length gloves. Film stars such as Mae West and Rita Hayworth perfectly demonstrated how to pull off this stylish look.
Actress Mae West
40's War on Fashion
Due to World War II, clothing was rationed and the Government dictated what clothes should look like and 'utility' clothes were introduced using the minimum amount of material possible. Although times were hard women were still able to look chic and stylish. Fashion items that became popular during this time were the wedge sole shoe, the siren suit and the kangaroo cloak. 40's Fashion (getty images)
The Glamorous 50's The 50s had two distinct dress styles, the first being Dior's "New Look". Women were now wearing full skirts with cinched waists, padded busts and rounded shoulders. Mid-fifties Coco Chanel launched the Chanel suit which consisted of a below the knee skirt and a collarless boxy jacket finished with coloured braid. In the late 1950's Rock 'N' Roll had taken over and in teenage fashion so did the poodle skirt. Think of the film Grease and you have in a nutshell typical teenage fashion. These colourful patterned skirts (often worn with a petticoat) were all the rage, matched with scoop neck blouses and cardigans worn backwards with buttons down the back. Peddle pushers also were a hit in the 50's. Saddle shoes often worn with white socks were very popular for young fashionistas.
Swinging 60's Hailed as the most stylish First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy influenced fashion in the early 60's. Dressed often in pieces by Givenchy, Chanel and Christian Dior, her pastel coloured clean-cut suits, 3-quarter length jackets, sleeveless A-line dresses and pillbox hat were a huge hit. Audrey Hepburn's minimalist chic style made her a huge style icon of the 50’s and 60’s and her look has been copied by women even until today. Most famous for creating the "little black dress" from the film Breakfast at Tiffany's with her pearls, long gloves and dark sunglasses (a must for any contemporary woman). Other Hepburn must haves were Capri pants and ballet pumps (which she wore with everything!) The most notable fashion must-have in the mid-60’s however was the mini skirt, made popular by designer Mary Quant and worn by model Twiggy. Quant was a key figure in creating signature fashion pieces such as coloured and patterned tights, plastic macs and in the late 60’s, hotpants. Bright colours, geometric patterns are typical features of swinging 60’s style. Other fashionable items of that time included Yves Saint-Laurent's Mondrian dress. The hippie look later became popular in the late 60's with women favouring the bell-bottom jeans, the Mexican peasant blouse, halter-tops, and tie-dye shirts.
Model: Twiggy
The 70's - hippie to disco to punk The hippie look continued in the early 70’s, in addition to the mini skirt however there was now the midi and maxi dresses - made in floral patterns and worn with high platform shoes or cork-wedge sandals. By the mid 70's disco fever took over the world. Bring out the spandex tops, stretch sequin bandeau, disco pants and gold stretch halter jumpsuits and you were ready to disco! Punk came onto the scene in the late 70's and was revolutionised by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Mclaren. Debbie Harry is a classic example of this new, destroyed and reconstructed look. Women were heavily accessorizing their tartan-pleated skirts with metal studs, black leather jackets, t-shirts worn torn with bold slogans, fabrics being held together with pins and chains. And lets not forget the fishnet tights and Dr Marten boots to complete the look.
Acceptable in the 80's Fashion was heavily influenced by music and TV culture and the 80's screamed BIG and VIVID! Every woman and girl wanted to be noticed - the more outrageous the outfit the better!
Power dressing made popular by celebrities such as Joan Collins saw women mixing pencil skirts, big belts and boxy jackets with HUGE shoulder pads (a must-have!) in bright and bold colours. Teens crazy for Madonna copied her style wearing brassieres worn as outerwear, leather mini-skirts, fingerless gloves, tulle skirts, fishnet stockings and ALOT of jewellery to complete the look.
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