Talk:1930–1945 in Western fashion

1930s fashion as a reaction to the 1920s reaction against Victorianism-Edwardianism

The women's styles of much of the 1920s (especially around 1925-1928) were based on a reaction against pre-WW1 styles and social norms (i.e. Victorianism and Edwardianism). Much of what is distinctive about 1930s women's styles is based on a partial reaction against this 1920s reaction (the pendulum starting to swing in the other direction). There was no true revival of Victorianism (i.e. corsets and Victorian attitudes about female bodily modesty did not return), but on the other hand the hard edges of the 1920s anti-Victorian reaction softened, and some traditional concepts of femininity were re-established. For example, where the 1920s had a small-breasted ideal, the 1930s returned to a more traditional ideal in that area. In the 1920s, the bob was almost de rigueur, but in the 1930s women had more options with respect to hair styles (including longer hair). In the 1930s, dresses with a defined waistline near the natural waistline and sometimes swirling skirts returned, as opposed to the loose but narrow (quasi-tubular) "flapper" dresses of the 1920s. After the high knee-grazing hemlines of 1927-1928, hemlines returned to lower levels for decades (until the miniskirt era of the second half of the 1960s). Etc. etc... Churchh (talk) 08:57, 9 October 2014 (UTC)

I like this very much. I'd love to see this in the article, with a couple of citations. - PKM (talk) 21:07, 9 October 2014 (UTC)

How does that explain the robe de style and other frilly, pretty romanticised 1920s styles? Not everyone wore a straight tubular chemise or had their hair short. I always get a bit edgy and twitchy about sweeping generalizations about an entire era based on some kind of stereotype of the period. If the 1920s were "anti-Victorian" what was with all the nostalgia for it, on VOGUE covers no less - a lot of those covers are awash with crinolines and poke bonnets and Art Deco-ified Victoriana. So despite the love for modernity, there was also a clear market for period setimentality and prettiness - almost certainly with a healthy dollop of irony and good natured mockery. Re hemlines, I'd note that hemlines were rather uneven in the decade - until about 1923 they were pretty much ankle-skimming, then they went up and down quite a bit - by 1929 they're pretty uneven, long in back and short in front. Plus, knee length skirts reappeared in the 1940s, and I'm pretty sure not JUST because of fabric shortages. There's no shortage of sources pushing the 1920s fashion stereotype though, so I'm just giving my two cents.... Mabalu (talk) 03:25, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

PKM, there probably isn't any source which states things exactly as I did above, but there are many comments in sources about the de-emphasis on curves in the 1920s and a return to curviness in the 1930s, and so on. "Then, as the decade drew to its close, skirts suddenly became long again, and the waist resumed its normal place. It was as if fashion were trying to say 'The party is over, the Bright Young Things are dead.'" (Costume and Fashion, A Concise History by James Laver). The article by Deborah Cohen on the 1930s as the true beginning of modern fashion is also relevant.[1]

Mabalu, I realize that what people wore in real life did not switch with the same abruptness that trends in fashion illustrations did, and that some women who had been Edwardian matrons felt no need to follow the bleeding edge of 1920s fashion changes, but wore much more sedate and less varying clothing. But even so, the main trends of the 1920s were very much in opposition to pre-WW1 norms. The fact that many women in 1927 commonly wore outfits that they might have been arrested for wearing in public in 1907 indicates that there was a very substantial change. According to Frederick Lewis Allen, "In the latter years of the 1920s [in the U.S.] bobbed hair became almost universal among girls in their 20s, very common among women in their 30s and 40s, and by no means rare among women of sixty." For 1920s hemline trends, see the bottom of Talk:Hemline. Churchh (talk) 17:33, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

P.S. The 1932 craze for the "Letty Lynton" dress pretty much marked the final end of the 1920s aesthetic, in the United States at least. Churchh (talk) 04:44, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

Suitability of image

I don't think that File:"For Baby's Future Buy War Bonds" - NARA - 514280.tif is a useful image for this article. Llewee added it, and I removed it. Rather than start a discussion, Llewee put it back in the article.

The war bond ad gives no clear view of anything to do with fashion. It's merely an infant in a nightshirt. The ad might be an interesting addition to Series E bond as representing ways war bonds were marketed, but it doesn't provide any useful view of fashion. Schazjmd (talk) 17:23, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

Schazjmd Apologies I hadn't realised you'd removed it and thought there was a problem with saving changes. I added the image as I though it would be useful to have a picture focused on a infant as most of the other children depicted are older. At the same time their isn't much detail in the image due to the way the baby is positioned I'll remove the image momentarily and see if I can find a more detailed replacement.--Llewee (talk) 17:44, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, Llewee! Schazjmd (talk) 17:49, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

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