FCS 490R Fashion History. Terms and Definitions. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16 The 20's, 30's, 40's, WWII 1920-1947

 

Art Deco- Maggie Morton 

Art Deco was a style that was very popular in the 1920’s that influenced architecture, fashion, and art. It included geometric lines and shapes that could be derived from artistic expressions of the past of present. Art deco styles could be found in many of the fabric prints, embroideries, beaded decorations, and jewelry. This type of style became synonymous with modernity because it brought a fresh escape from convention and tradition. 

 

https://www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/art-deco-in-the-1920s.html 

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/art-deco-period 

Artificial Silk/Rayon- Maggie Morton 

Artificial silk did not gain rapid acceptance because it was too lustrous and did not wash well. At first, it was also stiff and hard, making it not very nice to the skin. Gradually it improved, and by the 1920’s, it became commonly known as rayon. It was blended with cotton to soften it up, and also mixed with wool for outerwear. It was used fairly widely after that. It was used for delicate underwear, dresses, men’s shirts, socks, and ties. 

 https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/fabrics-and-colors/ 

http://www.museumtextiles.com/blog/rayon-through-the-years-part-ii 

Barrymore collar & California Collar: Lexy Holman 

Both fashionable dress shirt collars. The Barrymore collar (1920s) was named after the actor John Barrymore (pictured below) and had long points. This style eventually reappeared in the 1970s, but it was renamed the tapered collar and was often accompanied with fashionably wide ties. The California collar (1930s) was seen on film actors and had shorter, wider points than the Barrymore collar.

https://www.menswearstyle.co.uk/2018/12/18/the-untold-story-of-shirt-collars/8426

https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-mens-shirts-and-collars-history/ 

Bob Haircut: Lexy Holman 

In 1920, the New York Times traced the origins of the bob "epidemic" to 1903, when two female students at Bryn Mawr college appeared with short hair to play basketball. The article also claims that bobbed hair became popular in Greenwich Village between 1908 and 1912, thanks to the influence of "intellectual women" from Russia who used bobbed hair to disguise themselves from police. While the bob haircut may have been sported by small groups of rebellious women decades before, many historians track the start of the trend to a well-known American dancer named Irene Castle, who lopped off her hair for convenience before entering the hospital for an appendectomy in 1914. An article in Vogue from January 1915 mentions that Castle, "did the newest thing in coiffures when she bobbed her hair," but went on to state that, "there is little likelihood of its general adoption."The best-known short haircut style in the 1920s was the bob.Early on, when women wanted to emulate the bob look, they couldn’t just walk into a beauty salon and ask the hairdresser to cut off their hair into that blunt, just-below-the-ears style. Many hairdressers flat out refused to perform the shocking and highly controversial request and some didn’t know how to do it since they’d only ever used their shears on long hair. Instead of being deterred, the flapper waved off those rejections and headed to the barbershop for the do. The barbers complied. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-history-of-the-flapper-part-4-emboldened-by-the-bob-27361862/#:~:text=The%20best%2Dknown%20short%20haircut,to%20as%20the%20Castle%20bob. 

https://fashionista.com/2017/04/bob-short-haircut-hairstyle-history 

Cloche Hat : McKelle Marshall . 

One thing that popped into your head is most likely that woman’s fashion staple of the 20s and 30s, the bell shaped cloche hat. The cloche hat is a fitted, bell-shaped hat for women that was invented in 1908 by milliner Caroline Reboux. This style became especially popular in about 1922.

https://connerhats.com/collections/cloche-hats 

Of course, the iconic hat of the Jazz Age was the cloche, which is French for “bell.” Its popularity began around 1925, dominating hat style well into the 1930s. A woman needed to have a small head and a short “bobbed” haircut to fit under the ever-increasing tightness. These close-fitting hats were worn low over the eyebrows, making visibility difficult. Women walked with their chins up and eyes cast down creating an air of conceitedness or feminine independence. 

https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-hats-styles/

Clutch Coat: Amber Davidson 

Textbook: a coat with no fastening This is a clutch coat from the 1920's. This is a large, cocoon-like coat and is clutched by a pin holding it in place. This necessity to hold the dress closed or use a pin causes a sort of pose for women when they wear this garment. 

https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/womens-coats-of-the-1920s/ 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/432486370443557568/ 

Dishrag Shirt- Amber Davidson 

Textbook: A shirt that was worn out of net fabric that was first seen on the Riviera. 1930s Men's Casual Wear. 

https://vintagedancer.com/1930s/1930s-mens-casual-fashion/ 

https://www.pinterest.at/pin/217369119492305166/?amp_client_id=CLIENT_ID(_)&mweb_unauth_id=%7B%7Bdefault.session%7D%7D&amp_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.at%2Famp%2Fpin%2F360639882636840258%2F 

Eisenhower Jacket & Battle Jacket: Wendy 

This jacket came to be when the WWII uniform was around, but Eisenhower thought that the fit was poor for combat and other activities. He decided to take it to his tailor and did some alterations with it to accommodate these activities. 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1218893 

The Guards Coat: Wendy 

https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/guardscoat/ 

It is an overcoat for English officers of the guard to wear. Peaked lapels. Unlike the Ulster, the Guards coat has peaked lapels since it is more formal. It should be noted that one needn’t button up this overcoat all the way. 6×3 Buttons. Since the Guards coat does not need to be buttoned up all the way, it is perfectly adequate to have the top row of buttons placed further apart from each in order to achieve a more formal look. Also, the buttons are placed higher than on an Ulster. Welted pockets. Since the Guards coat is more formal than the Ulster, it has welted pockets instead of patch pockets No contrast stitching. For the same reason there is no contrast stitching. No cuffs. There are no cuffs on the sleeves of a Guards coat. Belted back. In general, a Guards coat is cut more closely to the body than an Ulster. Nevertheless, it has a belted back without buttons, since they would make the overcoat look less formal. Some Guards coats have an inverted pleat which allows the wearer to move more easily. 

Lacoste Knit Shirt :Emma Yochim 

The Lacoste Knit Shirt was the start of polo shirts. It was designed for tennis and became a good basic shirt used by men. Polo was becoming a big sport and wearing the correct uniform was necessary. Before polo shirts were created, John E. Brooks introduced button-down shirt collars. That was just the start of a uniform shirt for sports. Jean Rene Lacoste, a french tennis star player, was the one that wanted to reform the sports shirts for better. Before the sports shirt were long sleeved button-down collared shirts, but Lacoste designed a short sleeved three button collars shirt from a light cotton that made moving it sports much easier. After retiring from tennis in the 1930’s Lacoste was approached by Andre Giller, a french knitwear manufacturer, who suggested they collaborated on the polo shirt, and then added the embroidered crocodile. The Lacoste brand is now known as the first company to have a brands mark on the outside of clothing.

https://www.heddels.com/2019/04/history-polo-shirt-rene-lacoste-ralph-lauren/ 

Mackinaw - Elizabeth Gibbons 

The Mackinaw was a men’s heavy coat made of fulled wool. Normally it was shorter in length than other styles of men’s coats or jackets. It would also often have been made from plaid and have broad lapels. Examples I found show double-breasted jackets with a buttoned belt made from the same material as the coat itself. 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-fashion-men/ 

https://vintagehaberdashers.com/2015/02/17/1920s-sheuerman-mackinaw-coat/ 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/286682332517578963/ 

Marcel Wave - Elizabeth Gibbons 

The Marcel Wave is a hairstyle adopted and popularized during the 1920s. Simply described, it’s a bobbed hair style with purposeful, incorporated waves from the top of the head to the bottom of the hairline (hair about the length of the cheekbones). It was similar in style to the Finger Wave, but was different in the process used to create it. The Finger Wave was made by hand, using fingers to hold wet hair in place to create the wave effect. The Marcel Wave was invented by French hairdresser Francois Marcel Grateau in 1872, and was recreated using a hot curling iron (invented for home use in about 1905). 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

https://chicvintagebrides.com/finger-marcel-waves-stylish-hair-of-a-bygone-era/ 

https://historydaily.org/marcel-waves-step-step-tutorial-1920s 

https://www.vintage-retro.com/1920s-flapper-hairstyle-recreation-how-to-make-the-marcel-waves/ 

Oxford Bags - Jada Cordon 

Oxford bags were wide legged pants that the men wore in the 1920s. They became popular because of the students at oxford. They were not allowed to wear knickers to class so they started wearing these wide legged pants over top. It soon became the trendy thing to do. They were cuffed at the end and often made of flannel. Some look at Oxford Bags as a symbol of the “recklessness of the youth.” 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Modern-World-1919-1929/Oxford-Bags.html 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/oxford-bags-pants 

Parka Jacket : Nora Terry 

A Parka Jacket had a hood ( inspired from the Eskimo cold weather wear) 

Racoon Coat :Emma Yochim 

The raccoon coat was a trendy huge coat worn mostly by young college students. It made sense that it came from the roaring twenties. The raccoon fur they were made from made them inexpensive compared to other furs. They were a perfect winter coat because they provided both warmth and protection from the weather for your other clothes. The Racoon coat became most popular and kind of a statement at Ivy League schools. Raccoon coats were mostly worn by men, but they were also worn but women. The coats are considered more of a fad because by the end of the decade they were replaced by lighter smaller cots. They were extremely heavy and bulky so to have one and wear one was an inconvenience. 

http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Modern-World-1919-1929/Raccoon-Coat.html 

Surrealism : Allison Boyes 

- Surrealism was introduced through high fashion in the 1930s Surrealism- 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images. Avant garde is new and unusual or experimental ideas, especially in the arts, or the people introducing them. The main focus with surrealism fashion is to blur the lines between high art and high fashion. The shoe hat below was designed by Elsa Shiaparelli in collaboration with Salvador Dali and reached the height of Surrealist absurdity in this high-heeled shoe from winter, 1937-38. Elsa Shiaparelli is an italian designer that is generally considered to be one of the first to create avante garde fashion. She was very ahead of her time. She used plastic frequently to make belts, and experimented with prints, that many designers would've never thought of. belts themselves were made of unusual materials, such as plastic and plaster, and in quirky shapes that could elicit a viewer’s double-take. To pair such an off-beat accessory with a couture garment was just the kind of humorous irony Schiaparelli enjoyed incorporating into her work The belt below was amde in 1937.

Sources: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/83437 

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-what-is-surrealism 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/105730?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=Elsa+Schiaparelli&offset=20&rpp=20&pos=25 

T-Shirts - Allison Boyes 

In 1913, US sailors were required to wear a white t shirt under their uniform. In 1920, Scott Fitzgerald writes This Side of Paradise where he used the word “T-shirt” for the first time in published history, and T-shirt becomes a word in the Merriam Webster dictionary. In the 1930’s stores started to sell T-shirts worn by the Navy. T-shirts were originaly made of cotton, and was almost always a tube knit. A tube knit is a woven, knitted, or braided fabric made in a circular seamless jersey weave. A tube knit allows the t shirt to have no side seams. It was more cost effective to do a tube knit, because you didnt need to have side seams. Sometimes WW2 tube knit machines will still come up for sale, they are very collectible. It is rare to find a plain white t shirt from the 50s that is still in good condition. If you are lucky to find one they are usually worth $50 or more depending on the condition, and are in high demand in the vintage community. 

Sources: https://blogs.furman.edu/nwilliams/history-of-the-t-shirt/ 

Teddies - McKelle Marshall 

This Teddy Bear is from an advert from 1920. Named after the United States President Theodore Roosevelt (whose nickname was "Teddy") following a cartoon where he refused to kill a tied up beaten black bear (1902). The following year, Morris Michtom (Ideal Novelty and Toy Co) wrote to the president asking for permission to market a (Teddy Bear) and was given permission, the rest as they say is history. However, there are disputes over the first "Teddy Bear" as it is believed that the Steiff firm in Germany, unaware of Michtom's bear, produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff's designs at around the same time. 

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/20stoys.html 

The Roaring Twenties were pretty cool for kids. Crayola crayons brought a little color into their lives and assorted versions of a plush toy bear named Teddy (named for President Theodore Roosevelt) were sold here and abroad. Stuffed bears had been popular for several years, but Teddy became a legend. 

https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2017/12/11/toy-1920-s-iconic-teddy-modern-yo-yo-and-wagon-ages/906340001/ 

https://www.rubylane.com/blog/bears/how-to-identify-steiffs-legacy-teddy-bears-from-the-early-1900s-1920/

Shingle & Eton Haircuts - Jada Cordon 

The shingle haircut was like the bob but even shorter. It was faded in the back and on the sides like a man's haircut. There were variations of the haircut but in general they were all very short. The eton crop was a haircut that also resembles mens haircuts. The eton haircut was an extreme crop. 

 

 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

 http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/hairstyles/hair-shingling.html 

 https://creativeheadmag.com/education-hair-histories-the-eton-crop/