The Early Twentieth Century

The early twentieth century was a time of great change, not only socially and politically, but also in much simpler pieces of society. One of the greatest changes of this era came when women began taking over new positions in society, such as jobs outside of the home. This change was also mirrored in, and often influenced, the changes that were happening in women's fashion during the era. As Coco Chanel believed, “Fashion is not simply a matter of clothes. Fashion is in the air, born upon the wind. One intuits it. It is in the sky and on the road." (Neel). Had these vast changes to women's roles and clothing not occurred, the life we have today would be vastly different. In this essay, I will first impart some historical background, in order …show more content…
As such, I believe that clothing is key to understanding societies and cultures.
This era of time marked a great change in the overall life of women, not only their fashion choices. After 1900, women began to enter the workforce in increasingly large quantities, which was vastly different to the idea of the Victorian era's women, whose place was in the home (Presley). As the numbers increased rapidly, with roughly 7,500,000 women working outside the home in 1910, women created unions to protect their rights as workers (Presley). One such union was the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU), established in June of 1900 ("History of the ILGWU/ Timeline."). The ILGWU was one of the most widespread women's union with local chapters all over the country, and continued to support women until 1995, when the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing …show more content…
("Edwardian S-shaped corset.")
Straight front corsets gave women the ability to breathe easier, however their ability to move was still limited. This was because straight front corsets extended further down the leg to counteract the lowered top of the corset. The extended length made sitting down difficult and thus continued to limit women's freedom (Fields). The straight front corset was a significant step in the transition to the freedom of women's movement, if not for the legs then for the torso. The straight front also showed a great change in fashion due to the fact that there was more than one style. Straight front corsets came in styles designed specifically for sports and dancing, due to the influences of of organized women's sports in colleges and the popularization of the Tango (Fields). The straight front corset was the last styles of corset worn by a majority of society, due to the new fashion that emphasized freedom from the restrictions of