Pride an d Prejudice presents us with a charming and idealistic world filled with regency period bonnets, dresses, shoes, gentlemen, social gatherings, balls, and horse drawn carriages. Though it may seem that Austen’s heroines are confident and carefree, the reality is that women were extremely limited in regard to education and income at this time in history. Though they were usually treated with the respect due their position, nowhere in society could there ever be a place for a woman doctor, lawyer, or merchant, unless she managed a business under her husband or father. Even in social settings women were bound by rules, formalities, and severe social expectations. Fortuneanally that is not the case for women today. Though not all of the
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“‘Oh my dear,’ continued Mrs. Bennet, I am quite delighted ... his sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst’s gown-’”(Austen, 15). But the social significance of women’s clothing throughout history is indeed manifested here.“ Fashion has always been key to how women have presented themselves to the world, and how society has wanted to present women to the world. From panniers that emphasized wide hips to shoulder pads that emphasized "power," the fashion of the time tells our history in great detail”(MAKERS).
In 1813 the fashion was for dresses to be much lighter and less constricting than in the time periods previous to this. In the 1700’s, late 1800’s and early 1900’s women were tightly corseted and buried beneath layers of fabric and lace. The early 1800’s seems to be a very unique time period during which women were given a short break from the constricting corsets that were mandatory for any respectable lady. However, many of the same elaborate and ornate decorations and trims …show more content…
By the 1920’s and 1930’s, women’s clothing had gone from full and ornate, to simple and straight. During the 1930’s and 1940’s women continued to become more and more independant, and though pants were still not everyday attire, they were very convenient and comfortable for work.
“During World War II, though photographs show American women wearing pants in the workplace, dresses and skirts were still the go-to for properly going out in public, and Dior's post-War "New Look," swung the pendulum even farther away from the pant for a period. Really, as Worn Through underscores , it wasn't until the sexual revolution and second-wave feminism in the late 1960s and 1970s that women started wearing trousers en masse and whenever they wished ... .( Conger )”
After the sexual revolution, women viewed themselves and differently, and were viewed differently by society. No longer was the mainstream woman a gentle, clean, responsible homemaker like in the 1950’s. The mainstream woman had become an ambitious, and career-driven man’s equal. Modern mainstream society simply does not value
“‘Oh my dear,’ continued Mrs. Bennet, I am quite delighted ... his sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst’s gown-’”(Austen, 15). But the social significance of women’s clothing throughout history is indeed manifested here.“ Fashion has always been key to how women have presented themselves to the world, and how society has wanted to present women to the world. From panniers that emphasized wide hips to shoulder pads that emphasized "power," the fashion of the time tells our history in great detail”(MAKERS).
In 1813 the fashion was for dresses to be much lighter and less constricting than in the time periods previous to this. In the 1700’s, late 1800’s and early 1900’s women were tightly corseted and buried beneath layers of fabric and lace. The early 1800’s seems to be a very unique time period during which women were given a short break from the constricting corsets that were mandatory for any respectable lady. However, many of the same elaborate and ornate decorations and trims …show more content…
By the 1920’s and 1930’s, women’s clothing had gone from full and ornate, to simple and straight. During the 1930’s and 1940’s women continued to become more and more independant, and though pants were still not everyday attire, they were very convenient and comfortable for work.
“During World War II, though photographs show American women wearing pants in the workplace, dresses and skirts were still the go-to for properly going out in public, and Dior's post-War "New Look," swung the pendulum even farther away from the pant for a period. Really, as Worn Through underscores , it wasn't until the sexual revolution and second-wave feminism in the late 1960s and 1970s that women started wearing trousers en masse and whenever they wished ... .( Conger )”
After the sexual revolution, women viewed themselves and differently, and were viewed differently by society. No longer was the mainstream woman a gentle, clean, responsible homemaker like in the 1950’s. The mainstream woman had become an ambitious, and career-driven man’s equal. Modern mainstream society simply does not value