Impact on Women’s fashion in Australia from 1900-1914
Women’s fashion in Australia during the period from 1900 to 1914, had a significant impact on the quality of life of women in all classes as it was much more restrictive than the fashion items worn by men but also often caused injury and or medical problems for the women. Over time, some of the clothing became more moderate increasing ease of movement, however, it could still no be considered to be comfortable nor practical. There were also difference in dress codes and thus impacts for women from the upper and lower classes. The upper class women had much more restrictive clothing, often to reinforce their status of not having the need to work nor move. The advent of the war and the …show more content…
Upper class women were expected to wear at least four outfits a day while the working class may only own two dresses in total, one for work and one for “best”, that is, for church on Sunday. Though high fashion was reserved for the upper class, working class women were resourceful in imitating these trends for special occasions. It was common for women to created a larger crinoline skirt by layering petticoats underneath or add padded pockets in dresses to hide the folds of a cheaply made dress. Working class Australian women (particularly in rural Australia) wore less ornate dresses and less confining corsets to allow for hard physical work, as frills and embellishments would interfere with labour and add to the price of garments. Some women in the work force had uniforms such as maids and nurses meaning their everyday fashion was impacted by rules and regulations. These uniforms were more practical than everyday fashion, however, there were still some unnecessarily laborious clothing items such as the stiffly starched veil, which nursing sisters were required to wear, in the name of hygiene. The Maids also often were required to wear starched aprons and caps, these were impractical, uncomfortable and too much time to launder as they required starching
Women’s fashion in Australia during the period from 1900 to 1914, had a significant impact on the quality of life of women in all classes as it was much more restrictive than the fashion items worn by men but also often caused injury and or medical problems for the women. Over time, some of the clothing became more moderate increasing ease of movement, however, it could still no be considered to be comfortable nor practical. There were also difference in dress codes and thus impacts for women from the upper and lower classes. The upper class women had much more restrictive clothing, often to reinforce their status of not having the need to work nor move. The advent of the war and the …show more content…
Upper class women were expected to wear at least four outfits a day while the working class may only own two dresses in total, one for work and one for “best”, that is, for church on Sunday. Though high fashion was reserved for the upper class, working class women were resourceful in imitating these trends for special occasions. It was common for women to created a larger crinoline skirt by layering petticoats underneath or add padded pockets in dresses to hide the folds of a cheaply made dress. Working class Australian women (particularly in rural Australia) wore less ornate dresses and less confining corsets to allow for hard physical work, as frills and embellishments would interfere with labour and add to the price of garments. Some women in the work force had uniforms such as maids and nurses meaning their everyday fashion was impacted by rules and regulations. These uniforms were more practical than everyday fashion, however, there were still some unnecessarily laborious clothing items such as the stiffly starched veil, which nursing sisters were required to wear, in the name of hygiene. The Maids also often were required to wear starched aprons and caps, these were impractical, uncomfortable and too much time to launder as they required starching