1910 - 1920

1910 - 1920

Paul Poiret 

He was a French fashion designer during the first two decades in 20th century. Poiret energetically led a movement away from the full, curvy silhouette of the 1900s towards a long lean empire silhouette. 

"He was personally responsible for releasing women from the tyranny of corsets”

     In the 1910s during the heyday of his design career, Poiret was known as “The King of Fashion”, or even more impressively in Paris as Le Magnifique. Innovating beyond the corseted silhouette that horizontally slices the female figure in two, Poiret sought to move fashion beyond the restrictive undergarment that had clung to women’s torsos for centuries.

 

The 'modern fashion' era 

Womens fashion in the early 1920's experienced dramatic changes following the end of the first world war,  the boyish look became quite popular.The waist completely disappeared, and belts were worn around the hips. Straight, curve less dresses were worn with bust flattening brassieres, they became lighter and brighter and shorter than ever before. Fashion designers played with fabric colors, textures and patterns to create totally new styles of dress. Evening dresses, coats and jackets were often trimmed with fur. Hemlines rose for most of the decade but dropped slightly toward the end.

Pantsuits, hats and canes that gave women a sleek look without frills were popular for a while. The style was named after the novel La garçonne by Victor Margueritte. In Europe, this look featured women with short hair, for the first time in the U.S., 'the bob' hairstyle was reintroduced by actress Louise Brooks in the late 1920s. 

 

'The bob' hairstyle

 

     Cultural changes after World War I were vast, and men's fashion in the 1920s went through as radical a transformation as women's, although it's much less discussed in the annals of fashion and cultural history. Men were obligated to keep an extensive wardrobe and dress appropriately. Clothing gradually became less formal and the lounge suits became prominent. For the workplace or most daily business, men of all ages wore suits. However, whereas suits had traditionally been broad-shouldered, they were now cut to give men a more slim, boyish look. 

 The first World War 

 The first war had a big impact on fashion design, fabrics and manufacture. 

Women in the Army 

     Women who worked in mines before the war wore trousers, they would cover them up with skirts during time off. Those in the Land Army didn’t have trousers as regulation uniform despite the practical advantages – they were more likely borrowed from male members of the family. It was decades before trousers became acceptable for women away from the tennis court. 

Makeup

    Makeup became more established during the war. Maybelline started in 1915 and it coincided with the appearance of wearing makeup. Becoming more acceptable as working-class women who could now afford it. Powder, kohl eyeliner and mascara were popular. Helena Rubenstein reported an upsurge demand for face creams from wealthier women volunteering as nurses on the front.

Coco Chanel  

Coco Chanel's rise began during World War One. Her frills-free designs chimed with the straitened times. Her first shop opened in Deauville n 1913 and became a favorite with wealthy women who bought her reworked sportswear. Another store opened two years later in Biarritz and by 1916, news of her work had reached the American press. Her rise had begun in earnest. 

Body hair was on its way out

  Women’s uniforms had shorter skirts than were customary in 1914 – they were now at six to 10 inches off the ground. The reveal of a bit of leg was part of the change in perception of body hair, from something erotic to something unsightly. Gillette introduced Milady Decollete razors in 1915. Shaving legs became part of standard female grooming.