In 1912, there were many remarkable events. Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in Detroit, the Titanic sank, Woodrow Wilson was elected president, and Arizona officially became the 48th state admitted to the Union. The world was changing and so were the fashions. As Arizona celebrates it's 100th year as a state (February 14, 2012), I thought we would revisit many of the fashion movements and some of the historical significance of each era.
Early on the American styles were adapted from Europe and many Arizona women were wearing the form fitting fashions from the Edwardian era. In the Edwardian era, women wore tight corsets, full petticoats, high necklines and wide brimmed hats. These styles are a far cry from what we wear today, especially with the hot temperatures we have to endure.
The styles would drastically change in 1914 when World War 1 started, partially due to the elevated participation of women in the workforce. While the men were at war, women needed more comfortable and practical wardrobes to be able to work in the factories. Skirts would be inches shorter than what they were to be able to move around, sleeves were shorter, necklines dropped slightly and the use of wool was scarce.
In 1917, the U.S entered the war and the women who didn’t adapt to the new styles in previous years were now thrown into their new styles by their new role as factory worker. This new role for women played an important part in American history, but it was also signifigant in Arizona when most of the men who worked the copper mines were now fighting in the war. At one point Jerome was the 4th largest city in the Arizona Territory and was the largest mine in Arizona, by 1920 there were 15,000 people.
During this time, most of the fabrics were left untreated or un-dyed, because the chemicals weren’t available. Many Arizona women wore muslin or natural cotton dresses, which helped with the hot temperatures both outside in the sun, inside the factories and in mines. Natural fabrics like cotton are absorbant and can breathe better than man-made fabrics.
We have definitely come a long way from fashions from a hundred years ago. From full length dresses with petticoats on a daily basis and wearing corsets (unless you consider Spanx the corset of our time) to the short mini-skirts and tank tops we wear today. Below is a brief breakdown of the last 10 decades of fashion. (Click on the slideshow link and see the styles of some of the eras).
1912-1922: Many of the women were still wearing styles inspired by the Gibson Girl. The war officially ended in 1918 and in 1920, women in the United States had the right to vote if they were age 18 and up.
1922-1932: In the 1920’s, the “flapper” girl was introduced. Women were not suppose to drink, smoke and only kissed men if they had the intention of marrying them. The “flapper” was free to do as she pleased, including wearing dresses that were loose fitting and the hems ended at the knee.
1932-1942: Prohibition was over in 1933, but it was not a happy time. In the 1930’s both the United States and Europe endured “The Great Depression.” In the 1920’s when the hemlines rose to indicate happier times, the hemlines were dropped to lower calf level. In 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States enters World War II.
1942-1952: Sportswear for women had changed and it was more acceptable for women to wear slacks. Many schools still had strict dress codes for women and still enforced wearing skirts to class.
1952-1962: In the 1950’s, over 5 million families had television sets and more women were influenced by it. By the time John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961, women were sporting big bouffant hair, pill box hats, A-line skirts and empire waist evening gowns modeled after the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.
1962-1972: In the 1960’s Coco Channel’s cardigan-style suits became very popular and have now become a classic style to wear in any decade. In the same decade, there were protests against the Vietnam War and American designer Ken Scott introduced the “hippie-gypsy look.”
1972-1982: In the 1970’s more people were wearing unisex styles in the form of t-shirts, jeans, pantsuits, and dashikis. Dashikis were worn in support of the African culture. Initially, it was mainly African Americans sporting the African inspired garments, but later on became more mainstream due to the influence of movies.
1982-1992: Both men and women adapted to wearing the “power suit.” The “power suit” was popular enough to be depicted in Madonna’s “Vogue” music video.
1992-2002: During the 1990’s the Grunge era was prominent among the youth with baggy jeans, loose fitting shirts, plaid prints and flannel. One of the musicians who adhered to this trend was the very popular Kurt Cobain.
2002-2012: At one point or another fashion repeats itself and we are living in an age where anything goes. I’ve seen many genres of fashion in this decade, anywhere from the revival of the 50’s to the 80’s. With technology at our fingertips and the popularity of online shopping, we can wear what we like. Most importantly, we are more able to express ourselves through our sense of fashion on daily basis.
(Tortora, Phyllis and Keith Eubank. The Survey of Historic Costume, A History of Western Dress. Third Edition. New York: Fairchild Publications, 1998. Print.)
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