The Evolution of 20th Century American Women’s Fashion 

According to Mariam-Webster, the definition of fashion is “the prevailing style (as in dress) during a particular time.” Fashion is an ever-changing element in society that is uniquely defined to each person. Each individual has their own personal style that is made up of their clothing and attitude. It is a way for people to express themselves. Fashion trends throughout the world change everyday. Over the past one-hundred Years, fashion trends have evolved from bold flappers, to modern day chic, and everything in between.

In the beginning of the twentieth century women’s fashion was very modest. Clothing for women was a means of showing little, to no skin. Women wore dresses and skirts with tight fitting corsets underneath. At this time in history, a woman’s main job was taking care of the house, and raising the children. World War I was a phenomenon for women. Since many men went to fight in the war, America needed people to cover their jobs.

Get quality help now

Doctor Jennifer

Verified writer

Proficient in: Arts And Culture

5 (893)

“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Women were recruited to take over everyday jobs. Because of this societal change, American women felt more empowered than ever before. Fashion trends started to shift from loosely fitting clothes to tight, sexy clothing. In the 1920s the generation of flappers came about. These flappers were young western women who dressed in tight clothing, specifically, short skirts with fringes. Flappers enjoyed dancing and listening to jazz music which is why many wore skirts with fringes. The fringes moved while each woman danced.

In 1929, the American stock market crashed.

The next decade is known as the Great Depression. Because of this tremendous downfall many Americans lost a lot of their money. Fashion was expensive, so women needed to figure out ways to be stylish while being able to afford their clothing. The depression did not only affect some Americans, rather all Americans. New materials were created to replace old, expensive materials; for example, women’s pantyhose were replaced by nylons, and the zipper was used in replace of buttons. After the depression, fashion trends were moving in a direction of a more feminine look. “Starlets in Hollywood became the source of inspiration for women seeking style”. The wealth and sophistication of Hollywood glamour affected the next direction of fashion. Women now dressed extremely chic and expensive at night while modeling sporty lifestyle looks daily.

In 1939 the Second World War began. Due to the war, fashion took an unexpected toll on society. Because of the demand for more American help in the war, women were used as nurses in the hospitals, and they were pilots for the United States. Since these women were serving, they needed to wear the same uniforms as the male soldiers. The military uniform became its own popular trend due to the amount of people serving. This transformed the fashion industry because the demand for casual clothing increased. Textile manufacturing companies changed the way they made clothes for an easier way to get them to the public. “All types of cloth were needed during the war for a variety of purposes, so material for clothing was severely rationed.” As the war came to an end, women were tired of the boring, unisex designed clothing. They were ready to feel feminine again.

Now that the war was over in the 1950s, the use for cloth was widely available. In the early ‘50s many women wore poodle skirts, white blouses, and black and white Oxford shoes. They curled their hair, and tied it up with a ribbon. The purpose of this look was to make women feel free, young, and innocent after wearing a uniform for nearly a decade. In the latter ‘50s, women’s fashion changed into a more sexy direction. Art influenced America’s fashion culture. The ideal of a pin-up girl coincided with the art of seduction. “Pin-ups were photographs of celebrities who were considered sex symbols.” This ideal was filling throughout all American cities. More and more women wanted to show off their female sexuality by dressing in outfits of a pin-up girl: bright red lipstick, black winged eyeliner, filled in eyebrows, high heels, fishnets, and corsets. The main goal was to accentuate the smallness of their waists.

American women’s fashion deviated in the 1960s. Americans living in the west were tired of the expensive look, so they decided to change fashion themselves by creating their own style. This started a fashion revolution. Designers quickly caught on, and tried to recreate these trends. The most popular trend to come out of this era was blue jeans. Jeans became the staple of society, and many wore them on a daily basis. The outcome of the fashion revolution is that it diversified women’s fashion. In the past, women felt that they needed to all follow the same few fashion trends; rather, now, anyone could wear whatever trend they wanted. Fashion became extremely personalized and unique. Many women now used fashion as a way to express themselves. A new group of people called hippies were distinguished due to their sense of fashion and their love for marijuana. “These volatile changes in taste and fashion, of course, mirrored what was happening in society as a whole, as it always seems to do.”

Hippies eventually faded preceding the mid 1970s due to America being focused on the Vietnam War. America had mixed feelings towards the Vietnam War. Punk styles gained popularity during this time as well as subculture. By the end of the ‘70s, Americans were extremely happy due to the war ending which made people want to celebrate. People celebrated at disco parties which started a whole new fashion trend: platform shoes, bell-bottom jeans, and shiny polyester outfits with multicolored patterns. The whole idea of this style of fashion was to let women feel free and be themselves.

If one were to combine every fashion trend, and put it into a collective decade, then they would get the ‘80s. It had the most unique and unhinged styles throughout the whole twentieth century. Punk fashion was a major influence in ‘80s fashion. Many women would wear the boldest items. Television and music influenced American culture and fashion trends as well. MTV started airing music videos during which the artists would dress in leggings, a bodysuit, leg warmers, and wear scrunchies in their hair. These videos influenced society because many women wanted to dress like their favorite artists. This affected the American culture because this was one of the first cultural influences that technology had on society.

To continue with the influence that music had on society, the popular music styles started changing, and hip-hop began to emerge as a leading genre. Hip-hop styles began to modernize clothing. Trends became more casual with more skin showing, especially the midriff. Preppy clothes also became a huge influence in wealthier parts of the country in which most people wore to school. Teenagers were the ones to start to show more and more skin. The more skin showing, the more judgement the young girls received from conservative adults.