Simon - “Nostalgic Elegance”: The Enduring Style of the Gibson GirlThis paper offers new perspectives on the sartorial style of the Gibson Girl archetype, the ideal of feminine beauty at the turn of the twentieth century, and its reinterpretation and prevalence post-World War II. We explore this nostalgic resurgence of turn-of-the-century style, identify which characteristics defined it, and examine its dissemination across the fashion industry. From the couture designs of Dior and Schiaparelli to sew-at-home patterns like those offered by Butterick, Simplicity, and McCall, the resurgence of the Gibson Girl’s sartorial style influenced fashion and gained further popularity through presentations in film, theater, and retail merchandising.
Keist - “Stout Women Can Now Be Stylish”Prior to the turn of the twentieth century, women had limited access to ready-to-wear clothing. As the women’s ready-to-wear industry developed in the 1890s,“average-sized” women could easily purchase clothing, but was this the same for women considered stout? Larger women, referred to as stout during the 1910s, comprised approximately 12.7 percent of the US population. The term “stout” indicated a figure (often of matronly appearance) with generous bust, back, and hip curves that decidedly did not fit in with fashion’s demands for the slim figure. To explore attitudes surrounding the stout woman and the development of full-figured fashions, the author took a historical method approach using primary sources from the New York Times, Vogue, and Good Housekeeping. This study identified and analyzed the introduction and emergence of stout women’s ready-to-wear clothing, separate retail departments for different-sized clothing, and design details recommended to enhance and hide the figure.
Kirberg - Forecasting, Standardization, and the Americanization of ColorIn general, color is a cultural construct, a physical and optical property that conveys a specific culturally produced and disseminated meaning. As a seasonal element of fashion, color becomes a physical expression of the Zeitgeist, or the defining mood of a certain era. In the United States during World War I, when the purchase of domestic products was considered to be a patriotic act, colors for women’s wear became an expression of nationalism.Instead of simply adopting Paris aesthetics as reference for new fashions, the “Textile Color Card Association of the United States” (TCCA) created a distinctive American color atmosphere. By developing colors related to current events, and partnerships with the U.S. military and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the TCCA contributed to national identity. As little is known about the TCCA’s color forecasting methodology, the aim of this article is to explain its approach towards color standardization and the seasonal application of color for women’s wear during its formative years.
Evalds - “The First Lady Wore No Ornament”Due to her husband’s laconic character, Grace Coolidge was called upon to be an ambassador, supplying necessary charm, tact, and warmth to her husband’s presidency. Yet political and cultural conditions required her to maintain a traditionally feminine role. While she appeared in media images more often than any preceding First Lady, including, for the first time, motion pictures, she was never interviewed or quoted. Her appearance, especially her clothing, was therefore highly significant. Examining the many, conflicting demands made upon Mrs. Coolidge, the multiple messages that her clothing was meant to convey, and the varied audiences she had to accommodate, her immense sartorial skill becomes evident.
Green - The Best Known and Best Dressed Woman in AmericaIn the field of dress history, the name Irene Castle is synonymous with 1910s and early 1920s fashion. During this period, Irene was a household name and considered a style authority. Fashion historians previously have focused on her fashion influence in the early 1910s when she was dancing with her first husband, Vernon Castle; however, this paper argues that Irene’s greatest fashion impact occurred later, during her silent film career. Film, as a new medium, brought moving, fashioned, celebrity bodies to cities and towns across the United States, becoming an important vehicle for conveying fashion. Not only did Irene use her silver screen presence and stardom to become the “Best Known and Best Dressed Woman in America,” she was the first film star with an eponymous fashion line.
Keist - “The New Costumes of Odd Sizes”: Plus-Sized Women’s Fashions, 1920–1929By 1916 over 13 million women or 12.7% of the total U.S. population was considered overweight or “stout.” In the 1920s, the term “stout.” indicated an (often matronly appearance) with generous bust, back and hip curves that did not fit with fashion s demands of the ideal stylish figure. Research related to ready-to-wear fashions for plus sized women in the 20th century is almost non-existent. The purpose of this study was to explore available ready-to-wear fashions for the plus sized woman during the years 1920-1929. To explore this topic, a historical method approach was utilized using primary sources that included The New York Times, Vogue, and Good Housekeeping. The results of this study identified prescriptive and proscriptive advice regarding appropriate clothing styles and merchandising trends marketed to plus sized women.
Marcketti - The Trend for Mannish Suits in the 1930sDuring the 1930s, fashion and popular press periodicals published reports of women’s suits and separates with the structure and styling of traditional menswear, replete with broad shoulders, notched lapels, deeply cuffed trousers, made in masculine fabrics of woolens, flannels, and plaids. The trend, termed ‘mannish,’ opposed the feminine fashions of the previous decades. Analysis of Women’s Wear Daily, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue revealed factors that contributed to the trend and sartorial components that encompassed the look. The authors contend that the mannish trend begun as a sports style was promoted by Hollywood, couched in the aristocracy of English tailoring and fabrics, and was advocated for by the fashion and popular press.
Farrell-Beck - Underpinning Depression, Wartime, and Recovery Bras and Girdles, 1935–1950Using government regulations, trade journals, consumer advertising, and dated examples of bras and girdles in museum collections, the writer traces the technical and stylistic innovations made by American bra and girdle manufacturers from 1935 through 1950. During the periods 1935–1941 and 1947–1950, innovations centered on creating appealing products. Lastex and nylon helped make foundation garments lighter weight and easier to care for, while shaping the figure. When critical components became scarce or unavailable during 1942–1946, producers developed creative ways to make garments as comfortable as possible within allowable quantities of elastic and even found substitutes for metal fastenings. Wartime brought restrictions on advertising, and challenged companies to rationalize their product lines and standardize some components of bras and girdles. The resulting efficiencies prepared U.S. manufacturers to compete effectively in the post-war boom.
Mower - Pretty and PatrioticThe War Production Board issued limitation order 85 in April 1942 in order to conserve fabric and manpower needed for the war effort. The United States government hoped to curb, at least temporarily, the purchase of apparel and other goods to help support the war effort by restricting materials needed for the war. However, the apparel industry was one of the leading consumer industries in the United States, and putting it on hold was not only impractical but could harm the domestic economy. The United States apparel industry even marketed goods as patriotic to stimulate, not curb, consumer spending. The purpose of this research was to examine how female consumers of women’s apparel were influenced by the federal regulations of women’s apparel during World War II. We also examined extant wartime apparel in order to provide a more complete picture of women’s wartime apparel styles.
Scarborough - The Making of an Erogenous ZoneThis study examined the evolution of midriff exposure in fashionable apparel between 1900 and 1946. There were two objectives: 1) to understand the cultural factors that influenced its adoption, and 2) discover its stages in becoming an erogenous zone. In this exploratory study, a content analysis was conducted on the fashion magazines Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar; these primary sources, plus analysis of selections from three newspapers, proved to be useful for the exploration of how the exposed midriff evolved from exotic dance wear to fashionable apparel. Cultural events assisted in the progression of fashionable exposure from underwear, swimwear, casual wear to evening wear in clothing that bared the midriff. Standards of morality were instrumental in the process of evolution. Production Codes established for motion pictures reflected and reinforced the morality standards of US society. Parts of the body deemed inappropriate for show in the movies were likewise considered inappropriate for fashionable dress. The 1940s was the turning point as popular culture and World War II helped to stimulate interest and more fashion pages featured women in midriff exposing ensembles.
Garrin - The Impact of Hair on African American Women’s Collective Identity FormationThe Black Pride and Power Movements of the 1960s and 1970s changed the aesthetic of the larger African American community, promoting self-affirmation and reclaiming African pride. As individuals engaged in the movement, they began to internalize new meanings and understandings of themselves, leading to self-transformation and collective identity that promoted the specific political ideology and agenda of the group. In this research, the lived experiences of African American women who were emerging adults (ages 18–25) during the Civil Rights Movement from 1960 to 1974 were examined, through in-depth interviews, to understand their experiences with wearing natural hairstyles during this time. Seven participants highlighted how wearing natural hair was used in the three dimensions of collective identity formation: boundaries, consciousness, and negotiation. Participants’ counterhegemonic use of appearance constructed, created, and negotiated a collective identity that was aligned with demonstration for racial equality of African Americans.
Peters - “Fashion Plus”: Pose and the Plus-Size Body in Vogue, 1986–1988Between 1986 and 1988, AmericanVogueran a series of advertorials entitled “Fashion Plus.” Documenting the mid-1980s explosion of designer-led plus-size fashion, the series offers a rare glimpse into an overlooked moment in the history of large-size dress; however, it also stands as a singular foray into plus-size fashion forVogue—a periodical that marginalizes representations of non-normative bodies. While its mere inclusion within the pages ofVogueis historically significant, this article will shift its focus by examining the crucial roleposeplayed in the advertorial’s postmodern “refashioning” of the fat female body. While interrogating the concept of fashioning as a process that occurs at the intersection of text, image, body and garment, this article also considers how an embodied vernacular of fashion posing transformed the fat female body, making it “fit” for the pages ofVogue. Indeed, by striking identifiably “modelesque” poses, the models of “Fashion Plus” upset deeply entrenched norms of imaging the fat female body, while wideningVogue’s notoriously narrow definition of beauty. Framing the plus-size body as a product of postmodern notions of identity construction, this article also reflects upon the relationship between dress, discourse and the fleshy body in the construction of identity.