Clothes and design in 1910-1919

It was the beginning of the short dresses. Short and tight skirts. The main characteristic features of clothes in the 1910s were:
- shoulderfree
-drapirings
-short seams
-soft materials
-satin, silk, velvet, mousseline.
-decore, embroideries
-stylistic roses and knots

Now women had to wear trousers, short skirts and short hair. There were more equal rights between men and women.
In this time women could wear what they wanted, and what they needed.
At first they were very insecure, because of wearing men`s clothes and short skirts, but finally there was the beginning of women`s emancipation and also the beginning of a new era.

Fashion from 1910-1919

After the début of Ballets Russes nothing was like it was before. The fantastic costumes of Ballets Russes changed the whole fashion and make-up, even the way of life in Paris changed. The fashion was exotic and mostly women got infected by the oriental fever. The designer Paul Poiret developed turbans, with feathers and jewellery, for costumes with pumptrousers and fur seamed tunikas. Even dessous were fur seamed.
The fashion became very daring, that means that the decolletés were free and women were styled very strangely.
On the other side a very sporty fashion developed. Women also wanted to do sports so they needed fashion for that. Trouser-skirts and even trousers specially for women were developed. But they were deemed so inacceptable that they were hidden under large skirts. In 1913 Gabrielle Chanel showed the first sportive models made of jersey. They were only a little bit looser than the normal suits but the stretch-material permitted free movement.
Because of the sportswear women could do without a corset, so designers developed dresses under which women did not need a corset but they took a long time to accept it.

The First World War

The war forced most women in working clothes, uniforms and mourning clothes. Women could not think about fashion until after the war. Elegant black was the colour everyone wore in this time. The mourning clothes for widows were always black, always high-necked, always large with bouffant skirts and with hats which often ended like mourning-veils. As the war went on and on the dress regulations were no longer so strict. Only a few wore black the whole year through. Grey and mauve were as chic as the elegant black before. It was only worn with black jewellery. Now, widows wore diamonds and pearls again.
Because women worked in uniforms and working clothes until after the war the simple military style came in fashion. The clothes were covered with long coves, the luxuriant collars became strict revers. The clothes became practical, tight skirts became bouffant pleat-skirts. Hats became smaller and without any decoration. Jewellery was no longer fashionable.
The change from splendid dresses to military style was only because women got the point of practical fashion. Besides they looked more competent and serious in it.

Trousers

Since 1900 more and more fashionable young ladies wore suits when they went out. But most women disapproved of that kind of fashion.
Since the first World War it was a matter of fact that women wore trousers.
There was no connection to fashion.
At least the overall was often worn, but this new kind of fashion was socially not accepted.
Immediately after the first World War the smoking became the social dress for women.
In restaurants and hotels, women in suits had to take off there trousers if they wanted to stay in. In 1931 the major of Paris told Marlene Dietrich to leave the city as fast as possible because she wore a man's suit outside.
At the same time largely cut trousers caused a sensation.
The suit for women wasn't socially recognized until the end of this century.
But now suits are accepted in every social society.

Make-up in 1910-1919

In 1910 women put on their first make-up. One of the first inventors of the first trademark make-up was Helena Rubinstein. She invented the pink powder for a perfekt teint. Also Elizabeth Arden was one of the inventors of the make-up of the future.
In this time the ladys of the society went to beautyshops to buy make-up.
But in the wartime it wasn`t proper to buy make-up. In this time they carried a bit of rouge on their lips, and they dotted a little bit of vaseline on their eyelids.
Also hair style changed. Before the wartime they carried long hair with curls and volume, but now they carried their hair with a stern parting. They didn`t took make- up, because they didn`t have enough money, and make- up was very expensive and only for the ladys of the society.
The end of wartime was the end of the lovely girl look. Now women wanted to look like exotic vamps. (So they said).
They styled their hair in a new look, called ,,bubikopf". They put black make- up on their eyes, and red lipstick on their lips. Also they had a lot of exotic accessoires.
It was the beginning of the silent films.The filmstars, the female ones of course, all had make-up on their faces and looked like exotic vamp.They were the idols for women from 1910 to 1919.

Vocabulary:

- bouffant = weit-schweifig
- to cause = verursachen
- to cover = bedecken
- collar = Kragen
- to deem = einschätzen als
- disapprove = missbilligen
- to dot = tupfen
- drapings - Drapierung
- dress regulations = Kleidervorschrift
- embroideries -Stickerei
- fashionable = modisch
- feathers = Federn
- to force = zwingen
- fur = Pelz
- high- necked = mit hohem Kragen
- immediately = sofort
- to infect = anstecken
- insecure = unsicher
- inventor = Erfinder
- mourning clothes = Trauerkleidung
- mouring- veils = Trauerschleier
- to permit = erlauben
- pleat- skirts = Faltenröcke
- proper = anständig, gehörig
- to recognize = anerkennen
- seam = Saum
- splendid = prächtig
- stern parting = strenger Scheitel
- trademark = Marken, Warenzeichen

By Kathrin Baumann and Ellen Barfuhs

Sources

Seeling, Charlotte: Mode - das Jahrhundert der Designer. Köln: Könemann, 1999.

Timeline Fashion

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