Fashion and Fiction by Cardon Lauren S.;

Author:Cardon, Lauren S.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Virginia Press

The post–World War I era of fashion opened up previously unseen opportunities for women wishing to appear fashionable and to transcend class boundaries. Meanwhile, the era placed a greater burden of responsibility on the consumer, not in the expense of the garments, but in the ability to develop a personal style and to exercise restraint so her clothes and accessories do not overwhelm her person. The early 1920s, therefore, ushered in a new era in which women would push the boundaries of freedom in dress: freedom to reveal their natural shapes, freedom to move with comfort and ease, freedom to blend inexpensive, ready-made garments with pricier, tailor-made pieces.

If Poiret helped to introduce simplicity and a narrower silhouette into women’s fashion, Chanel and Vionnet helped to introduce comfort and movement. Their innovations would help catalyze a wave of experimentation during the mid- to late 1920s, when designers would look to non-Western cultures, architecture, and even machinery for inspiration. As the 1920s progressed, hemlines would become shorter and women of fashion would have more options to choose from if they wished to embrace the mode—menswear-inspired looks, African- or Asian-inspired gowns, knitwear and tailored suits, dresses with fringe or sequins to create the illusion of motion, among others. Fashion became more easily conflated with art but, more importantly, with personal expression and experimentation as it entered the era of high modernism.

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