Hello! I had a crazy two weeks, so my apologies for the brief pause in posting. Today I thought we would focus on women’s fashion trends of a specific time period: World War I. 

As men went off to war, women were expected to fill in the gaps in the workforce. This also meant that their clothing had to shift to adjust to their new position. Corsets and voluminous skirts were on the out, and a more utilitarian look was up and coming.

Fashion is a reflection of society and this time period was no different. Military-inspired fashion bled into women’s fashion in the form of belts, tailored jackets, pants, and tunic jackets. They were breaking away from the previous Edwardian Era of fashion.

Women were less flashy with what they were wearing, in part because of their new place in the workforce, but also because of the shortage of materials during wartime. One of the few voluminous designs that was still popular was Jeanne Paquin’s “war crinoline” which was a bell-shaped skirt that also had a wide over-skirt.

Designer Paul Poiret was also on the rise. Looks such as the jupe culotte, a high-waisted tunic dress that was often worn with pants underneath, were fan favorites.

Most clothing during this time period was dully colored, besides the occasional pops of green or purple that could be found in women’s fashion to represent solidarity with the suffrage movement.

Hopefully you learned something new about fashion during this time period!

Till next Sunday,

Daisy