Friday, June 1, 2012

Fashion Tyranny is Over


"The women of Athens were free. So was the woman of ancient Rome. She dressed like the men of her time. She was comfortable. Nothing kept her from moving. Nothing weighed her down.


The woman of today is free, and she may dress as practically as a man. Her body has escaped the prison that help it captive for 20 centuries.


She is truly free, and will no longer submit to the tyrannies of Fashion. Fashion must now serve her.

The slave has become the master. "  (Page 64)


From, Art and Fashion by Marcel Vertes in collaboration with Bryan Holme, 1944
This is a a nice sentiment but sadly  was not 'true' for long  as marketers kicked ass to make up for the rationing of WWII. 
Dior introduced the New Look with voluminous skirts, cinched in waists and girdled hips. The new femininity was fresh and glam, made the most of bumping up fabric sales and helped push women back into the home after Rosie the Riveter became a domestic 'threat' to veterans.
Fashion is an art form that combines social mores, economics, technology and history in a most interesting manner.

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