1931-1960
The time between 1931 and 1960 was a roller coaster of history. Prior to 1931, two years earlier was the beginning of The Great Depression; the longest lasting economic downfall of the westernized world.
It started with the enormous stock market crash. The crash greatly impacted the investors of Wall street. Hitting the 1930's, a lot of consumer business went down and eventually led to A LOT of unemployment. In 1933 it really reached it's peak. There were an estimated 15 million unemployed Americans. This tragedy didn't wear off until about 1939 when President FDR helped turn around the economy. As you see to the left side of the photograph, women and men's attire was less extravagant than what it used to be; at least until people started sewing again and we had things like models and fashion magazines. But what else was there to do when no jobs nor money nor industries were available?! Women's outfits consisted of pleated skirts and a button up blouse covered by a coat if need-be. A hat was crucial to a women's day outfit no matter what. The best part was that it cost $1.59. As fashion grew, people like Coco Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet were introduced when the US was back on track after the stock market incident. As for men, they started from the top of the fashion chain (thanks to the Roaring 20's) and were quickly forced to the bottom (thanks to the Great Depression). Men weren't given a very large selection like they were used to, but the polo shirt was introduced shortly after this turnover in history. The polo shirt was commonly seen with hand-kit sweaters and jackets. |
Approaching the 1940's was World War 2. September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945 was a time of "mixed emotions" (good, bad, and ugly). After somewhat recovering from the stock market crash and the Great Depression itself, the US paid to send 16 million men into the Second World War.
Although, lots did not return home. Life was deadly. The US' initial reaction to the looks of the war, they switched to a "war economy" which meant workers were focused on developing guns, ammunition, ships, tanks, etc. Later on was the beginning of the Holocaust in which NOTHING was good... just bad and ugly. Oddly enough, women got most of their glam back. The gov't did out in place certain restrictions and limits of what different fashion pieces could contain (dye, fabric, certain shoes). The most popular shoes were oxfords, sandals, and pumps (my fav!!). Women were given a dress code to help maintain the exterior appearance so they could still feel beautiful and gracious on the inside while their men were off at war. Fortunately, the gov't put no limits on the wedding dress style. A booklet called Make and Mend was developed and later put out for women to gain knowledge on how to better take care of their clothes and linens without fighting moths, molds, rips and tears, etc. Home sewing was incredibly popular too. |
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