Stella Blum - Everyday Fashions of the Twenties

In 1919, people in Europe and America, exhausted and depleted by World War I, longed to return to what they considered normalcy, to the way of life they had known before the war. Fashions reverted to those of 19131914, as though they had only been dropped for the duration. A new view of how women should dress had begun around 1909 and the course toward freedom, youth and equality was established even before 1914. By 1920, after a few steps backwards, the movement was accelerated by the experience and changes brought on by the war. During the next several years, the fashion ideal became younger and younger and proceeded to divest itself of many of the physical and mental trappings of the nineteenth century.

Growing urbanization, increased affluence, shorter working hours and paid vacations allowed for more leisure time and extra energy. As a result, interest in sports escalated, necessitating a whole range of special clothes designed for active and spectactor sports. Gradually this freer concept of dressing crept into daywear. Clothes became simpler and lighter in weight. Feminine curves, long a symbol of a womans frailty, were negated by the fashion for the new streamlined vertical lines. These six years were essentially a transitional period in womens fashions. The new style was to emerge fully in 1925.

By 1919 pregnancy was no longer veiled in gowns for dshabill or at-home robes. Maternity dresses designed in the styles of the period, along with maternity corsets, were illustrated graphically with explicit text explaining their function and virtues (page 7).

When one compares the fashions shown by Sears, Roebuck and Co. during this period with those in a French magazine such as LArt et la Mode or with the American Vogue or Harpers Bazaar, it is interesting to note that there is only about a one-year lag in the overall aspect of the mail-order fashions. Yet, although the styles were not exactly the dernier cri or as handsomely presented as those in the high-fashion magazines, many fashions shown by Sears in 191924 reveal a surprising amount of chic and elegance. Not all of the clothes were inexpensive. Some coats and suits sold for almost $50, while some better dresses were priced over $30. Considering the purchasing power of a dollar in those days, it is apparent that those who could afford these prices were not confined to large cities and that mail-order catalogs catered not only to the rustic needs of farmers or the meager purses of the poorer classes. During these six years, the range of cost and taste was rather wide; the fashions presented must have been aimed at a broad spectrum of Americans.