1914-1918 World War 1



During WWI many women took on
jobs that were meant for
men.

1914-1918 are obviously the dates of WWI when the world of fashion began to change for everyone. For a start many of the men went off to fight for their country leaving the women to fend for themselves.

As many of the British gents went to the trenches women found themselves in factories taking on jobs that their other halves had left.

Because of this fashion developed into work wear and trousers were starting to become the norm for women. As well as other work aspects like overalls and softer corsets being approached.

Military-esque fashion began to emerge based on the uniforms that soldiers had to wear. This new idea meant that hemlines rose to above the ankle for practicality.

In about 1915 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel transformed wartime dress by developing practical sporty fashion.

Also during this time Chanel developed jersey fabric into women's wear which provided a new insight into fashion as the fabric had previously been used for mens sportwear.

In 1918 when the war ended the wedding industry boomed due to couples being happy having found  each other alive. This meant that silk and lace which were hard to come by anyway were used methodically.

1912-1914 Class Segregation on Board

In 1912 a tragedy ocurred which shook the lives of many. The Titanic ship deemed "unsinkable" quite ironically sank. However the fashions from the people onboard became very class segregated.

The upper classes wore elegant garments with elaborate hair pieces and hats which at the time the Titanic went on her maiden voyage were the hieght of fashion worn with the hobble skits.

The lower classes however   wore slightly less couture wear and had to make do with worn shawls and rough woolen dresses and suits.

Tophats began to evolve into bowler
hats from 1913

Around 1913 just before the start of the first world war menswear began to change drastically as well. Top hats that were extremly fashionable during the victorian era were beginning to fade and only became used at formal events such as weddings (the tradition of which carries on today). 

With the ladies fashion becoming more relaxed men's casual fashion started to change too. The smoking jacket was considered a masculine tea dress. It gave gentltmen a rest from the starched collars that they had to wear when in formal company

1910-1913 Suffragettes

From about 1910 when King Edward died women had began to tire of being ignored and began to take a stand. They called themselves Suffragettes and they began a change to society and fashion.

The Suffragettes main colours were green which symbolised hope, white symbolising purity and purple which signified dignity.

Naturally many women wanted to copy the style of the freedom fighters.and so began wearing those particular colours both for support and because it was becoming the fashion. As were hobble skirts which emerged in 1910 these skirts are very much alike to the modern  fishtail dress only more restricting.



The hobble skirts came in at the ankles making the women wearing them well..hobble.

Emily Davison's funeral was a
monumental moment .

In June 1913 suffragette Emily Davison was tragically killed when she jumped in front of the King's horse at the Derby. She became a martyr to the suffragette movement allowing her sacrifice to be a historical landmark in the suffragettes history.