GRSJ224/fashionandfeminism

Alexandra Cogswell 27977140

This webpages explains feminist movements and fashion trends.

Feminism is defined as advocacy for women’s rights on the bases of that there is an inequality of the sexes . Fashion is a popular style of clothing, hair, decoration, or belonging.

Fashion has changed because of the radical call for action lead by feminists throughout history and it continues to be influenced today. It is also a platform for some feminist influencers to showcase an issue and allow for the pieces of clothing to become a social movement.

History

Victorian Era

Western fashion has been influenced by Victorian era trends from England where then trends moved along across to North America. In the 1800s, women were by nature seen as an embodiment of religion and needed to upload their morality for themselves and for their families . Although there was a large divide among social classes, the trends remained between women as they all wore long dresses with high necklines. It was a popular view that women were viewed as delicate, submissive, and prone to nervousness and hysteria therefore the fashion should reflect . Feminists who challenged these ideologies were seen as not “true” women as they were not confirming to societal norms . Amelia Bloomer was one of the first suffragette activist who wanted to help other women who felt restricted by the way they were supposed to dress. Bloomers, loose fitting pants worn under skirts, became a house hold name as this fashion trend helped promote change for women. It was widely accepted by women who were performing manual labour jobs for safety and movement.

1990s - 1920s

During this time, the suffragette movement had played a huge part of the lives of feminist women. This movement was iconic because women were petitioning for their right to vote. The suffragette colours were green, white, and purple which were integrated into fashion at the time. As a symbol of this new-found freedom, many women cut their hair short to display that they were liberated from male ideologies . However, women were deprived of jobs because of their hair cuts as men wanted to be in positions of power and they were threatened by women who thought otherwise. After WWI, Coco Chanel was inspired by the call to action by women in the workforce therefore designed the “two-piece suit” for those women. The suit was a combination of a jacket, button up top, and knee length skirt.

1930s - 1950s

During and after WWII, women played a major and influential role in the workforce and needed to take on jobs that were once only assigned to men. This utilitarian style of clothing needed to be adopted to fit women who would be in labour positions in the field or as mechanics. There was a huge increase in demand for specially designed work clothes for their safety, comfort, and freedom of activity. Claire McCardell, the founder of women’s sportswear, used playful and functional fabrics and silhouettes that were easy-to-wear . These dresses influenced the way the modern American women dressed.

1960s – 1908s

This era was influenced by hippie youth who were rejecting social customs which is mainly seen by the fashion trends of the time. This style included loose fitted clothing, tie-dye patterns, mini-skirts, and graphic t-shirts with slogans . Women who adopted this style were rebelling against government actions such as wars, policies, and restrictions. Mini-skirts were founded on cosmopolitan attitudes and sexual reclaiming as divorce rates were increasing and women wanted to display their liberation. Many women who wore the mini-skirt were part of the feminist movement advocating for birth control and women’s rights. Later in the 1970s and 1980s, working women were wearing the power suit in the attempts to fight for professional inequality. The power suit also symbolized gender non-conformity as women did not want to be stereotyped as “housewives.” Women fashion changed for comfort, beauty, mobility, and economic viability, as a tool for liberation .

1990s – Today

In the 1990s, women were stepping out of the typical gender roles as fashion moved to be more androgynous and punk-rock. Feminists believed that there was no standard for fashion and individuality should be more prominent through clothing and style – this was anywhere from tattoos, menswear, to rebellious clothing.

Today, women are still striving for equality and celebrating the individuality of each woman. Plus-sized fashion developed because self-image was being destructed by main-stream media that only showcases women of a certain standard. Size discrimination is an issue that feminists hoped to address so that women sized 14 to 30 could be more largely accepted by fashion brands and society. There are many online retailers tailored to plus-sized fashion and brick and mortar retailers are catering to a larger demographic. Feminists have also used fashion as a platform to vocalize issues that are important to them. For instance, Dior showcased “we should all be feminists” t-shirts on the runway in an attempted to raise awareness for women’s rights issues. Celebrities came together at the 2018 Golden Globes and wore all black to support the Times Up, a movement against sexual harassment.

Notable Feminists in Fashion

Coco Chanel: Designer fashion trends by wearing and designing masculine clothing – founder of the two-piece suit. She adopted the functionality and comfort in men’s clothes to re-design the face of women’s clothing.  

Mary Quant: Created the mini-skirt which broke barriers as it was six to seven inches above the knee which symbolized female liberation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Power suit icon; she wore suits throughout her presidential campaign as an attempt to fit in with the rest of the male candidates. She used this as a visual queue that she was in the same league as the other colleagues.

Gloria Steinem: An American feminist who adopted the fashion trends to advocate for women’s rights. As a public figure, she wore mini-skirts and pant suits all while petitioning for equality.

Ashley Graham: Model and activist who is advocating for body-positivity on main-stream media platforms. She was featured in Sports Illustrated as a part of the #CurvesInBikinis campaign.  

Adwoa Abaoh: British model who uses her platform to advocate for women’s mental health.