Style Whys: Unstoppable Fashion Fate? Fashion History Periods Compared

1920s vs. 1990s

1930s vs. 2000s

40s here we come?

As of late I have been wandering about what silhouettes our current decade and the previous one (the naughties, or the 2000s) will be remembered for 30 years from now. I wrote about this issue in my previous post (above). In digging deeper into the subject, and knowing that history goes in cycles, I have found that there are socio-cultural elements that mirror each other in the 1920’s and the 1990’s, also with the 1930’s and the 2000’s. This also leads me to wonder if the decade we have newly entered will be at all like the 1940’s.

The 1920’s silhouette was boxy with a dropped waist, minimizing curves. The 20’s were a time of prosperity and economic growth in the United States. It was the first time that more people lived in cities than in small towns. It was the birth of automobiles, jazz music, national advertising and chain stores, which made trend communication much faster.

check out those awesome boots!

The 1990’s was the minimalist fashion period. Like the 20’s, the 90’s came right after a very decadent era. This could be a reflection of both generations rebelling from the ornate, over the top style of the prior period into more clean, simple lines and shapes.

The benchmark of the 1930’s is the Great Depression. One cannot help but see the similarity of the depression of the 1930’s to the recession of the 2000’s. Despite the economic downturn, fashion still found a way to endure in the 30’s, and produced some great pieces in the era. The waistline moved up to the natural waist, and skirt lengths elongated, creating a more feminine figure.

The war required women to go to work, 1939-1945. This forced them to wear trousers and coveralls for the first time in history! It was the introduction of a whole new silhouette for women. Over some time, it became acceptable and commonplace for women to wear pants outside of work.

This reminds me of how the 2000s (or the naughties as some have coined them) silhouette of skinny jeans or leggings with a long top or sweater and boots came in, which is more likely to be remembered as our staple silhouette than a dress. It is also interesting that in both eras the silhouettes is one that elongates for a slim, tall, feminine figure.

Does this mean that our fresh 2010’s will be trending with 40’s inspired silhouettes? We’ve seen a few of them thus far with peplum style dresses and jackets.

We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for our fashion era, but wouldn’t it be interesting if people were aware of these trends and time patterns and then intentionally started wearing 40’s inspired trends? Would that still make it a natural repetition of history? Certainly at one point designers were inspired by the 20’s and 30’s when creating pieces in the 90’s and 2000’s. The intent or motivation does not change the fact that it’s a trend, but some may not consider it a naturally evolving trend since it was premeditated. That’s a whole other blog post!