The thirties 1930-1940

The great depression Emergence of sports wear Surrealism Bauhaus movement World war II

Dr. Nidhi L Sharda, NIFT Bangalore

FORTH DECADE OF 20CENTURY. 1930-1940.

STYLE : development of Art Deco beginning of ready to wear fashion FASHION DESIGNERS: Coco Channel, Elsa Schiaparelli , Madeleine Vionnet , Mc Cardell POPULAR MUSIC: Jazz , Big Band DANCE : Foxtrot, Tango, Valse , Boogie Woogie ART: Surrealism, Constructivism, Bauhaus movement

30s
Double-breasted suits for men. Wide lapels, panama hat (boater). Sports coat, slacks. Use of mixed jackets and pants gain popularity for casual occasions as it extends the use of clothing during the depression. Dresses' mid - calf or longer. Narrow, or a moderate flare. Lots of natural waists. Bias cut, unusual seams with a small hat perched to one side. Note: diagonal pattern of stripes Thanks to Chanel - knit dress- ensemble, jacket and dress combination Cowl or large T - neck ensemble on Ginger Rogers Assorted playwear. Backless, halter-top, canvas tennis shoes Pants for women, flared at hem, worn for extreme casual wear only. Also called beach pajamas.

The Great depression

Fashion of the 1930s was directly influenced by the Wall Street Crash of October 24, 1929 and the subsequent Depression. The stock market crash of 1929 affected the available income families had to spend on fashions. Consumers purchased clothing items for necessity instead of fashion. The Autumn, 1930 Sears Catalogue admonished, "Thrift is the spirit of the day. Reckless spending is a thing of the past." The focus turned away from new clothing for every season and moved to reusing and remaking the clothes one already owned. The beginning of the decade saw women sewing more. Clothing was mended and patched before being replaced. It was also during this time that the practice of changing clothes several times each day fell out of style. (Before this time, many people had different outfits for morning, afternoon, and evening).

The stock market crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression shortly followed. In a matter of years women were back to wearing more conservative clothing, movies had become horror focused (Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, King Kong, Freaks, Dracula) and consumerism took a big setback as people lost their jobs and became worried for their future.

The 30s also brought soft curves from the bust to a natural waist that was often belted. The look is tailored and close to the body. In 1929 when the Great Depression began, morals tightened and hemlines dropped.

The 1930s were a time of understated, sensual romance in women's clothing. The mantra was "less is more." This is the time of the small pillbox hat, interesting seams and feminine hair. Ruffles and gown cut on the bias came back into fashion, bringing a super-feminine aesthetic to fashion

In both 20s and 30s a lady would never go out without a hat.

The Female Form Returns to 1930s Fashion

In the 1930s there was a return to a more genteel, ladylike appearance. Budding rounded busts and waistline curves were seen and hair became softer and prettier as hair perms improved.

Fashionable sleek day dress of 1936.

Foreheads which had been hidden by cloche hats were revealed and adorned with small plate shaped hats. Clothes were feminine, sweet and tidy by day with a return to real glamour at night.

Nipped waistlines, sweeping skirts and detail were the order of the day. Depression era fashion combined ingenuity with sleek lines and synthetic easy-care fabrics. The influence of fashion around 1930 can still be felt to this day.

The classic summer dress or tea gown is a overdress of translucent fabric like silk chiffon or organdy with a plain slip-like underdress.

At night, evening dresses fell to full-length. Arms were free or covered. Sometimes, designers would accentuate the hemline by cutting it into a handkerchief hem (varied length), or add pleating to the sides in order to add fullness.

Skirts were frequently longer at the back than the front. Below the knee pleats and godets fell from panels so gave fullness at the hemline. The hemlines reached the bottom of the calf within a year.

The introduction of rayon

The introduction of rayon as an affordable alternative to silk, and the increased production of ready-to-wear fashions eased the effects of economic depression. Dances like the samba and rumba demanded more flexible undergarments and hastened the demand for elastic fabrics. Underwear continued to modify with fashion, as chemise and petticoat gave rise to slip and panty.

Silk evening dress, 1930- Channle

Wool rayon lace evening dress, 1938

Jackets were nipped in at the waist by design or belt.

The Simple and Elegant Daywear vs. The Evening Glamour Look of the 1930s

Beach Fashion 1930s: Health and fitness was an important aspect of thirties lifestyle. As sun worshipping became a common leisure pursuit fashion answered the needs of sun seekers by making chic outfits for the beach and its surrounds. Beach wraps, hold alls, soft hats and knitted bathing suits were all given the designer touch.

Madeleine Vionnet
The most influential French fashion designers of the 20th century with her famed House of Vionnet which opened in 1912 and operated through the late 1930s. Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Christian Dior, and Cristobal Balenciaga all name Vionnet as a major influence. One of the most important elements of 1930's fashion is the bias cut. Introduced by Vionnet in 1927, the bias cut defined both women's day and evening wear of the 1930's.

Unlike the loose straight-lined fashions of the 1920's, the bias cut allowed fabric to cling to the contours of the body. This clinging effect gave clothing a sleek and elegant look. While many designers sought to conceal a woman's chest, waist and hips in the 1920's, the bias cut helped reintroduce curves into popular fashion.

Using Madeleine Vionnet and the Cross Cut Bias Method designers were able to produce magnificent gowns in satins, crepe-de-chines, silks, crepes and chiffons by cross cutting the fabric, creating a flare and fluidity of drapery that other methods could not achieve.

Wedding gown, 1930.

Some evening garments made women look like Grecian goddesses whilst others made them look like half naked sexy vamps.

Embellishment by pattern-cutting and design overtook trendiness, with artful tailoring coming to the forefront. There was still some softening to be seen, though. Dresses cut with fitted midriffs or seams below the bust were used and influenced the focus on breadth at the shoulder. By late 19030s the style was moving to the back area of the body with the use of halter necklines and high-necked but backless

For day wear, ladies favored suits or dresses. Often, they were A-line, falling in the area of mid-calf or right below the knee later in the decade Shoes favored a low- to mid-level heel, although flats and tie-ups were also available. Hair was still short to medium length in 1930, due to the influence of the flapper's favorite "bob" haircut, but would grow longer in later years.

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress. Fashion is made to become unfashionable. Coco Chanel

This is a 1930s Chanel ad featuring Coco herself at the Ritz

In the 1930s CoCo Chanel launched Breton stripes into the fashion mainstream after becoming inspired by a visit to the French Coast.

Elsa Schiaparelli : Modern art, particularly Dada and Surrealism, provided a significant source of inspiration for Schiaparelli. She worked with a number of contemporary artists to develop her imaginative designs, most famously with Salvador Dal. Schiaparelli was a lover of ground breaking fashion and modern ideas.

In 1933 she promoted the clasp we call the zip or zipper. The metal zip was invented in 1893 and by 1917 it had been fairly timidly utilized for shoes, tobacco pouches and U. S. Navy windcheater outdoor jackets. Her use of the new plastic coloured zip in fashion clothing was both ornamental, useful and extremely fresh. They quickly became universally utilized and have become an extremely dependable type of fastening. .

Schiaparelli elevated fashion to Surrealist art. One of her fun icons was the lobster. She created along with artist Salvador Dali a stunning gown with a giant red lobster on the skirt.

Skeleton Dress

In 1938 was The Tears Dress, which had false, threedimensional rips in the fabric printed on it

she was the first woman to design/sell an evening suit, though Chanel may have beat her to it.

Schiaparelli became popular with her black knitted white bow. She became known for her exciting designs since then. Some of her noteworthy creations were the desk suit complemented with drawers for pockets, and the shoe-shaped hat. She also made silk dresses coloured with flies.

Shoe- hat

Hairstyles of the 1930s also became more feminine as perms became more sophisticated to bring out the softness and beauty of the hair.

German Fashion Magazine, 1930

Hats were worn at an angle. Pill boxes became popular along with brimmed hats. Towards the end of the decade, turbans emerged. Fashionable hats range from the pillbox toque, trimmed turban, and Basque beret.

The broad brim and also the high crown were lost to nearly a generation, but, from around 1934 milliners looked to Europe for inspiration
Cloche hats remained popular until about 1933 while short hair remained popular for many women until late in the 1930s.

Menswear was also influenced by movies and its actors. "During the 1930s men also began to discard their undershirts supposedly because Clark Gable took off his shirt in a movie and only his bare chest was visible. Warm shirts in large plaids, and early in the 30s the single breasted jacket was the male look. Later in the decade, double breasted jackets became popular yet again and the front of the man's jacket was higher

Hats became an expected part of just about any outfit in the 1930s and that is reflected in the photographs we have of the time. Men almost universally wore a suit outfit with a tie when out in public and very often when lounging around at home as well. Every effort was made to look successful and well dressed went into a 1930s wardrobe to counter the general feeling of despair and failure that came with the Great Depression.

In the 1930s, bigger was better, with doublebreasted suits, full-cut trousers, and tuxedos with tails setting the standard for how a gentleman should dress.

Emergence of sports wear

Sportswear has been called America's main contribution to the history of fashion design. The term became popular in the 1920s to describe relaxed, casual wear typically worn for spectator sports. Since the 1930s the term is used to describe both day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate this relaxed approach whilst remaining appropriate wear for many business or social occasions.

The precursors of true sportswear emerged in New York before the Second World War. 1930s designers such as Clare Potter and Claire McCardell were among the first American designers to gain name recognition through their innovative clothing designs. Richard Martin described these designers as aiming to produce clothes demonstrating "problemsolving ingenuity and realistic lifestyle applications".

womens sportswear fashions following the lead of sportswomen such as Suzanne Lenglen, a tennis player, whose name was synonymous with sleeveless shirts and short skirts (compared to previous styles) while on the court.

A new passion for hiking, sports, sunbathing, and even nudism, invites briefer sportswear.

Bathing suits are slashed and backless, made of linen and lastex yarn. Bare midriffs are everywhere in the late 30's. Womens gloves usually matched their shoes and handbags.

McCardell
McCardell has been called America's greatest sportswear designer in the arena of ready-to-wear clothing in the 20th century.

The term 'ready-to-wear' was not yet widely used, but the boutiques already described such clothes as being 'for sport'.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, she was known for designing functional, affordable, and stylish womens sportswear within the constraints of mass-production, and is today acknowledged as the creator of the "American Look", a democratic and casual approach to fashion that rejected the formality of French couture.

Hollywood continued to influence consumers with the popularity of movie stars such as Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Their fairytale lives portrayed in film gave observers an escape from reality.

Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members. From the 1920s onward, the movement spread around the globe, eventually affecting the visual arts, literature film and music of many countries and languages, as well as political thought and practice, philosophy and social theory.

Surrealism
Surrealism developed in reaction against the "rationalism" that had led to World War I. The movement was founded in 1924 by Andr Breton as a means of joining dream and fantasy to everyday reality to form "an absolute reality, a surreality. he concluded that the unconscious was the wellspring of the imagination

Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions With its emphasis on content and free form, Surrealism provided a major alternative to the contemporary, highly formalistic Cubist movement and was largely responsible for perpetuating in modern painting the traditional emphasis on content.

Characteristics of surrealism include inexplicable happenings, dream like themes and hallucinations

A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

Bauhaus movement
The Bauhaus movement started just after the First World War and was inspirational in pulling together artists, designers, architects and many other thinkers under one creative roof. Staatliches Bauhaus commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term Bauhaus, literally "house of construction stood for "School of Building". The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar The Bauhaus had a major impact on art and architecture trends in Western Europe, the United States, Canada and Israel (particularly in White City, Tel Aviv) the decades following its demise, as many of the artists involved fled, or were exiled, by the Nazi regime.

"Specialists are people who always repeat the same mistakes."

The moving spirit was Walter Gropius, who wrote in the schools first manifesto, The ultimate aim of all creative activity is the building. This was a new way of thinking, as artists were traditionally separated from designers, architects and engineers. engineers. Gropius announced his intention of starting the Bauhaus as a shamelessly elitist Republic of Intelligence,

The Bauhaus movement was founded on the principle of creating a total work of art

Sonia Biacchi's Bauhaus dreams

George Nakashima, of the American Studio

Josef Hoffman, of the The Wiener Werksttte

Tom Dixon, of Functional Art

Ettore Sottsass, of Memphis

Arts and Crafts Movement vs Bauhaus Movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement, that began in nineteenth-century Britain, and the Bauhaus movement, that started in Germany in the 1920s, had many goals in common. Both movements were interested in uniting all the arts and crafts and giving them equal dignity. Both movements were also deeply concerned with the role of the artist as worker and with the nature of work in general. Most importantly, both movements believed in beautiful design and well-made work as an enhancement of life. The importance of industrialized production and its aesthetic effects was a central question for both movements, but this was also the main point on which they disagreed. Both movements held that the industrialized production of goods had transformed the world. But, while the original Arts and Crafts movement largely rejected the machine age and all its productions, the Bauhaus embraced the industrial atmosphere of its time and attempted to transcend it. Both movements agreed that their times were aesthetically impoverished and both agreed that this was largely the result of the rise of industrial civilization. But the Bauhaus, coming later, recognized the necessity (and the value) of accepting the fact and making the most of it. The early Arts and Crafts Movement, on the other hand, hoped for a return to an idealized past.

One of the main objectives of the Bauhaus was to unify art, craft, and technology. The machine was considered a positive element, and therefore industrial and product design were important components.

World war II
Second World War was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilised.

FAMOUS PERSONALITIES

 Hitler, Roosevelt, Stalin,

In African American athlete who won four gold medals in track-and-field at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and put to shame Hitler's Aryan superiority message.