The following outfit shown here, and worn in the early 20th century, was known as the hobble skirt. Prior to the creation of these skirts, women had worn large dresses, accompanied by ruffles and a lot of fabric. The hobble skirt was one of the first clothing items to show off a woman's ankles, legs, and figure. One con to this fashion item was the lack of the ability to walk, due to the dress being so slim-fitting and tighter than women were used to. I find it strange how a more modern dress was uncomfortable for women of the time, when most women now would look back at 19th century fashion and find it to be unrealistic.
The early 20th century was when knit sweater coats and sweater jackets arose. This style of sweater was regularly buttoned up the top and not tucked into the waist. Knit sweaters we worn not only as a casual fashion piece around the house, but for sportswear as well. Women who were hiking or playing sports, such as, golf, would wear these because it was practical. During this time period, women were yet to wear pullovers, as they were normally only worn by men and children. It is interesting to see how a clothing item so seemingly fancy was once worn in order to play sports, which we now have specific clothing for.
In the following photo, two men are wearing suits with ties. This picture is significant because it portrays how men dressed in the early 20th century. Men in present time have different styles than the men in the early 20th century did. Most of the time, men wore suits to workplaces or business places. Tight jackets with sloping shoulders ruled the day, and ties became more casual. Bow ties were fashionable, but so were knit ties, which was a vast difference from the silk that had been so prevalent. This is very interesting because back then, men dressed way far fancier than men do currently.
Crinoline is what is in the photo to the left. Basically, it is a petticoat designed to hold out a women's skirt. It was popular at various times since 19th/20th centuries. What is learned from this is that women would wear this under their skirts, in order for their skirts to be puffy and elegant. The 20th century fashion piece, Crinolines, were worn by women of every social standing and class across the Western world, from royalty to factory workers. This is surprising to me that a majority of women wore it, as it looks too uncomfortable to be worn under a skirt almost daily.
The following image shows a style of shoe, known as the Wing Point shoe. The Wing point is a shoe with a toe cap, having a backward extending point and curving sides, resembling the shape of a wing. These shoes were very popular In the 20th century, and a lot of men wore them to places like parties. Younger men and older men both wore these because they were suppose to be very elegant for men of all ages. It's surprising how some men still do wear this type of shoe nowadays. I personally think they are very nice to wear, and a nice shoe for men to wear in different colors.
Primary Sources:
The following image shows the 1910/11 issue of The Salt Lakes Tribune. One of the first things I noticed about the photo was the woman's dress, meant for the fall and winter seasons. As opposed to prior years, the woman's dress is looser and more form-fitting. There is no bustle, or any other accessory to keep the dress puffy and stiff. There is also a man in the background wearing a new, more casual suit. Similar to the 19th century, both the man and woman are wearing a hat, although they take on a differing style from antecedent years. The bottom caption reads, "Paris and American Fashions", maybe meaning that America has taken fashion ideas from Paris, which accompanies a large fashion industry.
The primary source shown is from a 1914 issue of The Day Book, a newspaper which was published in Chicago. The main point of this article was to inform individuals about how queue or "pigtail" fashion was beginning to come back in China. In 1911, around the time of the Chinese Revolution, people were forced to take off their queues. In 1914, the image depicted shows a man getting their queue trimmed and cleaned by a barber. I think this article is important, as it shows how fashion is constantly circling around. Fashion from almost all decades has come back at some point, some prominent examples being how 70s/80s/90s fashion has come back in previous years.
The primary source pictured to the left is the cover of a magazine, called, The Delineator. The Delineator Magazine issue for October 1900 was a fascinating look at women's fashions at the turn of the twentieth century. They provided a glimpse of a women's life at the turn of the century, by accompanying articles on fashion, clothing, housekeeping, raising children, and more. I think this magazine is important because it portrayed tips for women in that time and it was a good idea to provide women with tips to help out in their day-to-day life. It is also interesting to see how articles about women's everyday life in the 20th century may not be as relevant today.
On the left, there is a newspaper article, which shows how girls dressed in the 19th/20th century. Every girl, from ages 5 to 8 had a unique style during this time. They would wear dresses with leggings, and would cover up their whole body. Some girls would also wear hats, for example, a big hat with a large bow on it, to make it look fancier and more suitable for nice occasions. I think this is a very important newspaper article, because it shows the big difference between how young girls would dress back then, and how currently, young girls have a completely different style.