1910s - The beginning of women's independence

As the divide between the sexes became narrower, changes in fashion were made in order to show this. In the first time in British history, the hemlines of skirts rose to the ankle; a sign of developing freedom. This first step of freedom was a very small one literally, as Paul Poriet’s hobble skirt still restricted the movement of wealthy women. The S-shape had evolved into a T-silhouette which consisted of a slim line shape with an extravagant, large hat. Women’s love of the ballet however caused a demand for turban hats for practicality and less restricted movement. 

The hobble skirt created by Paul Poriet

An example of the huge hats that were worn in the 1910s to create the T-shape

The health implications of the S-bend corset became better known by more people and was replaced by more flexible corsets and Mary Phelps’ invention of the brassier in 1913 (which would still be worn under layers). In 1917 there was a huge push to move women from corsets to the new brassier.

A corset design from 1913 by Grace's Corsets at the Cromptom Corsets Co (Lara Corsets, ND)

The first patent of the brassier sold to Warner Brothers Corset company for $1,500, which became one of the major bra manufacturers (Dollhouse Bettie, ND)

This small amount of freedom gave women in Britain hope and their dreams came true after WW1 when they proved their ability to serve the nation by working in a man’s world. This called for practical suits tailored for women with shorter, lampshade shaped skirts, which was also made necessary to fabric shortages. Short hair styles were popular as they were safer around machines and were supported by Chanel. 

Examples of uniforms worn by women during WW1. On the right is a propaganda poster encouraging women to work for their country

References

Dollhouse Bettie. (ND) Mary Phelps Jacob, Bra Pioneer [online] San Francisco: Dollhouse Bettie. Available from: http://www.dollhousebettie.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=80&lang=en&show=Mary-Phelps-Jacob-Bra-Pioneer.html [25/04/2012]

Laracorsets. (ND) Corsets of the 1910s & 1920s [online] Laracorsets. Available from: http://laracorsets.com/History_of_the_corset_11_1910-1920.htm [25/04/2012]

Bibliography

Dollhouse Bettie. (ND) Mary Phelps Jacob, Bra Pioneer [online] San Francisco: Dollhouse Bettie. Available from: http://www.dollhousebettie.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=80&lang=en&show=Mary-Phelps-Jacob-Bra-Pioneer.html [25/04/2012]

Hayes People History (2012) Hayes Women Munition Workers WW1 [online] Middlesex: Blogspot. Available from: http://ourhistory-hayes.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_01_archive.html [25/04/2012]

Laracorsets. (ND) Corsets of the 1910s & 1920s [online] Laracorsets. Available from: http://laracorsets.com/History_of_the_corset_11_1910-1920.htm [25/04/2012]

Maginnis, T. (2008) Women’s Hats 1890 – 1914 [online] The Costumer’s Manifesto. Available from: http://www.costumes.org/history/100pages/1900HATS.HTM [25/04/2012]

Marinaleos. (2010) Major Designers, Colors, and Shapes of the 1910s [online] United States: Wordpress. Available from: http://marinaleos.wordpress.com/ [25/04/2012]