Women's Fashion in the 1930s

Political and economic influences

The 1930s saw a general maturity in attitudes after the exuberance of the "roaring Twenties". The Wall Street Crash in 1929 lead into the Great Depression, which effected all aspects of life, including fashion, bringing with it a period of austerity.

There was a growing interest in politics amongst the general population. The British Constitution was changed forever during the Abdication crisis of 1936, when Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée, Mrs Wallis Simpson. Throughout the decade, the Royal couple was seen to be the epitome of glamour, with the Duchess of Windsor wearing sharply tailored suits and dresses from the major couturiers of the period.

Most significantly, the decade saw the rise of Fascism, not only under Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italy, but also in Britain with Sir Oswald Mosley and his Black Shirts, particularly in the East End of London. When Hitler invaded Austria in 1938 and Poland in 1939, another war became inevitable.

Fashion

Over the course of the 1930s, there was a general change in the style of women’s fashion from that of the previous decade. The androgynous look worn by women in the 1920s, with short, cropped hair and a flattened boyish silhouette, gradually gave way to a more feminine look. The re-introduction of the natural waist line and longer skirt lengths gave the female form a more elegant and slender look.

This slim line was enhanced by cutting clothes on the bias, going across the fabric, which avoided the use of unslightly bunches of gathers at the waist for full skirts, whilst still allowing material to flow and drape. The erogenous zone shifted to the back, especially for evening wear, with dresses being made with low or no backs. Meanwhile, hair was grown long again and began to be worn swept up as the decade moved on.

		Towards the end of the decade, some designers became nostalgic, looking back towards the 19th century, and in particular the large crinolines of the Second Empire as depicted in the portraits by Franz Xaver Winterhalter of the Empresses Eugenie and Elizabeth. There was a return to a small waist and full, gathered skirt, sometimes with the support of a crinoline. Queen Elizabeth’s White Wardrobe, created for her State visit to France in 1938 by Norman Hartnell, included five romantic, ‘unfashionable’ dresses with full, gathered skirts. Initially made in pastel colours, the dresses were quickly re-made in white when the Queen entered into mourning for her mother, the Countess of Strathmore.
Ribbon dress, by British designer Charles James,1939, CTLOA000011
The release of the film Gone with the Wind in 1939, starring Vivien Leigh, also inspired a range of look-a-like dresses. However, as the Second World War approached, militaristic styles with square edged shoulder pads, suits and small hats became increasingly popular
		Bali Dress, by Charles James, 1935, CTLOA000001