WOMAN’S SUIT: A METAPHOR FOR WOMEN’S ROLE IN AND AFTER WWI

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

This woman’s suit is from the 1930s, however the style of clothing originated in the 1920s due to the effects of World War I and then continued to have popularity into the following decades (4). The skirt suit gained this acceptance due to rationing and economic restrictions put in place during WWI that meant there was less material for making clothes, resulting in skirts that were narrower and had shorter hemlines (5). Additionally, as clothing styles became more aligned with the need for economical fashion, menswear and military uniforms began to influence women’s fashion (6). Menswear was considered to be incredibly practical and durable, and the U.S. could not afford to have women’s fashion not fulfill those qualities as well (7). However, the change in women’s clothing also came from another very important factor, the entrance of women into the workforce in large numbers to help with the war effort and economy after men left to fight the war (8). Safety concerns about the additional fabric and lack of mobility that the previous dress styles allowed meant that women were adopting different styles more suited to office and factory work (9). This resulted in narrower and shorter skirts, as well as the implementation of work trousers for women working in factories (10). This was not a fashion statement, but instead was solely about women’s ability to efficiently and practically do their jobs in the clothes they were wearing (11). As such, this style’s beginnings are a reflection of women’s more active participation in wartime society. 
Just as when men came back from fighting the war many women did not want to give up their jobs and new active role in society, they also did not want to give up the new clothing styles they had adopted that allowed them an increased amount of flexibility, and these previously economical and practical styles would become more fashionable in the eyes of the general public (12). The desire to continue to have more freedom in their clothing can be seen in the continued popularity of such skirt suits into the 1930s, where the hemline began to rise to mid calf, as the length of the woman’s suit skirt pictured above is (13). As such, the continual popularity of this style demonstrates the popularity of these changes that allowed more mobility among women.