To what extent did World War I transform women’s French fashion

from 1914-1918?
 Women were meant they had to be protected as much
Before 1914 restricted in which as much they could. These under layers
fashion styles were would help protect the dress from
accessible for them to wear. The fashion perspiration.

industry was in majority run by male

designers who chose women’s designs to t Dress hems were expected to be down to
what men desired women to wear. Men the oor. It was seen as rebellious or
desired women with a pinched waist and scandalous
large bust. Corsets were often used to bring to show
this unrealistic perspective of women to life. ankle.
Corsets are a tight undergarment which Wealthier
women wore women
almost were able
everyday. They to a ord
were incredibly ‘skirt lifters’
uncomfortable which were
and restricted metal
women from frames
many which
movements, would lift
even sitting their skirts
down was a just enough
painful struggle. to avoid
Corsets were so getting
desired that dirty from
even nurses Figure 2: an example of the mud
wore corsets French women’s fashion in (Adlington).
Figure 1: nurse’s uniform 1910
under their Therefor it
in 1914
nurse uniforms, was seen
which debilitated as a sign of poverty to show ankle
them from being able to do their job (Champsaur). These hem lengths
correctly.
however were often unpractical in the
sense that women were debilitated in
Women wore a plethora of layers under their which areas they could walk and they had
main garment, including 2 lingerie layers, 2 to take great care of their dresses.

corsets (one hard corset, one cotton to

smooth the ridges of the hard corset), During 1914-191
multiple petticoats to enlarge the skirts and a
nal piece was a one-piece dress or two- With the men out at war women began to
piece suit (Adlington). A large reason for take the place of men in the workplace.
these additional layers was for the outer Women took over the fashion industry
appearance, “women wore many petticoats without the in uence of men. Due to
and the better o they were the more they solely women designing new styles,
wore of them. They gave her her poise and styles were based much more on comfort
balance”, - historian Walter MacQueen-Pope rather than to impress men. Corsets
(Adlington). However another reason is the quickly became rare as women
extreme prices of dresses which disapproved of the discomfort it caused
them. In war time there was little funds to
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 spend on glorious dresses and suits. hems were above ankle height and there was still
There were not enough seamstresses for a focus on the waist however not in such a
everyone to have elaborate garments. strenuous manner as before. The hats which
Therefor the war caused many clothes to were worn were much smaller and based on
become much more rational and simpler. comfort.

Many magazines advised women to sew

their own clothes, many women were not With the men at war there was a gap in the
expert seamstresses and were only make fashion industry and there was a lack of
able to make simpler styles.
designers. Two of Frances best known fashion
designers, Jean Patou and Paul Poiret, were
drafted into the military (Eileen). This meant that
women were able to have a much heavier
in uence on the fashion industry. Coco Chanel
and Jeanne Lavin were the leaders of French
Figure 3: an extract from a newspaper fashion in this period, both females which was
on making your own clothing rare (Eileen). This meant that women’s fashion
became much more what women wished to wear
The gure above is an extract from a rather than what men wanted to see. Tight
newspaper which supplied women with corsets quickly became rare due to the extreme
the instructions to make their own discomfort it caused, hems were raised as it
dresses. Women were advised to make became una ordable and impractical to have
their own garments. The dress is dirty dresses which needed constant
described as easy to make as it is not replacement or deep cleaning.

tight tting (Nguyen). Creating tight

corsets which are custom made to t a Before 1914 women wore around 7 layers of
woman’s body was too long of a process fabric. A limit on fabric production meant women
and took skills that often look years to had to wear less layers. This also meant that
learn.
women’s bodies were seen as how they really
were, there were no petticoats and corsets that
Due to limited fabrics and resources created the appearance that women’s bodies
women’s were perfect hour glass gures. During the war
clothing there was such an extreme lack in fabric that
began to women’s clothes have been found to have even
represent been made from airplane fabric.

the French
soldier After 191
uniform.
The same The end of WWI on November 11th, 1918 led to a
fabrics and cause for celebration (history.com editors).
Figure 4: French women’s big buttons Factors which stopped fashion production during
fashion in 1916 were used the war were coming to an end.

for
women’s clothing as they were mass Soldiers returned home to their families including
produced.
fashion designer Paul Poiret (Eileen). His time
spent away at war meant he never fully regained
Figure 4 is an example of how women the power he had in the fashion industry and he
dressed in France throughout WWI. The was never able to be as successful as he once
fabrics used were very dark and plain, the was as women had now taken over such a large
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 proportion of the fashion industry. By the had to ght for their countries leaving the women
end of the war a women’s daily out t to take over many roles which were usually left to
looked entirely di erent. Figure 5 is an men. Women were able to have a stronger input
example of the styles which were worn in on fashion.

1918. Fringes became a common aspect

of dresses. A lack of resources however, meant clothes were
Dresses were made to be much more practical and functional.
made of lighter Hems became shorter, waistlines became looser,
fabrics such hats became smaller and less layers were
as chenille or expected to be worn.
silk (Nguyen).
The dress has
much more of
a baggy t.
This style of
dress became
Figure 5: women’s styles the main
in 1918 inspiration for
dresses in the
1920’s. Figure 6 is
a picture of the
famous 20’s style
dress. This was
heavily based o
the dramatic
change in dresses
made during the
war. These loose-
tting dresses were
almost seen as a
tomboy phase by
the women, as
women began to Figure 6: the well
dress less feminine known 1920’s style
(Stamler).

World War I lead to extreme

advancements in many industries,
including fashion. Fashion had never
previously been revolutionised at such a
speed. Before 1914 women were
conformed to wear garments which
shaped their bodies in a manner most
appealing to men. Women’s fashion was
mainly in uenced by men, the French
designers which had the most in uence
on fashion were male. During the war men
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 References

Adlington, Lucy. Great War Fashion

Figure 1: Champsaur, Florence Brachet. "French Fashion During The First World War". Thebhc.Org, 2021, https://thebhc.org/sites/
default/ les/Champsaur_0.pdf.

Figure 4: grey, eileen. "French Fashion, Women, And The First World War". Bgc.Bard.Edu, 2021, https://www.bgc.bard.edu/
exhibitions/exhibitions/98/french-fashion-women-and-the.

Figure 2: ”French Fashion – 1910 | Susanna Ives | Edwardian Clothing, French Fashion, Edwardian Fashion". Pinterest, 2021,
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/52635889365496952/.

history.com editors. "World War I". HISTORY, 2021, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history.

Figure 3,5: Nguyen, Duy Khang. "Fringe Fashions, December 1918". Witness2fashion, 2021, https://
witness2fashion.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/fringe-fashions-december-1918/.

stamler, Hannah. "In Pictures: How World War I Changed Women’S Fashion". Frieze.Com, 2021, https://www.frieze.com/article/
pictures-how-world-war-i-changed-womens-fashion.

Figure 6: ”Vintage Everyday: 1920S French Fashion | 1920S Fashion, French Fashion, 1920 Fashion". Pinterest, 2021, https://
www.pinterest.com/pin/565905509398600352/.

"WWI Fashions Vanity Fair 1915". Old Magazine Articles, 2021, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/

WW1_Paris_fashion_1915-1918#.YHjARC0RqL1. Accessed 15 Apr 2021.

History rationale:

My product is a magazine which is based around the question, to what extent did World War I
transform women’s French fashion from 1914-1918? There was a plethora of information to
be found on this topic. My magazine discusses the extreme change which fashion
experienced due to many factors associated with the war. Factors such as money, time,
comfort and new female designers all transformed the fashion industry. The most astounding
piece of information which was taken from my research was the extreme e ect which WWI
had on fashion. Fashion transformed completely and one of the largest reasons why was due
to the top designers being female. With females having the largest input on fashion meant
that women chose styles which best suited them, this meant that clothes became much more
comfortable and practical.

Before 1914 women’s clothing styles were based on what men wanted to see, women wore
tight corsets as men wanted to see a small waist, they wore long hems as it was seen as
outrageous to have a hem not sweeping the oor. When the World War eliminated the male
input in the fashion industry, women began to wear what they desired. I found this potentially
one of the most interesting pieces of information I gathered from my research. I never realised
what heavy of an in uence men had on women’s fashion. Especially in France, the top
designers were all male until the war forced the men to leave their jobs and ght. It was not
until after war that women were able to have a say in their clothing designs. After the war,
when the men returned, women’s in uence on fashion stayed strong. Most male designers
which went to war were never able to fully regain the power they had in the fashion industry
as women had ‘take over’.

Due to the research I conducted for this topic I inferred that creating a fashion magazine
would be the best and most interesting way to convey my research. A magazine is able to
display all the di erent styles as well as discuss the importance of the impact of the war on
fashion. A magazine permits me to use a lot images and gures which will help me accurately
describe the change that happened in fashion. In my research I found many examples of
French fashion magazines between the years 1900-1920. This proved to be incredibly useful
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 in helping me decide what form I wanted to present my research in. As I was able to see the
way in which magazines were designed in the time period of 1914-1918.

My nal product of a magazine should be able to hold the readers attention as the
information given is formatted in an interesting manner which is interesting to read. It also
contains many illustrations and images to help keep the reader interested. This gives a visual
representation of the dramatic changes in fashion.

The units key concept for this project was ‘change’. My magazine explores the impact which
World War I had on French fashion. During the duration of the rst world war there was an
extreme change in French fashion. This change meant that women were able to dress more
comfortable and practical. My magazine places a focus on the key concept of change. The
war created a change in society and a factor which was revolutionised by this change was
fashion. The related concepts of this unit were ‘perspective’ and ‘self-expression’. The topic
of this magazine explores both these concepts. Women were able to express themselves
better due to fashion. Perspectives is explored as di erent perspectives were used to portray
the impact of World War I on French fashion.
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