1900-1910 Style

The early 20th century was defined by a conservative fashion in combination with nature. Women’s fashion was neat, covering and detailed with ruffles, buttons and lace in layers. The colors were often in sweet pastels or a traditional set of a white blouse and a black skirt. The conservative fashion took its expression by high collars, long sleeves and sometimes gloves. The mentioned features didn’t only contributed to a rich and detailed look but also underlined the refined and virtuous life of a lady. The s-silhouette was somewhat promoted with the idea of being “natural to nature”, not minding the fact that heavily tightened corsets were required to reach the ideal. (Kind of like our time’s no makeup makeup. One should look as natural as possible, with the assitance of something unnatural, ofc)

Women often had matching hats to their dresses and also an umbrella. The early 1900s saw a development of sports and social events such a tea parties. Social skills for women had for long been considered as one of the most important quality a woman could possess, this partly remained during the early years of the 1900s as the old society still ruled.

For the latter part of the decade, the silhouette became more straight as women’s fashion started to become more functional. The corsets still remianed for most part, but wasn’t as heavily defined as the previous years. The silhouette still underlined an oversizement by the shoulders, but with a tighter and more defined skirt that followed. Around this time, and in line with the fight for women’s rights, some women also began to wear clothes similar to men’s. This included shirts and ties and darker, more neutral colors (colors associated to men and serious work). This was the first step of a more masculine fashion that would follow for decades to come! (If men refused to give women their right, the least thing women could do was to steal their clothes – right?)

1900-1910: Clothes

Women’s clothes during this period consisted of blouses, skirts and dresses. The tea gowns were used for dinner parties and social events at home. They had a high collar, though lower neckline for the evening, and often a mini-trail. The sleeves and the bust were often in focus with overdimension of rich details as ruffles and lace. The silhouette was of course in shape of an S, with corsets to help. It was first in the 20th century tea gowns were considered socially acceptable to wear outside the home. Before, they were considered to intimate and informal. (Today they’d be one of the galas, kind of).

Except the tea gown, another common set of clothes was the edwardian blouse and a maxi-skirt to go with it. The blouse was often white, with a rich detail life by the use of lace. The collar was high and the sleeves oversized, following the trendy style of the tea gowns. Often wider by the shoulder and more narrow by the wrists. The clothes were accompanied with hats, gloves and umbrellas, with the latter being both an accessory and function.