Paul Poiret

No more Corsets

Paul Poiret was a frenchman who famously led women away from the movement of fuller curvier figures to a silhouette of a more long and lean empire shape.

He became famous because he designed clothing for women that did not include a corset. the clothes that he designed were softer and less defined and they had a touch of oriental style to them that women liked at that time.



The New Silhouette 1911

There was a new silhouette emerging in the fashion world that was being pushed by professionals like Poiret at the time. this was the shape of a longer and leaner figure, with an empire line high waist and straight vertical lines. The tea dress had evolved inot evening wear and wasn't really just for having tea anymore.

Poiret became the most exciting and edgy couturier at that time before the first world war. His designs were becoming more noticed and the women adaoted his hobble skirt and wore it with large hats, this was between 1910 and 1914.

Suffragettes

The Suffragette Movement

In this period of time there was a group of women that were fighting for women's rights in Britain. They were called the Suffragettes and they worked underground to try and push women's rights by doing protests, some silent and some were physical.

Their main group colours were: Purple - Dignity; White - Purity and Green - Hope. They sold many merchandise with these colours on to help to spread the word.

Emily Davison

Emily Davison was one of the most famous suffragettes because she died fighting for what she wanted. How she died was that she had planned to attach a suffragette banner to one of the winning horses The Kings horse whilke it was running in the Epsom Derby but when she actually came to doing it she stepped out too far onto the track and the horse smashed into her killing her almost instantly. This certainly caused a massive fuss in public outrage and the suffragettes became evermore famous.

Corsets

Corsets

Corsets were a very important part of a woman's fashion in this era. It helped to shape her figure into a respectable hour glass figure: big bust, tiny waist. However it was very hard to breathe in them and many women became light headed and fainted. Sometimes their bodies were even morphed into this hspae permanently, For example:

There were different types of corset, one famous one was 'The S bend'. This corset shaped the body so that your bust was pushed more forward and it made your bottom stick out, hence why it's called the S bend because it forced your body into an S shape.

However, women were allowed some rest from this torturous attire for a couple of hours every afternoon while they had their afternoon tea, they then wore their 'Tea dresses' which were not structured at all and were made out of a soft fabric which let the body relax.

Other fashion statements

Another fashionable item of clothing at this time was 'Hobble Skirts'. these were skirts that were to the floor and went straight down, which of course did not allow a lot of room for walking and caused the women to hobble.

Belle Epoque

Belle Epoque

French for 'Beautiful Era'.

Belle Epoque was an era of Hopefulness, optimism and confidence about the future and what lay ahead. This lasted from 1890 til the beginning of World War 1 in 1914.

this was an era of new discovery and there was many scientific discoveries taking place as well as new technology being developed. This also led the art and fashion world to flourish and expand. This is the time when many things really gained recognition.

Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge was a french cabaret that opened in Paris. The costumes that the women wore were very edgy and when it first opened it seized a lot of male attention and even caused public outrage. However during this time a painter came to light named Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. He was one of the Moulin Rouge's most noble patrons and painted many of the famous scenes and women that performed in the shows.

The costumes that the women who were dancing wore were extremely edgy and this is why it caused so much public outrage.



Here are some examples of Henri de Toulouse Lautrec's famous Moulin Rouge scene paintings and posters:



Edwardian Era

Edwardian Era

Queen Victoria died in 1901. This lead to another person coming to power, Edward. He brought with him a fashionable elite that was inspired and influenced by Europe because of his fondness of travel and the world. Some people say that the Edwardian era of clothing and style extended to when the Titanic sank in 1912 as oppose to when Edward actually died in 1910. 

Here are some examples of the Edwardian fashion. The main silouhette for women is very big headwear which then goes down into a slender waist and then the skirt flows out again, creating a like hour glass figure.

Here are some examples of men's fashion in the Edwardian Era. Their main outline was Top hats, suit jackets and suit trousers.