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History of French Fashion
Fashion in France is an important feature in the spectrum of culture and social life, as well as being an important aspect of the economy. Starting in the 17th century, it exploded into a rich industry for local utilization along with conveying. French fashion has paved the way for many trends and designers of the world. Fashion is important to French culture because many acclaimed designers are based in Paris, such as Coco Chanel and Dior.
Throughout the 1700s, women would wear big fluffy dresses. They would wear mantuas, a mantua was a formal dress worn for special occasions. It was made of silk or fine wool, with a train and matching petticoat. The sleeves were elbow length with wide cuffs. A hoop petticoat and several under-petticoats were worn beneath the outer petticoat. Men used to wear powdered wigs, a trend started by King Louis XIV, who was only trying to cover up his premature balding. Commonly used clothing fabrics were satin, velvet, and silk. Colorful coats, waistcoats, and breeches were very popular among high-class men.
In the early 1800s, feminine fashion slowly began to change. Women no longer wore big poofy mantuas and began to wear loose-fitted dresses. Men still continued to follow the trends of the 1700s with knee-length breeches over stockings. However, the colors of their clothing changed from vibrant and colorful to plain and darker colors. By the mid-1800s, women's fashion was big and lavish again. They began to wear hoop skirts under their dresses to hold them in shape. Men's clothing usually monochromatic and they wore black heeled boots.
In 1919 women's fashion was to have a sporty style. It was intended for watching sports, not participating. Or for more relaxed circumstances
1910’s, men’s fashion largely continued on from the previous decade. Lounge suits three-piece suits.
In the 1910’s Paul Poiret's "La Perse" were very popular coats. Their straight structureless were rebellious because women no longer felt they needed to wear corsets.
In 1919 men clothing consisted of a sack coat, a waistcoat (vest), and trousers. Collars were worn starched and high on the neck. It was often worn with a Homburg hat, a felt hat with a dent down the top, or a bowler hat. Men of the upper classes continued to wear top hats.
The 1920s
During World War 1, women began holding up jobs that the men usually did. When the war ended in the late teens, early 20s, everything went back to how it was. Women decided to form acts of rebellion where women they began to show off their more masculine side. The woman cut their hair to a short bob and started wearing eye makeup. Their clothing style adapted a more androgynous style. Coco Chanel helped popularize this look and personalized “La Garçonne,” a boyish French flapper look. The 20s was a time of classic sophistication. Men wore neutral pattern suits with a pop of vibrant color. They would wear suits for everything from morning to evening, work to parties. They were always dressed up and looked neat.
Chanel
Chanel is a French fashion brand that was very popular during the 1920s and is still popular to this day. The brand Chanel was founded by Gabrielle Coco Chanel, a French designer and businesswoman. During the 20s, she changed fashion completely. She freed the waist by eliminating corsets, shortened dresses, revealed ankles, and much more. During this time, was most popular for her "La Garçonne" style and the iconic little black dress.
The 1930s
Elsa Schiaparelli's resultant taupe gown
In the 1930s, the women left behind the "boyish" style and began a new era. They began to wear clothing that showed off their feminine silhouette. Clothing and accessories began to come in a variety of patterns and designs. Elsa Schiaparelli, an Italian designer based in Paris, was very famous for her designs. She made very daring and innovative designs and used bold colors and unusual materials. She was most known for her fun accessories, evening wear, and decorative jackets. The men during this time continued to wear suits from the time they woke up to the time they went to bed. Suits could be formal or casual depending on the cut, material, and color, as well as the time of day and occasion they were dressing for. Men's suits colors favored more natural and dark colors such as navy blue, cream, grays, and tans
1940's
Expensive fabrics such as silks and lace were no longer available in Paris and ordinary fabrics were not allowed . This, along with the mass exodus of the Jewish fashion workforce, meant the collapse of the French fashion industry. Few fashion houses continued in their pre-war status but worked mainly for wealthy collaborators or exported designs to Germany. The designs at that time in France were full skirts, high-heeled shoes and even fur coats for those who could afford them. The French designers argued that their designs were in defiance of the German restrictions and also meant that there was less fabric available to the enemy. In Paris, women began to make the hat their expression of fashion, as material was rationed, but flowers and feathers were not. So an explosion of color and style could be seen on the heads of many women.
1940's
World War ll had an effect on the fashion everywhere even in the home of haute couture, Paris.
World War ll had an effect on the fashion everywhere even in the home of haute couture, Paris.
After the Nazis invaded Paris they insisted that the fashion be transferred to Berlin, and although they did eventually withdraw the order several couture houses closed down.
'Coco' Chanel had closed up their shops a year before the outbreak of war and later benefited by having a top Nazi official as her lover. A lot of other top designers either retired or went into exile.
1950's
1950's
Women's 1950s vintage dress emulated the French style of women's clothing. Designs of the era ranged from full skirts to sheath and sack dresses made popular by Parisian designers, there was a lot more fashion in this era.
The Breton stripe had risen to fame and was originally a uniform for the French navy.
1950's
1950's
in the 1950's men choose to wear bright colored clothes such as blue, red, orange, white, pink, yellow, etc.. For older men They wore light colored suits. Younger men wore vibrant colored jackets with different colored flannel shirts and brown or grey pants.
The 1960s
The 1960s
The 60s was definitely an interesting time in the fashion world. No skirt was too short and no boots too high. Fashion trends became quite extravagant. André Courrèges was a famous fashion designer during this time. He defined the iconic go-go boots. His designs were very modern and futuristic, a lot of designs had geometric shapes. He was the first designer to use plastics and PVC in his works. In 1964, his spring collection changed fashion completely. It was very futuristic and included dresses with cutouts, mini skirts, poor-boy sweaters, slim pants, and even goggles and helmets inspired by astronauts.
The 1970s
The 1970s
Billowing skirts, heeled boots, and cape-like outerwear was a very big trend in the 70s. Like today's French fashion, these looks offered more coverage than other Western fashion looks, but they still maintained a certain inexplicable, elegant appeal.
The 1980s
The 1980s
The rather loud, oversized style of the 1980s found its perfection in Paris. In Europe, 80s style becomes classier more structured shoulders and collars met vintage hats for a less rebellious but just as powerful feeling .
Popular 90s looks for men included crisp white shirts, double-breasted blazers, cropped trousers, and long coats.
Popular 90s looks for women included tailored skirts and pant suits, slip dresses, hot pants, and skirts in satin, metallic, sequin, and vinyl fabrics.
In the early 2000's menswear continued to inspire women's clothing They wore a button up shirt tucked into their pants which were skinny jeans along with a blazer.
In the 2000's men choose to wore casual clothes. They wore dark colored coats with a vest and a button up shirt along with black pants.
2010s
2010s
Early 2010s popular tops for European women included tunics, baseball jackets, western shirts, layered shirts and tees, dresses, and shirts worn with belts. Acid washed skinny jeans were very fashionable as were midi and maxi skirts, with the hemline standards being the longest they had been since the Great Depression. Popular tops for men included a shawl collar cardigan, V-neck t-shirts, black leather jackets, and acid-washed denim.
Today's Fashion
The fashion of today consists of blazers belted at the waist, checkered patterns, capes, black leather, ruffles, and bright colors. Belted blazers are designed to show off a woman's hourglass figure. In regard to the capes, they are not at all like a superhero cape. Instead, they can be of different lengths, from ankle to waist, and usually have loose sleeves. Popular colors today range from bright pinks and purples to the classic and timeless color black.
Citations:
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Claire, Marie. “A Brief History of French Fashion.” Marie Claire, Marie Claire, 3 Nov. 2015, www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/a-brief-history-of-french-fashion-34032.
www.fibre2fashion.com. “Evolution of French Fashion from 16th to 19th Century.” Fibre2Fashion, www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7981/evolution-of-french-fashion-from-16th-to-19th-century.
“Gabrielle Chanel and Dance.” Inside Chanel, inside.chanel.com/en/gabrielle-chanel-and-dance?gclid=Cj0KCQiA6t6ABhDMARIsAONIYyzx3tHbS_LwIWzyVe6xOPIpz-SD3HHv8jkLn-dm1dQ9WzOWbzh2edEaAh8REALw_wcB.
Kahn, Mattie. “Photos: Photos: Elsa Schiaparelli's Iconic Gowns and Couture Creations.” Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, 10 Nov. 2014, www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2013/08/schiaparelli-fashion-photos-couture.
https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/author/molli. “History of French Fashion in Paris.” Discover Walks Blog, 24 Jan. 2019, www.discoverwalks.com/blog/history-of-french-fashion-in-paris/.
Who What Wear. “Celebrity Style and Fashion Trend Coverage.” Who What Wear, Who What Wear, www.whowhatwear.com/tags/paris-fashion-week.
Stewart, Peter. “”. Complete France, Complete France, 2019, www.completefrance.com/language-culture/history/a-history-of-french-fashion-1-4907477.
“What Type of Clothing Do the French Wear?” Our Everyday Life, 2009, oureverydaylife.com/what-type-of-clothing-do-the-french-wear-12078914.html.
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