StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Trends - Dissertation Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper explores the perceived unhealthy impact that many people feel fashion designers have had on women’s self image and fashion preferences. A decade-by-decade study of historical details in the twentieth century reveals a broader range of reasons for women’s fashion preferences, however…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.4% of users find it useful
Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Trends
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Trends"

Download file to see previous pages

A desire for change and new intriguing silhouettes, societal factors prompting a change in generational identity, governmental dictums necessitated by war and economic stress, key prominent figures that are admired by the public leading by example, technological advances, and the media, among others. A desire for change and new intriguing silhouettes, societal factors prompting a change in generational identity, governmental dictums necessitated by war and economic stress, key prominent figures that are admired by the public leading by example, technological advances, and the media, among others.

 Decade by decade throughout the twentieth century, fashion trends swing from one extreme to another with almost astonishing predictability in timing. From the beautiful and becoming to the ridiculous and amusing, each generation of women seeks to define itself with an identifying fashion statement. The paper concludes with a reminder that whatever the influence, all fashionable pursuits should be tempered with the realization that the purpose of fashion is to benefit, not to cause harm of any sort.

The corset is an enduring symbol of the quest to mold oneself after the fashionable image of the day.  The cherished notion of the eighteen-inch waist, ridiculous by most standards and impossible for some without extreme self-deprivation, was the ideal at the turn of the century. However, is this the fault of fashion designers or the result of women taking a particular feminine attribute and accentuating it to its extreme? This paper intends to examine how fashion has played a role in the last century in negatively shaping a woman’s self-image and whether women or other social factors are also part of the process in determining what fashions will be adopted.

We would be near-sighted if we thought that striving for beauty was only a current affair.  Women have for centuries disfigured many parts of their bodies that did not quite fit a particular generations' fashion.  During the Renaissance, well-born higher class women pulled out hairs to give themselves high, rounded foreheads. Some who did not like plucking used mixtures of dung, vinegar, and quick-lime that sometimes removed skin and hair.  

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Dissertation”, n.d.)
Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Dissertation. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1535142-the-quest-for-beauty-in-the-twentieth-century-an-overview-of-fashions-transient-trends
(Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Dissertation)
Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Dissertation. https://studentshare.org/history/1535142-the-quest-for-beauty-in-the-twentieth-century-an-overview-of-fashions-transient-trends.
“Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Dissertation”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1535142-the-quest-for-beauty-in-the-twentieth-century-an-overview-of-fashions-transient-trends.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Beauty in the Twentieth Century: An Overview of Fashions Transient Trends

Fashion and the Arts

There was awareness to move away from the elitist class to more bourgeois order and reap the benefits of a freer and more powerful society (Mid twentieth century).... The trends were becoming bolder.... Popular movies set trends in what to wear and more than eager teenagers in huge droves styled themselves after their divas....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The term fashion and its definition

The rises and falls of fashions have been especially documented and examined.... The term "fashion" is often used in a negative sense, as a synonym for fads and trends.... In this sense, fashions are essentially a relief from boredom, or a distraction from important matters, for the idle rich.... In this sense, fashions are a sort of communal art, through which a culture examines its notions of beauty and goodness.... If to analyze the meaning of fashion it is possible to see that fashions are social psychology phenomena common to many fields of human activity and thinking....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Analysis of the Fashion Industry

Very few societies are exceptions to such trends.... “When the styles and practices of the upper classes were imitated, their fashions trickled down to their social inferiors, and the upper classes were impelled to reconstitute themselves.... Over half a century ago, Quentin Bell, in his book “On Human Finery”, observed that fashion in dress followed a cyclical trend, based on changes observed since the thirteenth century....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Fashion History and Trends

The essay explores fashion history and trends.... hellip; This essay analyzes the trends and changes in fashion history.... The essay "Fashion History and trends" concerns the changes in the fashion history.... As time passed, new discoveries made it possible to create new fashions....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Trend Essay - Retro Fashion

Clothing manufacturers and designers are offering fashions that resemble those from the past.... The essay analyzes the concept of retro fashion.... Retro fashion is a current trend that is embraced by both young and no so young.... There may be plenty of opinions about why the trend exists....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Effect of Market Trends on Chinese Fashion, Britains Fashion Trends in the Philippines, PETA Fashion

From the paper "Effect of Market trends on Chinese Fashion, Britain's Fashion trends in the Philippines, PETA Fashion" it is clear that the British Fashion Month at the Philippines proves to be a remarkable step that attempts to introduce the British Fashion to the consumers of the nation.... These changes are the result of increased penetration of online shopping trends and enhanced visits of the Chinese customers to the foreign nations....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

The Development of Fashion Design in Twenty Century

The aspects of fashion could be masculine or feminine based with other trends being androgynous.... In attempts to unravel the historical trends in fashion and design, this paper explores the development of Fashion Design in the Twenty Century.... The paper discovers The Development of Fashion Design in Twenty century.... hellip; This paper analyzes the Fashion Design in Twenty century and its Development.... The paper "The Development of Fashion Design in Twenty century" explores the 20th-century fashion design development....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Fashion Changes for the 21st Century

nbsp; These trends in the industry have had a significant effect upon fashions of this Century as society slowly emerges from the shock of a new millennium and begins to put itself back to serious work.... One of the major influences on 80s fashions was the designer Vivienne Westwood, who developed her talents in the thick of the 1960s and 1970s rock and roll movement in Britain.... nbsp; Her fashions exemplify the sexual freedom and aggressive stance of female expression emerging in the women's movements that rocked the world at this time....
6 Pages (1500 words) Admission/Application Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us