Although in the last post, I discussed what we think of as modern fashion as having emerged in the 1920s, many of the norms that have developed in regards to clothing came about in the 1930s. The most important of which, is the idea of “street style”. With the emergence of American Superstars who took the media by storm, the importance of daily appearance grew to become part of our culture. Due to the paparazzi and gossip columns documenting celebrity’s every move, they were forced to adapt and always look their best.

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Not only did this lead to more diversity in daily dress from the previous decade, but it also led to make up and hair becoming much more prominent when thinking of ‘beauty’.  This still resonates to today. When we think of celebrities, often times we view them as being almost flawless, which can be contributed the pressure placed on them by the media to look their best at all times. Of course, when celebrities begin doing something it is bound to reach the public as well – leading the average person to have much more of a focus on “street style” than ever before.

Now, on to the actual aesthetics of the era. Again, the dresses of the 1930s were conservative in regards to showing leg, however women showing off their arms and wearing more revealing bathing suits became the norm during this decade. Ironically, dresses in the 1930s are characterized as actually being slightly longer than those of the 1920s! Most casual wear during this time reached mid calf – always covering the knee. Further, unlike the 20s, the 1930s can be characterized as being more plane in color scheme – with focus more on basics like black, white, gray, navy or beige. This is odd considering the advancement in variety of design as well as intricacy of outfits that had come about during this time.

This contrast when analyzed shows that more focus was to put into the design quality and that the fashion of this time wasn’t meant to be showy – instead it was supposed to show a subtle style that was a huge departure of the gaudiness of the 20s and implied much more class and professionalism. This could be a result of the depression, which forced more women to entire the workforce and prioritize their professional persona. Thus, when we see women dressed this way now, we perceive them to be more professional than those who wear flashier clothing.

As seen above, the 1930s can also was time when formal wear was revolutionized by the necessity of high fashion created by celebrities in Hollywood. Many of the red carpet looks from this past year bear great resemblance to those of the 30s. These looks all give people the idea that the wearer is showing just enough, but never too much – by covering the body almost completely, yet using a form fitting design we perceive the wearer as being daring and provocative while also remaining classy and tasteful. And, obviously there is so much more that we can draw from this decade in fashion, but for the most part I’ve covered the basics in this post – on to the next week; and the next decade!