Through out American history the roles of women have changed drastically. This past week or so I have been researching American women's roles and how their roles affect how they present themselves to society. The research I have done stretches from the early 50s to the late 80s. The scale of change that women's fashion in America has gone through amazes me. The trends and styles are always changing, as well as the roles women play in society.
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Women were made pressured into
being the perfect housewife. |
The 50s were all about the woman's role in the home. After the war subsided American families felt it was very important to maintain the rise in the economy and live a mainly wealthy lifestyle. The decade of the 50s nourished and prospered under the influence of the "American Dream". In my research for information about the 50s, I came across a helpful
PBS website. The website discussed mainly how American society was centered around having and maintaing a healthy family. During the 50s it was "more important" for a woman to have a husband than a formal education. The expected role of women in the 50s led to a certain body image that a woman was expected to maintain. Fashion in the 50s revolved around femininity and refinement, according to a really awesome book I picked up at my school library called
Decades of Beauty (the majority of my fashion knowledge came from its glorious pages). An example of this was the short bangs look that heavily trended in the 50s, they were perfectly polished and feminine. Small simple hats were also very popular in the 50s, as well as earrings which were worn more commonly on those who had shorter hair. Women in the 50s were influenced by the media, especially by Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball. Marilyn Monroe was the idolized sex symbol of the 50s and Lucille Ball was the model housewife on her show "I Love Lucy"- which portrayed her as caring yet also independent. American society during the 50s led women to adapt their style to the idea of being the perfect housewife. Side note: can we please acknowledge the fact that Elvis gave birth to Rock & Roll during the 50s? Thank you.
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| Twiggy, rocking the "big eyes" |
Oh, the 60s. In my search for information about the lovely 60s, I came across a rather helpful
U.S. News website. The 60s was all about change for women. Women were thirsty for power and the feminism movement began to take off in full throttle. Unlike the 50s, women wanted to have rights equal to men's, they wanted power. The list of things women were trying to change is a mile long, but the most important were equal pay, end of domestic violence, & help bringing up their children. All of this power women wanted was channeled into how they expressed themselves. Skirts and dresses got shorter as a an act of rebellion and manipulation, false hair was more popular than ever; different hairstyles were said to "change a woman's personality". Of course when we think 60s we all think "hippies", but one of the main goals women had in the 60s was to look childlike. Bigger eyes, frosted pastels, and pale lips were ever more popular. The body style popular in the 50s and early 60s was sporty, but as the 60s progressed gangly limbs, big eyes, and child-like features gained the upper hand in efforts to look more feminine.
I am afraid that for the 70s I had to resort to using
Wikipedia. Although the 70s were significant, I couldn't anything very useful - or interesting for that matter. In all honestly, the role of women didn't change very much from the 60s, although the style and fashion movement did progress. As feminism great stronger and more successful, women's wardrobe grew brighter, crazier, and more colorful. At the beginning of the decade layers and frumpy clothes were popular, but as a revolt to the lack of skin shown with these popular looks, slink, sexy clothes took over at the end of the decade as well as disco. In the 70s highlights were introduced, as well as bright hair and make up colors. I personally find the trends in the 70s a little boring, to tell you the truth - not that the trend themselves are boring, but that there wasn't as much change between this decade and the previous one. (My dad disagrees with me after reading my blog, he says that bell bottoms and platform shoes were a hit, I sort of agree.)
80s! Women are in it to win it. Work rates for women in the work force increased to above 60 percent in some cases, according to
The Atlantic. The 80s was all about the rise of corporate America, including women. This newly found independence in women's lives led to trends such as "power dressing". Power dressing was the idea that you flaunt money and prosperity with the clothes you choose to wear. Suits and tailoring were a big deal, which also included shoulder pads (helped to accentuate narrow waist & hips). Hair was high maintenance in the 80s, it had to look perfected and salon quality everyday. With woman on the rise, this was also the era of the "trophy wife", women tried their hardest to make themselves look more successful than other other women in order to catch a spouse! Glasses were also a popular fashion in the 80s, even if you didn't need them (the idea was too look intelligent and brainy).
The definition of beauty is always changing, and it is something hard to define. But, it is inevitable that trends will always be changing along with women's roles in society.
