Fashion from 1930-1940

The Great Depression had just hit on October 1929 and the stock market crashed. It was one of the greatest economic downturns that had been experienced. In 1993, the Great Depression had hit its highest numbers. 13-15 million Americans were unemployed. It wasn't until World War II in 1939 that the economy would bounce back from its economical downfall.
     During the 1930's many people listened to the radio as it was free. Dance halls also became very popular. People also frequented movies to escape the realities of the Great Depression. During this time, some of the iconic films in cinema had been produced such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Disney's first princess, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
     During this time some influential actresses were Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Katherine Hepburn. And the influential actors of the time were John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, James Stewart, and William Powell.
     The major trends at this time for women were making your own clothing since the times were tough. Their clothes consisted of simple lines, more feminine cuts, normal waistlines, and nylon. Though glamour was unattainable for the normal person, it still fascinated people due to the Hollywood Cinema.
      For men, the changed from the Edwardian style to more refined suits. They were moderately priced, the shoulders were squared, and it had a larger torso design. The "gangster influence: projected the look of business men due to the suits they wore.
     The top designers of the time were Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel (her designs carried over from the 1920's), Madeleine Vionnet, and Madame Gres.

Ethical Question: 

Why, in the time of the Great Depression, would the gangster style be popular with men when gangsters were considered to be bad guys/villains?

Why do you think women were wearing plainer clothes while men were dressing finer?

Did the new style for men give more authority?

Was fashion a source of pleasure or pain during a time when it was so difficult to even keep the clothes you had?

Would women wearing looser and shorter dressers be the feminine version of imitating the gangster look? And if so, if men's style wasn't gangster-esq would women's style be the same or different?

Do you think that women wearing pants more often raised controversy?

What made the gangster look so attractive?

Liz Thompson and Kate Campbell

 Sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression