The Fashion 1900-1909

French haute couture made its first triumphant appearance at the 1900 World Fair in Paris. At that time designers, of course, still known as couturiers and they saw themselves as guardians of the high art of tailoring and dressmaking.

Strangely enough, it is an Englishman who is regarded as the founder of French haute couture. Charles Frederick Worth came to Paris at the age of 20. Thirteen years later, in 1858, he founded his own couture house in the Rue de la Paix with his Swedish partner Boberg.

He presented a new collection every year, and this introduced into fashion the constant factor of change, a pioneering innovation which promoted sales and from which all designers still profit to this day.

The line of fashion which Worth developed was much less revolutionary than his marketing.

Worth had simply made the crinoline, which had become increasingly extensive, somewhat more moderate by flattening the skirt at the front as well as gathering the fullness of the material at the back. They were very much of the opinion that the female body should be both laced up and padded, in order to approach the ideal of the hourglass - delicately fragile at the waist, spread­ing out voluptuously above and below. In profile the line followed the shape of an S, more or less sharply curved according to the corset and bustle.

High, narrow stand-up collars, preferably of firm lace, demanded the head to be held upright, especially since a sumptuously decorated hat was balanced on top. Heavy ostrich feathers were especially favoured, since they were the most expensive and were an important status symbol. Narrowly cut tops, worn over whalebone corsets that were themselves hidden by "cache-corsets," had inset gigot sleeves in the shape of a leg of mutton. They were wide and puffed at the shoulder, and narrowed from the elbow to the hand. The sleeves ended only at the fingers, since proper ladies kept themselves covered as much as possible, preferably from head to toe. The skirt was full-length, loose at the hips, flared toward the hem in a bell shape, gathered and pleated toward the back, and often ending in a slight train.

Materials such as linen, velvet, and wool were used for daywear. Popular colours were subdued dark or pale pastel shades, such as pink, blue, or mauve. Lavish ornaments were used in an attempt to make up for a lack of imagination in the cut itself; braids and ribbons, tucks and bows, appliques and flounces were all used as decoration.

In the evening it had to be silk and lace, muslin, tulle, chiffon, satin, and crêpe de Chine, richly embroidered and decorated, and often cut with a very low neckline. Pearls were the jewelry of the decade, worn as droplet earrings, loosely around the neck in a single long string, or tightly in several rows as a choker.

This was how the femme ornée of the belle époque was dressed. But the femme libérée was already waiting in the wings. Many people helped to liberate her, yet no one was better than Paul Poiret.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16