The art, history, culture and politics of fashion

Erika Kirk:

Party Wear Early 1930s, Or Just Look at Those Seams (low whistle)

Fashion does not actually work by decades, so these early 1930s gowns for sale at Augusta Auctions have some of the hallmarks of the loose torsos that we associate with the 1920s, and the handkerchief hemlines too. But by the late 1920s, skirts were lengthening down wards from their mid-20s high point above the knee and belts had crept up from the hipline to reach the waistline again.

These two silks evening gowns are from the early 1930s, glowing in crepe back silk satin in what they call "ashes of roses" i.e. a greyed rose and in what they identify as pale pink which shows dark cream on my screen. I am featuring some of the close-ups, so you can see how they were draped just below the waistline, a feature that would draw attention to the sway of a woman's hips.

And you can see the complex piecing of the skirts. See how the cream dress has a diamond shape set into the bodice, and then multiple angles cut into the skirt which echo one end of the diamond. These look like cuts and seaming that include multiple bias choices which takes both careful cutting of the fabric and careful seaming so as not to overstretch the elasticity of the cut edges. By using bias-cut fabric around the hips, the designer gives a woman a bit more room to move, and also adds an erotic feature as her movements are closely followed by and revealed by the fabric. With such a sheen to the fabric, these movements would have just that much more slinky glamor in the days before stretch fabrics.

Clay loom weight decorated with an owl, Greek, 5th Century BCE

ab. 1795 Marie-Élisabeth Gabiou, née Lemoine - Self-Portrait with Straw Hat and Palette