Lecture 6: Entering the 20th Century

Question 1

Who designed the straight-front corset?

Answer 1

Ines Gaches-Sarraute.

Question 2

What was another name for the straight-front corset?

Answer 2

The “swanbill,” “S-line,” or “S-bend” corset.

Question 3

How was the straight-front corset advertised?

Answer 3

As healthier than the hourglass corset, but it actually forced women into an awkward tilt.

Question 4

How did the S-shaped corset affect posture?

Answer 4

It made women tilt hips back, push breasts forward, and created an exaggerated S-shape.

Question 5

What was the Victorian vs. Edwardian corset?

Answer 5

The hourglass corset was Victorian, while the S-shaped corset was Edwardian.

Question 6

Who was the Gibson Girl?

Answer 6

A young, emancipated woman with soft clothes, natural hair, and a slender but supple beauty.

Question 7

Who created the Gibson Girl?

Answer 7

C. Dana Gibson, between the end of the 19th and early 20th century.

Question 8

Why was the Gibson Girl significant?

Answer 8

It was the first ideal of beauty from the US, influencing European fashion.

Question 9

What changes occurred in corsets between 1908-1914?

Answer 9

Corsets became bigger, extended to the thighs, and created a higher waist.

Question 10

What shift in beauty ideals happened in this period?

Answer 10

The “Venus ideal” (full-figured) shifted to the “Diana ideal” (slimmer, athletic).

Question 13

How did the tango influence corsets?

Answer 13

Boned corsets restricted movement, so women switched to boneless tango corsets.

Question 14

What replaced corsets for body control?

Answer 14

Dieting and exercise.

Question 15

How was the critique of corsets different in the 20th century?

Answer 15

Instead of medical concerns, women themselves argued corsets restricted daily activities.

Question 16

What groups opposed corsets?

Answer 16

Organizations like the Rational Dress Society spread anti-corset information.

Question 17

How did sports influence fashion in the 1910s-1920s?

Answer 17

Women sought greater freedom of movement, leading to a thinner, streamlined silhouette.

Question 18

Why did skirts become shorter?

Answer 18

To enable leg movement.

Question 19

What was the walking dress (“trotteur”)?

Answer 19

A medium-length skirt, tight at the top, and widened at the bottom.

Question 20

How did leisure culture change in the early 20th century?

Answer 20

Fashion magazines, tourist guides, and advertisements promoted leisure activities

Question 21

How did fashion ads reflect economic changes?

Answer 21

Some advertised low costs, marking the democratization of consumption.

Question 22

How were women viewed after WWI?

Answer 22

“Men have returned from war and found numerous, provocative, impatient women… who have become equal to boys.”

Question 23

What shape did women’s fashion take in the 1920s?

Answer 23

Straight and tubular, but still feminine, not androgynous.

Question 24

What was Garconne fashion?

Answer 24

Anti-conformist style with trousers, short hair, and a masculinized look.

Question 25

Who was Monique Lerbier?

Answer 25

The protagonist of "La Garconne" (1922), symbolizing female freedom.

Question 26

Why was "La Garconne" (1922) controversial?

Answer 26

It depicted a sexually liberated woman, selling 1 million copies and being translated into 12 languages.

Question 27

What was the connection between Garconne fashion and women’s status?

Answer 27

Women’s new roles as workers influenced fashion trends.

Question 28

Who were Flappers?

Answer 28

US women who embraced Garconne fashion.

Question 29

Which Hollywood actresses popularized Garconne fashion?

Answer 29

Louise Brooks and Greta Garbo.

Question 30

How did Garconne fashion relate to Hollywood?

Answer 30

It marked the growth of the US star system, influencing European taste.

Question 31

What was Coco Chanel’s early life like?

Answer 31

Raised in an orphanage, learned sewing with black and white monastic fabrics.

Question 32

What fabrics did Chanel popularize?

Answer 32

Inexpensive materials, like jersey.

Question 33

What fashion piece did she introduce?

Answer 33

The sheath dress.

Question 34

What was her social role compared to other couturiers?

Answer 34

She acted more like a patron, cultivating elite connections.

Question 35

How did Chanel influence theater and literature?

Answer 35

She designed costumes for plays and hosted writers and artists.

Question 36

What did she symbolize?

Answer 36

Female emancipation.

Question 37

What did Chanel say about her influence?

Answer 37

"I determined fashion because I lived in the world."

Question 38

What was the significance of work clothes?

Answer 38

It linked aesthetics with profession.

Question 39

What types of jobs did women take on?

Answer 39

Typists, saleswomen, bank clerks.

Question 40

Did all women enter the workforce equally?

Answer 40

No, women’s entry was partial and gradual, and rare among married women.

Question 41

How did work impact fashion more than leisure?

Answer 41

Professional demands shaped women’s clothing even more than sports and leisure. - COMMONLY BELIEVED

Question 42

How did Vogue US depict women’s freedom?

Answer 42

A dynamic, half-naked body in motion, contrasting Botticelli’s Venus.

Question 43

When did swimwear emerge?

Answer 43

In the early 20th century.

Question 44

What concerns came with swimsuits?

Answer 44

Body image and self-control.

Question 45

What were major political and economic events of the early 20th century?

Answer 45

World War I (1914-1918) UK women’s right to vote (1918) The Great Depression (1929-1939)

Question 46

What were major cultural shifts?

Answer 46

The "Belle Époque" (Gilded Age in the US) Sinking of the Titanic (1912), symbolizing the end of the Belle Époque

Question 47

What technological innovations shaped the era?

Answer 47

Electric lights, radio, cars, cinema, vaccines, food pasteurization -- New production and consumption practices