MOMS are from MARS
  • HOME
  • Things Your Mom Will Never Say: The Top 20
    • MOM'S BLOG
  • MY BOOK - Extraordinary: Light vs. Dark
  • Your Horoscope
  • Why does Mom DO that?
  • A Heartfelt Letter of Apology
  • MY BOOK: Moms are from Mars
  • What Type of Mom Do You Have?
    • Mom's Mish Mash
  • Cute Keyboard Characters
    • MY BOOK - Enlightened: Light vs. Dark
    • Cards for Mom
  • Contact Me
Follow me!

Through the Ages: Fashion

4/1/2010

0 Comments

 
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
- Oscar Wilde 


And how.

Not that we realize it at the time, though. How else can you explain our continued, though seriously waning, dedication to Crocs? Through the ages, women have been willingly brain-washed into wearing a variety of en vogue fashions, however beautiful or fugly they are. This blog is dedicated in memory of them.


Now before I begin, I must explain to you that although I’ve received a bit of help compiling the following facts, I still feel as though I have yet to fully explore and understand all that fashion offered us over the years. So if your grandma or much-younger-and-cooler-than-your-mother aunt read this and feel I’ve left something important out, contact me and I’ll update this post to make up for my gross negligence.

With that said, I introduce you to:


THROUGH THE AGES: FASHION
Picture
The 1920s
Okay, so teenagers didn’t really wear these. They wore what most kids did  --  the clothes their mothers made for them. No, not ALL their clothes, but fashions were primarily dictated by what people could make with a Singer sewing machine and a yard or two of fabric. For girls, that meant dresses, skirts and blouses, all simple in construction. But then the flapper dress entered the picture.  Yep, that straight-up-and-down mini-dress you see in old movies where people are dancing the Charleston. In 1926, this dress was not only easy to sew, but fashionable. Suddenly, the ability to be stylish wasn’t relegated to the rich.  All a woman had to do was whip up the dress, cut her hair short and sleek, then smash her b00bs down so they were as flat as a plasma screen TV. That’s right. You heard me -tatas were OUT.  I knew I was born in the wrong decade. Thus the beginning of fashion for the masses, though there were a few bumps along the way…

Picture
The 1930s
Um, excuse me. Did you know the country went through a major depression? Some even called it “Great.” I found this obscure fact during my research. It started in 1929 and lasted a long, long time. Anyway, the Thirties weren’t very good years for fashion.  Though the ready-to-wear industry was staring to take off, what little money people had was spent on food, not on looking like Greta Garbo. But those with money did follow the shift toward a curvier look due, in part, to the introduction of the zipper.   Girls continued to wear dresses or blouse/skirt combos that usually hit mid-calf. They paired them with simple leather shoes and ankle socks, a trend that carried over into the forties.
 

Picture
The 1940s
Whew! So glad to stop writing about the depression. Wait a second... WHAT? We were in a WAR? Those poor fashionistas. They were so ready for a comback. Instead, gone were silk blouses – the fabric went to make parachutes. Wool? Uniforms and blankets for soldiers. So unfair. In an effort to conserve fabric, hemlines rose to just below the knee (scandal!), and skirts were more form-fitting, with fewer gathers and pleats. Jackets were also shorter and more fitted. Clothes also looked more masculine – check out those shoulders! -  since many men were gone at war, leaving the women to work their jobs. Imagine that, women doing men’s work. It’s a wonder they survived. As for girls? Sweaters finally became major players. Oversized ones were often worn with - you guessed it - skirts.

Picture
The 1950s
Okay, now things start to get more interesting. With no depression or war to hinder fashion, more stylish looks prevailed. No, girls didn’t wear pants to school yet. They still wore skirts, full or pleated. A famous one? The poodle skirt. Not all had poodle appliqués, though. Some featurened  music notes or records. (You know, those black, oversized CD-like things they had back in the day. God, I feel old.) White bobby socks with buckskin or saddle shoes were often worn. Sweater sets and blouses were common tops. As for pants, they started wearing them a bit more outside of school. As for jeans? Not so much. Known as ‘dungarees,' they were reserved for lounging around.

Picture
The 1960s
When you think of the Sixties, you think of crazy, far-out clothes, right? Well, actually, that was the Seventies. Well, I’ll give you ’68 and ‘69. Clothes did start to get more colorful, though. However, girls STILL wore skirts to school and, once again, usually below the knee. Not that hemlines didn’t start to rise, they were just considered casual wear. Instead of bobby socks, they went with knee-his.  Jeans started becoming more acceptable, though only for casual events. Out to dinner and a movie? No way. Kids favored hip hugging, low slung jeans with wide belts in different colors. Near the end of the decade, we started to see bell bottoms. Then the wackiness began.

Picture
The 1970s
Talk about groovy. Upset with ‘the man’ and the Vietnam War, teenagers used clothing to express their rebellion. Known for wild colors and patterns, the seventies gave us tie-dye t-shirts, the peasant look, and hot pants. (The latter was a  “must have” for the disco dancing set.) As for skirts, they skipped the knees all together, pushing minis to the max.  They also had maxis that went clear to the ankles. Later on we saw tube tops, too. Trust me, the guys really liked this decade. As for school? Girls finally wore pants and jeans, both of which were bell bottoms. Take that, oppressive school system! However, most jeans manufacturers still focused on boys so many girls wore boy’s jeans. Yes, it's sad. But don’t you worry, girls get their due….

Picture
The 1980s
This was my decade, as well as most of your parents, so I’ll say a lille more on this one.  I briefly remember a painter’s pants fascination before going straight into the preppy look. Monogrammed sweaters with your initials, IZOD polo shirts in every color (collars flipped up, of course), plus a nautical obsession - particularly with whales? – featuring boat shoes and boat neck shirts. Remember the whole ‘boy jean’ issue? Well in the Eighties, girls’ designer jeans took the world by storm. Calvin Klein, Jordache, and Gloria Vanderbilt to name a few.  You were the jeans you wore. 

The advent of movie “Flashdance” in 1983 had us all wearing leggings and legwarmers, plus big sweatshirts that hung off the shoulder. In September of 1985, Madonna blew the world away with her trashy, see-through lacy shirt, bra and  lycra skirt style, making even the cutest nine year-old girls look like prostitutes.  Plus there were shoulder pads -- lots of shoulder pads -- and stirrup pants. Crop tops and neon clothing had their day in the sun, as well. Never had there been a decade so decadent, which leads us to the nineties…

Picture
The 1990s
Talk about a backlash! I’ll be honest, like most of your moms, these were baby-making years. Most of us had NO FASHION SENSE AT ALL. We were just happy when we could get our butts back into a pair of jeans after losing the baby weight. From what I hear, though, we didn’t miss a thing. Sick of the over-the-top Eighties mentality, the Grunge look emerged.   Torn jeans, t-shirts and flannel shirts told the world teens no longer cared. Which they didn’t, until the movie “Clueless” came out in the summer of 1985. Suddenly, it was all about baby doll dresses, slip dresses worn over t-shirts, and thigh-high stockings.  For the hip hop set, track suits and Starter jackets were on the scene, making way for those jeans -- those big, baggy jeans…. 

Picture
The 2000s
Remember how I said I hate butt cracks? Well, it started out with underwear. The hip hop set started wearing their jeans so baggy and low, their underwear was always exposed. Gross. But how does that relate to teen girls? Well, the dorks running the fashion industry took the cue and started designing jeans with waists so low…well, you know where I’m going with this. Hip hop did inspire hoodies, though, so it ain’t all bad. With the 2000s, came the advent of layering shirts. Heaven forbid you just wear one shirt at a time. Plus, like jeans in the eighties, kids got label conscious with tops. In alphabetical order (don’t want to show favoritism) we were introduced to Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale, American Eagle and Hollister. If you didn’t have one of their logos on your chest, go home. Sad really.
 

So there you have it. Did I miss anything? Seriously let me know. As for how to end this post? I’ll make just one more plea:

Just say ‘no’ to butt cracks!

Now go in peace.




Photo credits:

1920s  flappers

1930s 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21233184@N02/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
1940s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elegantmusings/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
1950s poodle skirts

1960s outfit

1970s outfit

1980s outfit
from a party supply store. no kidding.

1990s

2000s

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Weird Author

    My name's Murphy, Janene Murphy, and I'm a weird mom.

    Picture
    MY BOOKS!
    For info, click on the covers.
    Picture
    Picture
    To SUBSCRIBE to my blog, just hit the 'Contact Me' button at the bottom of  the left hand column on this page and fill out the form to get my posts via email. You can also sign up to get it on your RSS or Networked Blogs feeds by hitting the buttons below. All of them are free and easy -- two qualities I like!

    RSS Feed

    NetworkedBlogs
    Blog:
    Moms are from Mars
    Topics:
    teen, humor, parenting
     
    Follow my blog

    Your Favorites

    What Color Season Are You?
    Cute Keyboard Animals
    Tattoos are Evil
    Worst Fictional Moms of the
        Last 50 Years

    Crushed by my Celebrity Crush's Height    
    Just  Letting Off Some Crazy Steam
    You Are What You Wear?

    Kids Say the Darndest Things
    Top Ten Most Iconic Teen Movies of the 1980s
    My Summer Vacation

    Craziest Book Titles on Amazon
    Teen TV 'Act Your Age': Part 2





    My Favorites

    Bad Boys 
    Keeping Up With The Joneses
    Noah's Ark: Terror Never Looked So Cute   
    Jeggings: Just Say No    
    Leave No Wild Child Behind
    The Gift of Reading 
    The Truth About Smoking 
    Lost In Translation: The Wall   
    Help Me, Bruce Willis 
    A Mother's Fear About Her Kid Being Queer  
    If You Don't Have Anything Good to Say  
    Chuck Norris Facts


    Categories

    All
    1970s
    1980s
    1980s Celebrity Hair
    2012 Iowa Caucus
    4th Of July
    Action Figure Jesus
    Alligators
    Amanda Bynes
    Anthony Weiner
    Arnold Scharzenegger
    Ascii Art
    Ashton Kutcher
    Asking Girls To The Dance
    Austria
    Back In The Day
    Bacon
    Bad Boys
    Bawls Soda
    Bayou Tour
    Beauty
    Beauty Queens
    Beetle Bailey
    Betty White
    Big Time Rush
    Birthday
    Blarney Castle
    Blog Catalog
    Blood
    Boardgames
    Bobby Knight
    Bon Jovi
    Book Review
    Books
    Book Signing
    Botox
    Brothers
    Bruce Willis
    Bullying
    Bunratty Castle And Folk Park
    Butt Cracks
    Camp Conestoga
    Canada
    Candy
    Candy Crush Saga
    Car
    Cards For Mom
    Career
    Cat Trouble
    Celebritiy Losers 2012
    Celebrity Losers 2011
    Celebrity Losers 2013
    Charity
    Charlie Sheen
    Chat Room Dream Date
    Chicken Breasts
    Christmas
    Christmas Gifts History
    Chuck Norris Facts
    Clint Eastwood
    Clothes
    Clown
    College
    Color Seasons
    Concerns
    Confidence
    Contest
    Cooking
    Cool Stuff
    Crazy Book Titles
    CSI
    Cute Animal Photos
    Czech Republic
    Dating
    Dating Older Guys
    Davy Jones
    Dear Make Believe Mom
    Dingle
    Disney World
    Doctor Who
    Dolls
    Dressing Like A Ho
    Driving
    Duck Dynasty
    Easter
    Egg Butt
    Election
    Ella March Chase
    Enlightened
    Extraordinary
    Facebook
    Farrah Fawcett
    Fashion
    Fashion History
    Favorite Songs From The 1980s
    Feminine Products
    Feris Bueller
    Fireworks
    Five Love Languages
    Flood
    Freaky Things
    Fungie The Dingle Dolphin
    Funniest Christmas Movies
    Funny Celebrity Photos
    Games
    Gaming
    Geeks
    Germany
    Gingerbread Men
    Girl Power
    Girl Scouts
    Glamour Shots
    Glendalough
    Good Enough
    Goodreads
    Go Set A Watchman
    Graduation
    Greeting Cards For Mom
    Hair
    Hair History
    Hair In The 70s And 80s
    Halloween
    Halloween Costumes
    Halloween Fun Facts
    Harper Lee
    Heights Of Young Male Celebrities
    High School Graduation
    Hobbit Gingerbread House
    Hobbit Hole Gingerbread House
    Holiday Shopping
    Holy Toast
    Homosexuality
    Honey Boo Boo
    Icarly
    Iconic Teen Movies
    Identity
    If You Dont Have Anything Good To Say
    If You Give A Teen A Tattoo
    If You Really Knew Me
    Internet Censoring
    Internet Dating
    Internet Safety
    Iowa
    Ireland
    Italy
    Jeggings
    Jersey Shore
    Jesus Action Figure
    John Travolta
    Judging A Book By It
    Justin Bieber
    Kanye West
    Kardashians
    Keeping Up With The Joneses
    Kelly Lebrock
    Keyboard Animals
    Kids Say The Darndest Things
    Kilkenny Castle
    Kitschy Kitschy Kool
    Kristen Stewart
    Lance Armstrong
    Laundry
    Laziness
    Leap Year
    Leave No Wild Child Behind
    Leslie Langtry
    Libba Bray
    Life Is Short
    Lindsay Lohan
    Loneliness
    Losers
    Lost In Translation
    Louisa Cast
    Louisiana
    Lying
    Lyme Disease
    Mail
    Maintaining A Boyfriend
    Marathon
    Matthew Broderick
    Meredith Viera
    Miley Cyrus
    Military
    Miracles
    Mitt Romney
    Moms Are From Mars Book
    Money
    Money Tips
    Morphing
    Motherhood Sucks
    Motherly Advice
    Mothers Day
    Movies
    Mr. T Baby Costume
    Muckross House And Gardens
    My Anniversary
    My Book
    My Favorite Movies
    Name Game
    New Kids On The Block
    New Orleans
    Newt Gingrich
    Noahs Ark
    Ode To Canada
    Olympic Games
    Osama Bin Laden
    Over Parenting
    Parenting
    Paula Deen
    Pet Names For Kids
    Phoebe Cates
    Photos
    Pms
    Poopys Tattoos
    Popularity
    Powerscourt
    Prague
    Quad Cities Flood
    Queer Fears
    Radical Parenting
    Reading
    Rebel Without A Clause
    Ring Of Kerry
    Rob Ford
    Rob Pattison
    Ronald Reagan
    Ron Paul
    Royal Wedding
    Safety Tips
    Santa Hat
    Saving Face
    Scarf Into Vest
    Scary
    Selena Gomez
    Self Acceptance
    Self Image
    September 11
    Seventeen Magazine
    Sex
    Shoe History
    Shoes
    Shopping In Ireland
    Signs
    Silly Stuff
    Silly Thoughts
    Skiing
    Slut Walk
    Smoking Is Cool
    Sopa
    Sound Asleep Pillow Giveaway
    Southern Illinois
    Sprained Ankle
    Spring Break
    Star Wars
    Strange Signs
    Stupidity
    Success
    Superhero Mom
    Susan Carroll
    Swan Towel
    Swim Suits
    Taking Her Time
    Tattoos
    Taylor Armstrong
    Taylor Lautner
    Teaching
    Teen Actors Ages
    Teen Actresses Ages
    Teen Dramas
    Teen Idols
    Teen Idols History
    Teen Mom
    Teen Tv Dramas
    Television
    Tershbango
    Texting
    Thanksgiving
    The Apocalypse
    The Big Ask
    The Gimmes
    The Monkees
    Theresa Guidice
    The Shirt
    The Sixth Sense
    The Wall
    Things Parents Will Never Say To Their Teens
    Thor
    Through The Ages
    To Kill A Mockinbird
    Toothbrushes
    Top 21 Things Teens Never Say To Their Parents
    Traveling
    Trix Rabbit
    Tv Dinners
    Twinkies
    Twitter
    Ugh
    Vacation
    Valentines Day55124088ef
    Vampire
    Vanity
    Veterans Day550af373ed
    Voodoo Dolls
    Vote
    Wacky Beauty Products
    Washington Dc
    Water Parks
    Wedding
    What Is Your Season
    Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
    Wisconsin Dells
    Worst Easter Candy
    Worst Fictional Moms
    Xbox Live
    Y2k
    You Are What You Wear
    You Read My Mind

    Still can't find what you're looking for? Search Moms are from Mars below:
    Google search engine code:
    Loading


    Archives

    January 2016
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    If you like my blog, could you click the brown 'vote for us' button below? You won't get anything, but you won't be asked to buy anything, either. It just helps my self-esteem.
    Thanks!
    Laughter Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory
    Janene's bookshelf: read

    To Kill a Mockingbird The Great Gatsby Where the Sidewalk Ends Animal Farm Of Mice and Men Slaughterhouse-Five

    More of Janene's books »
    Book recommendations, book reviews, quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists
    Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Monica Arellano-Ongpin, law_keven, NESJumpman, marcos_leal, YoAmes, cliff1066™, garymun, AJU_photography, busbeytheelder, seanmcgrath, gruntzooki, Elin B, The Paperclip, *saipal, ©HTO3, Neetesh Gupta (neeteshg), wonker, Nomadic Lass, englishsnow, landhere, garryknight, StarsApart, Edward Dalmulder, wwarby, cliff1066™, chadh, Yashna M, eamoncurry123, letsgoeverywhere