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Madison Brown
Mr. Michael Scott Henriksen
English 1010
December 15, 2016
Fashion - A Reflection of the Economy
When walking through the halls at school, you often see many people who are wearing what you
would consider as a cute outfit. But as you look around a little more, you see all the different
styles of clothing that people are wearing: flannel shirts and cowboy boots, sweats and a t-shirt,
leggings and a jacket, a dress and fancy shoes. The way someone dresses reflects a lot about
them and their character. If someone usually wears bright colors, you would assume that they are
a more outgoing person who likes more attention. On the other hand, if someone wears grungy,
dark or black clothing every day, you would assume that they are more reserved and prefer to be
less social. These examples show how clothing and fashion can reflect a lot about a person, their
situation, and even their attitude. Just as a someone's individual style can reflect their personal
conditions, styles of a period can show the economic well-being of a society.
Different types of clothing within a culture can show different things, such as the
relationship between upper and lower class, political stability, or a country's economic outlook.
But the actual changes in styles can often reveal just as much. For example, if a country was
doing better in a war, womens dresses became shorter and the patterns changed to brighter color
and more showy fabrics. When looking at a larger picture, trends can show a lot about what is
happening in a certain time period. Popular styles are constantly changing and often vary
depending on who you ask. Trends in clothing and beauty have been affected by many things
such as changes in cultural acceptance, social pressures, different time periods, and varying

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locations. Fashion trends often change, but they reflect what is popular in a certain place and
time.
Major changes in a political, social, and economical situations are evident in clothing
trends because there are many people involved in the industry. In other words, a social or
political change in one area could be seen in the trends in that location because of how many
people are involved in fashion. Gillian Fuller agreed with this idea in her article when she stated,
One one of the most surprising factors to influence the cycle of fashion, though, is the state of
the global economy. In other words, the economy, even on a global level directly and indirectly
affects the economy. The success of a trend is evident in many things such as popularity,
longevity, and how long it takes for the trend to gain supporters. Some may say that trends are
solely influenced by celebrities, but I will show how fashion is a reflection of social, political,
and economical changes throughout different decades. Although economical influence in fashion
is evident in many other cultures and times, I will focus this paper on exploring American
women's trends from 1920-1950 because of the drastic changes that occurred during this specific
time period.
Trends in the clothing industry show the ambience of a time period. This idea is
introduced by Luciana Zegheanu in her article Fashion Trends Impact On Society. She explains
that fashion itself is a reflection of social, economic, political and cultural changes. It expresses
modernity, symbolising the spirit of the times. She is saying that you can tell a lot about a
society and time period by how they dress. In this quote, she is also saying that beauty trends are
not solely influenced by one thing. There are many things that can change how a culture dresses.
There are many things that could change including the economy, social pressures, cultural
acceptance, and political standard. I agree with her reasoning, but I would argue that economic

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change influences fashion the most. The economical state of a country affects everyone in it.
Even if a celebrity is able to afford an extravagant style, the general public will not be able to
mimic that if the economy can not support the trend.
One interesting thing that happens to clothing when the economy improves is that the
skirts and dresses become shorter. Eric Platt shares this idea when he writes, The higher the
hemline, the better the economy looks. This is an interesting statement, and its claim can be
verified by comparing trends throughout the decades to the economy. In the twenties when the
stock markets were on the rise, skirts became a lot shorter. Flappers were introduced, and the
party era was commenced. The average skirt length during this time period was a little above
or below the knee. Before this change, all skirts and dresses were floor length and anything
shorter was frowned upon. During the Great Depression, the economy was not doing well but
this can be observed by the style of skirts women wore during this time. The average length of
skirt was mid-calf, noticeably longer that the previous knee-length style.
The most drastic change in women's fashion was the complete turnaround between 1910
and 1920. After World War I in 1918, a change in social climate was very noticeable. People
were seen spending more money to spend, and they had a renewed sense of optimism. The also
economy improved drastically through the roaring twenties (1920-1929) with the introduction of
mass produced items, assembly lines, expanding businesses, and the commercialization of
automobiles.
The overall style of the twenties was less feminine, with the straight hemlines and boxy
dresses, but as Maria Hart says in her article, the flapper doesnt lack sex appeal; the focus has
simply shifted downward to the legs, where a shorter knee-length hemline could expose the flash
of a garter while doing a shimmy. The shorter dresses, brighter colors, and the more showy

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materials compensated for the straighter and more boxy hemlines. So, yes, the dresses were less
feminine, but they were much more revealing. The focus of clothing switched from the bust to
legs.
The twenties shows how the economy can completely change trends. When the economy
started improving, the clothing improved with it. The fabric used were more expensive, and the
overall look was more extravagant. People had more money during this time, therefore, spend
more on their clothes. Economist George Taylor noticed that same correlation between hemlines
and the economy. He observed that skirts became shorter as a way for women to show off their
nice silk stockings (Fuller). Women wore shorter skirts to show they could afford nicer stockings.
He goes on to explain why the skirts became longer during bad times in the economy.
Once the market crashed... longer skirts allowed women to hide that they weren't wearing
and couldn't afford stockings. In the thirties, dresses go back to being more conservative.
The dresses and skirts became longer because the women did not have money to keep replacing
their stockings, so they bought longer dresses to hide their older stocking. The Great Depression
(starting in 1929) was one of the main influences on fashion in this time period. Popular colors
become less bright, and patterns become more simple. A very easy explanation for this change is
because everyone is spending much less on clothing in this decade then the past decade. As Hart
said in her article, following the stock market crash, spirits dip back down and so do hemlines.
An explanation is given for this when Fuller stated, if you think about it, it makes sense.
When moneys tight, fashion is one of the first indulgences a consumer will sacrifice to save
money. Frugality becomes more important than trendiness. During tougher times, the focus is
less on passing fads and more on classic, quality pieces worth the expenditure because theyll
last. In other words, Fuller is suggesting that because money is tight, people are less willing to

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spend their money on something they dont absolutely need. They spend less money on the basic
items that will last longer. This was observed in the thirties when patterns become more simple
and less showy.
Jumping forward to the forties, you can see a small change in the hemline as the economy
improves. During this time, the length of dresses rose three or four inches. It can be observed
that as American advancement in World War II (1941-1945) increased, the dresses became more
curvy and brighter (Cosgrove). As World War II advanced, so did womens involvement role in
the war. They were helping more back at home while their husbands were fight in other
countries. As they got more responsibility in the war, their style becomes more broad, boxy and
aggressive(Hart). Shoulder pads became very big in this time period, and bolder colors were
noticed as the women got received more recognition and attention. Curves became more popular,
and more of the focus was on womens arms and shoulders in this time period. The trends in this
era were dictated by World War II.
Women's roles were changing, so they required different clothing, but also the availability
of supplies changes during war time. Pearson explains this more in depth in his article Fashion
Throughout The Decades when he said fashion can also be influenced by world events such as
war and the economy. For example, during World War II, people were only allowed a certain
amount of fabric, needles and thread, so they were forced to create simple outfits that were
practical enough for wartime duties. In other words, this quote is telling how directly the
economy changes trends fashion. If there was a shortage of an item, then that item will be less
available and quickly taken out of the industry. But, if an item became readily available, it would
be quickly added into the styles.

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These examples from the twenties through the forties show that although there are many
different factors that cause changes in fashion, trends are influenced more by the economy than
by anything else. Trends mirror a culture as it rises and falls, hemlines directly follow the ups
and downs of the economy and colors of the clothing reflect mood and atmosphere during any
era. Although there are other factors that affect clothing trends, the changes in the economy
directly seen in the changes of clothing.

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Works Cited
Cosgrove, Natalie. "How and Why Has Fashion Changed over the Last 50 Years?" FashioNZ.
25 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
Fuller, Gillian. "Economy Of Fashion: How Different Trends Reflect The Financial State."Elite
Daily. 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
Hart, Maria. "See How Much the "Perfect" Female Body Has Changed in 100 Years." Greatist.
15 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.
Pearson, Steve. "Fashion Through The Decades." The People History. Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Dec.
2016.
Platt, Eric. "Skirts Are Getting Shorter And That's Bullish For The Economy." Business Insider.
20 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
Zegheanu, Luciana. "Fashion Trends' Impact on Society." Not Just a Label. NJAL. Web. 19
Dec. 2016.