The Evolution of the Working Girl’s Outfit
Modern day women are working prestigious jobs in competitive industries like never before. As a part of the millennial generation, I feel it is often misunderstood by young women and men how short a period of time women have been allowed in the workplace, particularly the office, and have been given similar rights to those men are born with since the beginning of our history as a species and group. In the Western Hemisphere, much has changed in the past hundred and fifty years towards the progression of women’s social and political rights. Women’s fashion has changed accordingly with history, women’s rights, and their introduction to the workplace in the past century. As women’s roles in society change, womenswear shifts as well, from domesticity to professionalism. Womenswear has made dramatic and important changes in the past century as women have become a part of the office.
Female integration into the workplace moved at a quick pace. Much of this is credited to the invention popularization of the typewriter in the 1880s. At this time, women’s fashions were still derivative of the past century’s traditions: women wore dresses which fell at their ankles, and lots of unnecessary undergarments (those including but not limited to several underskirts, a corset, bustle, chemise and drawers. These dresses were hand sewn and had a much narrower skirt than the fashions of the past, although they are fairly traditional in comparison of the changes which were about to take place in womenswear. Women’s fashions prior to their introduction into the office space were much less comfortable and allowed less mobility, it would be difficult to sit at a desk with a hoop skirt and a corset on. Women were confined to domestic roles and their clothing was an abstraction of this. Layers of tedious undergarments and inflexible dresses held women in their gender roles by separating their dress codes from men’s. Only about one thousand women in the United States worked in offices in the 1880s, and women’s role in the workplace was about to change.
By 1911, approximately 125,000 women had left domestic life behind to work in an office. By this time tailor made fashions had gained popularity. Because primarily young women who weren’t married or had children made up the bulk of the females workforce, clothing tended to reflect contemporary fashions. Skirts exhibited clean lines with a slim silhouette at the hip. These slim silhouettes were achieved with smocking and pleating. Skirts were paired with high-necked blouses. Skirts without hoops and petticoats allowed women to become more mobile and active, these fashions were much easier to wear than those before. Women were moving towards more sophistication and importance in the workplace and society. Although workplace conduct mostly involved typing and clerical work for women in the early 20th century, many women who took jobs in factories were given the same uniforms as men. But in the office, women were expected to wear feminine clothing.
During the first world war, many men were enlisted to join the army. Women were employed in their place, and therefore, the percentage of women in the workplace soared. Most of these women continued to wear high cut and simple blouses, which was often paired with a shorter skirt that hangs just below the knee as pictured. Postwar, many women maintained these jobs. Their fashions began to take after to those of men in some aspects, pinstripes and thick wools were introduced into garments, along with the standardization of the dark suit for women. Even so, womenswear remained confined to societal expectations of femininity. The feminine constituent of women’s workwear remained in the knee-length skirts, with cinched waists and an expectation of women to wear heels at work and in the home.
The Great Depression and World War II significantly changed the way women dressed in America. The Depression brought back a feeling of conservativeness, which lead to more traditional womenswear, with high waistlines and long skirts. Due to rationing during World War II, fabric became a precious commodity, which meant less fabric was used to produce dresses for women and the fabrics used were much lighter. Skirts were shortened to a knee length once again. Clothing was rationed until 1949. Christian Dior’s innovation, the hourglass figure, with a cinched waistline, became fashionable during this time period as well. If the war hadn’t lead to rationing of fabrics, it is difficult to tell if the shortening of skirts would have occurred in women’s fashion without judgement. The war effort was the top priority of American citizens, as a result shorter skirts were accepted, leading the way for the popular miniskirt in the upcoming decades.
The postwar period of the 1950’s and 60’s brought tailored and feminine aspects to womenswear. Tailored suits with fitted jackets and long pencil skirts gained popularity, as did conservative, yet playful colors pallets. Women also wore tan stockings with their work outfits along with a small heeled shoe. Women also began accessorizing with brooches and scarves instead of just typical pearls of the past decades. Accessorizing and bold color choices became a way for accomplished women to express their tastes and style. In the 1960’s office workers also began to wear sleeveless blouses and fabrics with a variety of geometric patterns, including polka dots and checkered designs, also allowing more expressive clothing options to women. By the end of the sixties, it was common for women to wear pastel yellows, pinks and blues to work.
It wasn’t until the later part of the twentieth century that women’s clothing truly began to reflect the growing presence of women in the workplace. Second-wave feminism was relevant during the 1970’s and influenced the creation of the power suit. Female workers who had before chosen to dress in more typically feminine clothing began dressing in ways which allowed women to have masculine features. Shoulder pads were very popular in women’s suits. Of equal importance was the prevalence of women wearing trousers in the workplace and elsewhere. Shockingly enough, it wasn’t until 1993 that the United States senate lifted its ban on women wearing pants in the Senate. The normalization and glorification of women wearing masculine garments is a magnificent visualization of how women began to find places in the workplace as not just office administrators, but as executives with truly valuable minds and opinions.
Today, women have more freedom than ever before. Although our society still favors males, women are allowed to choose where to work, where to live and what to wear. Even so, there are still expectations for professional women working in most office spaces. The modern woman is expected to look feminine, but not outwardly sexual in the workplace. She fears looking too masculine and is therefore pressured to dress in a traditional feminine manner. Women are often expected to wear heels and fear their clothing appearing either too conservative or too revealing. Women continue to be confined to dress certain ways by the social norms of today. ”Many women feel pressured to dress in an overtly or conventionally feminine way to be ‘more attractive’ to a male dominated workplace. It seems that how women dress in the workplace is still the last bastion of sexism, but does it tell us more about the insecurities of women, who feel they need to be judged on their appearance before their work?” Yes, women have come far in the workplace over the past hundred and fifty years, and so has womenswear. Based on this development in such a short period of time, it is exciting to consider the future for both successful, strong, and bright women and the garments they wear while taking over the world.
Annotated Bibliography
“The Arrival of Women in the Office.” BBC News. July 25, 2013. Accessed May 02, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23432653.
BBC’s online article explains how technological developments helped women become a part of the office and also provides statistics concerned with the numbers of women working in professional settings in the first half of the 20th century and was used as a source in that matter.
Conger, Kristen. “When Did Women Begin Wearing Pants?” Stuff Mom Never Told You. October 2, 2013. Accessed May 02, 2016. http://www.stuffmomnevertoldyou.com/blog/when-did-women-begin-wearing-pants/.
Conger’s article provides historical information about the introduction of the trouser into women’s wardrobes.
Corner, Frances. “THE HISTORY OF WOMEN’S WORKWEAR.” Harpers Bazaar. August 17, 2015. Accessed April 29, 2016. http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/people-parties/bazaar-at-work/news/a35201/the-history-of-womens-workwear/.
The author, Frances Corner, is the head of the London College of Fashion and wrote a brief article exploring ways women are restricted in their clothing choices today and have been throughout history. Corner makes many extremely relevant statements regarding the issues modern women face when dressing to go to work and was quoted to explain how sexism still impacts professional women.
Theresa Avila. “To See How Far Women Have Come, Just Look at Their Work Clothes.” Mic. 2015. Accessed April 20, 2016. http://mic.com/articles/120163/to-see-how-far-women-have-come-just-look-at-their-work-clothes#.QuUw5ykyQ.
Theresa Avila’s article provides historical connections to the changes which took place in womenswear during the 20th century. While this article was not directly related to womenswear, it provided interesting connections between social/political changes and fashion trends.
“Women’s Fashion Through History Timeline.” Timetoast. Accessed May 02, 2016. http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/womens-fashion-through-history.
Interactive timeline which provides photos and chronological order of women’s fashion trends in the 20th century while also making historical connections to changes in these trends.
Wild, Chris. “The Evolution of Women’s Workwear Through the Decades.” Mashable. 2014. Accessed April 29, 2016. http://mashable.com/2014/10/22/womens-workwear-20th-century/#t1B0kFDQskq7.
Chris Wild’s online publication is a photographic journal and timeline showing progressions in women’s fashion worn in the office from 1899 to 1999. The photographs are captioned with information about the photographs and observations of the fashions displayed in them. This article was generally used as a tool for observing a timeline of women’s clothing and observing the characteristics of the garments.
