Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s
Many view the 1930s – a decade that emerged from the Jazz Age and ended with the onset of World War II – as the period in which truly modern clothing was created. As the rise of classicism became a dominate force in art and design, a balanced and well-proportioned body became the fashion ideal. The structure and rigidity of the Edwardian era and the shapeless styles of the 1920s were replaced by fashions that enhanced the human form without restricting it. Born of innovation and traditional craftsmanship, the phenomenon of modern and elegant dressing occurred in the realms of both women’s high fashion and men’s bespoke tailoring, as well as their respective accessories.
It is a compelling irony that the elegant and progressive qualities of 1930s fashions emerged during one of the most tumultuous periods of modern western history. Set between the stock market crash in 1929 and the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, this decade was a startling paradox, as the title of this exhibition suggests. From 1914 to 1945, the world was embroiled in two horrific world wars, with a soul-searing, catastrophic economic depression separating them. Yet despite these crises—or maybe in reaction to them—the 1930s exuded an especial elegance: the blatantly beautiful neo-classic, art moderne aesthetic.
Advances in textile technology and a strong reliance on craftsmanship led to a new, modern style of clothing. Inspired by the burgeoning, streamlined aesthetic and enriched by the growth of softer textiles, innovative tailors and dressmakers began to construct clothing without padding and boning. These “deconstructed” designs did not, however, lack shape and form.
By 1934, the classically inspired “Grecian” gown was being replaced by a more dramatic, full-skirted silhouette inspired by the romantic era. Madeleine Vionnet was utilizing her precise, geometric patterns to craft romantic gowns, such as this ivory organza version ornamented with black lace insets.
Silk organza with lace insets, 1937, France, collection of Beverley Birks
Classically-inspired gowns were popular during the 1930s. One of their greatest proponents was Alix, later known as Madame Grès. The epitome of the modern interpretation of classicism, her gowns were made with unorthodox materials, such as double-width matte silk jersey, that she hand-draped in the round.
Black silk jersey, 1938, Paris, gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren
Jean Patou was one of the great innovators of the interwar years. He is credited with leading the seismic shift from the short and boxy 1920s chemise to the long and languorous gowns of the 1930s. Like his rivals, Chanel and Lucien Lelong, Patou was a master stylist who successfully pioneered sportif clothing for women. Although Chanel is often viewed as fashion’s great modernist, Patou may have been better as both a designer and an innovator.
Brown cotton tulle, circa 1932, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks
Mitering is a woodworking term that describes a right-angled joint of two equal pieces. During the 1930s, mitering became a popular design motif. One of its early pioneers was American dressmaker Elizabeth Hawes. The vibrant gown seen here demonstrates her technical dexterity as well as her distinctive aesthetic vision. Its insistent bullseye pattern is softened with a gently draped and flowing skirt.
Lavender and ivory striped silk and rayon, circa 1936, New York, gift of Mrs. Dudley Schoales
Claire McCardell, the highly original American dressmaker, made her Grecian-inspired evening gown with synthetic crepe and employed mass production technology. Her version could be produced at a fraction of the cost of an haute couture original.
Black crepe faille, circa 1939, USA. gift of Denise Otis
By the 1930s, women were wearing functional yet spirited dresses as well as multi-piece ensembles. Although simply cut on the straight grain, the Louiseboulanger ensemble seen here is invested with labor-intensive details, such as miniscule darts for shape.
Brown and off-white printed silk crêpe, 1929, Paris, gift of Muriel King
Throughout the 1930s, many women regularly wore suits and coats inspired by menswear. One such example is the appropriation of a beefy fabric for this sharply tailored, brown tweed coat by Charles James. James was one of many designers experimenting with draping fabric on the bias, or oblique angle. Having no training as a dressmaker, he was unable to control the fabric’s unwieldy stretch. The interior’s torn lining is evidence of his initial efforts. The coat’s sharp lines and sporty look are not diminished, however, by its technical shortfalls.
Brown wool tweed, 1936, London, gift of Mrs. W. A. Birge
The spectrum of outfits for activities such as skiing, golf, and body-revealing swimwear expanded in the 1930s, mirroring the growth in technology that made sports clothes lighter and more functional.
Jantzen man’s “crab back” swimsuit with detachable zipper
During the 1930s, the standard work week was shortened to five days, providing more time for leisure activities. With that came a cultural shift toward vacationing outside during the summer. Sunbathing became a popular pastime and an overall tan was the new symbol of a healthy body. Swimsuits revealed more skin as the decade progressed—as seen in the crab-back style, for both men and women—and with the introduction of rayon, nylon, and stretch fibers such as Lastex (1931), became increasingly more fitted than earlier wool knit designs.
Blue wool knit , 1932, Portland, Oregon, museum purchase
A variety of decorative prints were incorporated into activewear for sports that ranged from swimming to skiing. The sharp, Art Deco lines in this bathing suit and cover-up emphasize the sleek, streamlined bodies of the swimmers, while the divers on the man’s beach robe provide a whimsical counterpoint.
This flight suit was designed for the chic aviatrix. The removable hood enables the wearer to transition from plane to country club, while vertical darts around the waist create a slightly fitted silhouette. An icon of the era, Amelia Earhart remains the most well-known of the many enthusiasts who popularized aviation as a sport for women during the 1930s.
Ivory rayon shantung, circa 1939, USA, museum purchase
The exterior of this ski ensemble is rendered in navy, whereas the jacket is lined in a witty, multicolor print of animals and plants. The “chamonix” was a popular style for ski pants during the 1930s, characterized by a streamline effect created by the stirrup. The style receives its name from the location of the first Winter Olympics, held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
Ski Togs, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, circa 1935, New York, gift of The Dorothea Stephens Wiman Collection
By 1937, over 5,000 private golf and country clubs had been established in the United States. Elegant golf ensembles provided ideal sartorial choices, as shown by these hand-knit sets. The stretch in knit allowed for a full range of motion while swinging a golf club. Windowpane and stripe patterns added a subtle decorative element, while the coordinating self-tie gave the look a feminine touch.
After the first World War, tweed became the great social leveler of casual and sports clothes for men in Great Britain. By the 1930s, tweed suits and jackets were worn for country daywear, golf, hunting and fishing, and leisure hiking. The Henry Poole tweed Norfolk jacket, with its bellows pockets, reinforced vertical straps, and belt, is a classic example
of the country genre.
Brown wool tweed Norfolk jacket, circa 1935, London, gift of the Estate of Kay Kerr Uebell
Savile Row tailored tweed coats were often accompanied by “Plus Fours”—short trousers that fell four inches below the knee—made from the same fabric or some other sturdy material. The three-piece country suit was tailored in the new, soft, draped London Lounge style by Peter Sheppard, whose father, Sidney Horatio Sheppard, became a partner with Per Anderson in the influential firm of Anderson & Sheppard.
Wool tweed, 1935, London, lent by Steven Hitchcock
Several garments from the Edwardian era made their way into the 1930s at-home leisure wardrobe, dressing gowns and smoking jackets among them. Sleepwear, including pajamas, became popular in Art Deco patterns, while at-home entertaining promoted shawl-collared variations of the dinner jacket in cut velvets.
Also, travel to warm weather locations became increasingly popular after World War I. In response, fashion creators began to design clothes especially for these casual, yet elegant, environments.
Although meant to be worn strictly within the domestic sphere, dressing and “at home” gowns were often rendered with as much care as evening wear. Filmy and sensuous, this silk chiffon ensemble—by Hélène Yrande, who specialized in intimate attire—was meticulously executed using tiny, hand-tucked pleats.
Coral and peach pleated silk chiffon, 1932, Paris, gift of Sophie Gimbel
If daywear constituted the “first” wardrobe, and sportswear the “second,” then formal wear was the “third” wardrobe for gentlemen during the 1930s. The most formal outfit was white tie and tailcoat for evening dress, and a swallowtail coat worn with an ascot or wedding tie for formal daywear.
Wedding gowns of the 1930s also evoked a blend of evening elegance and intimacy. The bridal creation by Jo Copeland is a rare, early example by a designer who was among the first Americans to have a successful, eponymous clothing line.
Off-white organza, 1937, New York, gift of R. J. Cuminale-Russo, in Honor of his mother, Carmela F. Russo
Jeanne Lanvin gown (licensed copy made by Bergdorf Goodman)
Although complex surface ornamentation fell out of favor by the 1930s, Jeanne Lanvin continued to utilize exquisite, though more subtle techniques such as embroidery and the paillettes seen here.
Black silk tulle with paillettes, circa 1935, New York, gift of Caroline Rennolds Milbank
Shoes became more visible—and thus more important aesthetically—as hemlines rose during the 1920s. Evening shoes were especially stunning, and often featured elaborate embroidery or beadwork. By the 1930s, surface ornamentation was largely replaced by bold, geometric designs that revealed
the influence of art moderne.
Black crêpe and silver metallic leather, 1938-1942, New York, gift of Carroll Cook
By draping soft crepes on the bias (or oblique angle), Madeleine Vionnet, one of the greatest dressmakers of the twentieth century, inspired a cadre of couturiers who revolutionized fashion and literally built the languorous styles of the age. Those in Vionnet’s sphere of influence included Alix Grès, Augustabernard, and Louiseboulanger in Paris; Elizabeth Hawes, Valentina, Claire McCardell, and Jo Copeland in New York; and costumiers in Hollywood, such as Adrian.
Augustabernard gown and slip (licensed American copy)
Although most extant Augustabernard designs were cut and draped on the straight grain, she did employ the bias. One such example is this extraordinary ivory tulle gown. It was made from a single length of fabric that was swirled around the body to form a double helix before fanning out at the hem and encircling the wearer in a gossamer pool of fabric.
Ivory tulle, 1934, New York, gift of Mrs. Jessie L. Hills
This dress by Augustabernard is draped on the bias and shaped with numerous, hand-sewn pintucks on the front and back torso. It was made for Muriel King, the American artist-turned-fashion designer.
Black-and-white printed silk, 1929, Paris, gift of Muriel King
The fashion cognoscenti consider Madeleine Vionnet to have been the greatest couturiere of her day. Called the “Euclid of Fashion” and the “Geometer of Couture,” Vionnet standardized draping by exploiting the possibilities of the bias and designs with mathematical precision. Her techniques were revolutionary, but so, too, was her aesthetic choice to reject darts, waistbands, inner linings, and corsetry. Vionnet produced effortlessly beautiful dresses, such as this lamé gown, that were deceptively simple in shape, cut, and manipulation.
Lamé, circa 1938, Paris, gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren
Augustabernard closed her atelier in 1934. Two of her best sample makers went on to work for Schiaparelli, creating gowns, such as this black crepe version, which subsequently became more complex in construction.
Black printed rayon, fall 1935, Paris, gift of Yeffe Kimball Slatin
The Neapolitan dandy-turned-purveyor, Gennaro Rubinacci, and his master tailor, Vincenzo Attolini, literally “deconstructed” the suit and created a garment as supple as a shirt, while in London, Frederick Scholte softened British tailoring with the creation of the London Lounge style as he pioneered the celebrated drape cut.
The dinner jacket, first seen in the latter years of the 19th century, was re-introduced in the 1930s in a double-breasted version, in black, midnight blue, and other colors. These jackets now followed the lines of the daywear London Lounge suit, with a fuller chest and back, broad shoulder line, suppressed waist, and close hip line.
Blue wool herringbone twill, 1937, Vienna, gift of Francis Knize
Men’s suits were cut to give the body a bit more shape than the sack-cut suits of the decades immediately preceding the 1930s. Waists were controlled with darts, and shoulders were constructed for shape and comfort.
Left: H. Harris
Wool tweed suit, 1934, New York, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Erik Rhodes
Right: Mac Donald-Heath
Gray wool suit, circa 1936, possibly London, gift of Mrs. Janet Chatfield-Taylor Braguin
Although dating to 1963, this subdued, double-breasted suit of the Duke of Windsor recalls the signature drape-cut styling of legendary 1930s tailor Frederick Scholte. With its slightly fuller chest and back, trim waist, and gently rolled lapels, the suit offers both softness and shape by following—though not adhering strictly to—the lines of the body beneath it. The paper pattern for the Duke is like a map for cutting a coat to alter the shape of the wearer by producing a contoured, tailored garment of classic elegance.
Left: James and James,
Duke of Windsor’s wool suit coat, cotton shirt, and silk tie, 1963, London, lent by Alan Bennett, Davies & Son
Right: Tailor unknown,
Paper pattern pieces for the Duke of Windsor’s jacket, circa 1960, London, lent by Alan Bennett, Davies & Son
London House unfinished Shetland wool summer jacket
The Neapolitan, half-finished, off-white wool summer jacket from the atelier of Rubinacci illustrates the architectural construction techniques of waist suppression, high armholes, and a curved and balanced chest. Gennaro Rubinacci first called his tailoring shop “London House” in order to denote his interest in British fabrics and style.
Cream Shetland wool, circa 1949, Naples, lent by the Rubinacci Museum
Daywear overcoats took on the sculpted shape of business suits. This one shows the soft, pleated shoulder and relaxed chest deconstruction of the Neapolitan school of tailoring.
Cotton, 1930s, Naples, lent by the Rubinacci Museum
The 1930s was the undisputed “golden age” of Hollywood. Film costumes were dazzling, often more so than their high fashion counterparts. The use of sequins and beading fell out of fashion by the late 1920s, but its consumption in Hollywood continued unabated.
This costume worn by Joan Crawford in the film The Bride Wore Red attests to the unabated use of sequins and beading despite its absence in fashion since the late 1920s. Draped partly on the bias, the gown is completely covered with what has been reported to be nearly 2,000,000 glass bugle beads, each one meticulously sewn on by hand.
Red wool with bugle beads, 1937, Hollywood, gift of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
These shoes once clad perhaps the most celebrated feet of the 20th century—those belonging to Fred Astaire.
Astaire’s 1930s films with Ginger Rogers not only made him a star entertainer, they also showcased his elegant, international style. Generations of moviegoers called him the world’s greatest dancer, as did his fellow dancers and choreographers, including Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and George Balanchine. Astaire became the sartorial icon of “The New Man,” a look that idealized a trim figure, athleticism, and casual grace.
Loan courtesy of the FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles; Department of Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles
Travel to warm weather locations became increasingly popular after World War I. In response, fashion creators began to design clothes especially for these casual, yet elegant, environments.
Madeleine Vionnet’s cotton, lace-like fabric is the result of subtle, meticulous handwork, in which each tiny, ovoid hole was overcast with miniscule, evenly calibrated stitches. Vionnet conceived the papillon sleeves and circular skirt using precise, mathematical patterns, a practice that was a hallmark of the great designer’s method.
Orange cotton, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves
Both single- and double-breasted resort wear favored lightweight fabrics and construction for day and evening wear in tropical climes. The Neapolitan jackets in cotton, linen, and tussore silk reflect the relaxed elegance of a Mediterranean resort, and are characterized by deconstruction: there are no interior linings, shoulder padding is minimal, and the chest infrastructure is soft.
Cotton and linen, 1930s, Naples, lent by the Rubinacci Museum
Left: Maker unknown
Cotton hand-knitted sweater and silk faille pants, circa 1937, New York,gift of Mr. & Mrs. B. S. Miller & G. H. Miller in memory of their mother, Florence Hart Miller
Right: London House
Italian yacht club mess jacket, black serge with crested brass buttons, 1930s, Naples, lent by the Rubinacci Museum
