A Very Concise Overview of Women's Clothing Styles From the Outset up to the mid-20th Century

There have been significant changes in design over the last a hundred or so years. Lots of variables prompted many of these developments eg the fall in development overheads and additionally the supply of lower cost materials.. Modern brands and labels for women for instance G Star Woman would have been unthinkable in for example 1920.

The period around the end of the eighteenth century was actually a time that showing ones legs and feet was actually unacceptable.

The Hobbel Skirt achieved its arrival in about the year 1900. When looking at the Hobble Skirt it is not very difficult to see why it had that name - it was in fact exceptionally difficult to walk in.

The world's first type of bra was designed around 1913 by Mary Crosby. It was made from a ribbon holding two handkerchiefs.

Nineteen fifteen saw the original switch of a lip gloss tube.

The length of womens' knickers reduced throughout the 1920s, making their way slowly but surely from beneath to above the knee.

The 1920s also saw a change in fashion from a feminine look toward a more boyish styles during the mid-20s. The leather alternate vinyl was developed in 1924 and incorporated into styles and designs.

Womens' styles changed again in the 1930s when women became slightly more conservative and feminine.

During the 1930s that Wallace Carothers invented nylon. This brought new design ideas..

Skirts got shorter through the Second World War as, well, there was less material for making them: everything, including textiles was rationed.

A brand new wave of design formed once the war ended. 1946 witnessed the arrival of the bikini. The curvy women's shape was crammed into our mind in 1947.

In 1946 the bikini was revealed to the world. In 1947 the 'New Look' from Christian Dior was announced bringing long skirts and narrow waists - the hour glass figure had been born. The second half of the 1940s was a time of fashion invention.

The 1950s saw the appearance of fuller, longer skirts and an over-all more feminine look.

The 1960s were a blend of a multitude of designs and styles but Mary Quant's mini skirt is really a particular icon.