CONTRAST BETWEEN THE MODERN SUIT AND FEMININE FASHION

The construction of women’s garments began to change dramatically with the creation of draping in the early 20th century. This dressmaking method, a modern invention that emerged from the ateliers of the Parisian haute couture prior to World War I, allowed for more fluid and less restrictive garments. For a number of years, the clean lines of the Art Moderne style not only bestowed the look of freedom – their bodies were actually more liberated as corsets and other underpinnings fell out of fashion in the 1920s.

After World War II, however, women’s fashions became more decorous and increasingly reliant on sculptural forms and extraneous details. Today, high fashion continues to dress women in colorful silks and ruffles; corsets and petticoats have made a comeback. Like the women who came before her – in their floral, 18th-century robes à la Français, or Art Nouveau gowns over an S-shaped corset – the woman of today is the sensual flower of fashion.

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