One of the hazard of my former job at the Library is that I can never keep up with my “to read” list. The latest book that I just finished and thoroughly enjoyed was called The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski. It’s a fascinating mix of early 20th century history and an overview of the principles taught by the so called “Dress Doctors”. I learned quite a bit about everyday American fashion in the 20th century as well as the history of home economics courses and books that taught women about style and fashion. I also was inspired to dress a little better myself.
Aftermath: Tyrannies of Age & Size
The chapter that I keep chewing on is called “Aftermath: Tyrannies of Age and Size” (don’t you just love when books make you keep thinking about them long after you have finished them?) It talks about the beginning of the American obsession with youth and being as thin as possible. According to the author, prior to the fashion revolt of the 1960s, age and maturity had many fashion compensations. Many felt that in order to wear the more sophisticated fashions, one would need to mature in to them and acquire the grace and elegance necessary to pull them off. And along with the obsession with youth came the obsession of extremely thin bodies. Aging past 20 (and having a woman’s body to match) became unfashionable.
The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish
A couple of interesting passages I wanted to share that left me thinking…
“Sophisticated styles of dress were reserved for the older woman. The Dress Doctors liked to point out that the Paris fashion houses aimed at dressing the woman over thirty, for only with maturity could a woman wear clothes “with an air of smartness and chic.”‘ (p 228)
“But the 1960s introduced a new difficulty by forgetting that age brings its rewards and by discarding the styles that best suited the older woman.” (p 261)
“Then the 1960s brought back the childish figure and launched our current Fear of Fat.” (p 266)
“The diaries of teenagers reveal an enormous shift in their understanding of what it means to be good. Before the 1920s, teenagers worried about becoming better people…. By the late twentieth century, teenagers worried almost entirely about their looks. Working on their bodies was their idea of being good.” (p 270)
Yikes! Especially on that last one! This book has certainly given me a lot of food for thought…
The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in fashion history. I love that it gives a glimpse into fashions and attitudes towards dress of the regular American woman as well as the history of the women and organizations of women who helped to shape those attitudes. As an “elder millennial” (that segment of us born in the early 80’s and not really fully belonging to the generation before or after), it’s amazing to think that our society’s obsession with youth and thinness is a recent phenomenon!
Fashion Is a Dictator
To be sure – fashion has been a tyrant in many eras and societies beyond our own. We have molded and padded our bodies to represent the fashionable figure of the moment, applied poisonous lead based makeups to our skins, and countless other modifications for years without number. But I do find it both interesting and sad that we have added yet another impossible requirement that is even less possible to achieve – to stay eternally young.
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