THE HISTORY OF

1930
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
 1930 was a return to Femininity. The 1930’s as the great depression, it was the time of
hunger, breadlines, starvation, desperation and of mass unemployment.
 it was the time of the of the dust storms. People who had lost everything living on the
sides of the roads. Yet it was also the time of tremendous glamour and silliness as the
rich got richer as the majority of the people got poorer.
 so poor that some of the little children had to sleep in boxes and yet Hollywood
glamour was so glamourous,
 people wanted escapism so badly, to escape from the horrible lives that they were
forced to live.
 Fashion had never been more elegant, more sumptuous and glamourous and it had never
been this heartbreaking as well.
1930’S IDEAL BODY TYPE
 People who didn’t have this sleek and slinky body type used clothes to look
the part. The era of the great depression affected fashion in its entirely.
MAKE-UP
 The A pale and very
The face eyebrows neutral Everything And a
was made were made eyeshadow was was about natural and And 30’s
paler by high and used generally the false quite red hairstyle
using incredibly which was dark glossy lip
powder thin mauve or light eyelashes
lilac
WHAT THE FASHION WAS
LIKE
 Fashion of the 30’s was all about propriety and ladylike femininity. Rules
were back in force and the look was softly tailored with gentle prints,
mostly muted colors and a delicacy that was a direct backlash to the boyish
boldness of the 20’s
 The great depression was the reason basically for the drop-in boldness and as
well as the change in the hemlines more like people dressed modestly due to the
hard times, they were facing compared to what they used to wear in the 20’s.

 hemlines plummet, tailoring rules and the wild boyish look on the twenties is
replaced by a modest and sophisticated femininity.
1930’S COLOR PALETTE
 The 30’s palette was very soft, Dusty, muted and lady like.

 Ladies in the 30’s were playful with new fashion ideas just like polka dots. People
were crazy for polka dots in the 1930’s, ever-fresh, becoming and fashion right. They
were so famous that there were even polka dot shoes and polka dot ties.
 as the poor got poorer and rich people got wealthier, the rich to show off their
wealth would wear evening wear that was so silky, slinky and often with a metallic
sheen.

 Here are some images of the 30’s movie stars wearing such evening wear.
 The 1930’s saw the birth of backless. This was something new and shocking as
well as gorgeous. This couldn’t be done in the 20’s as the most that was done
was a dress that was scooped from the back.
RIVIERA
 The rich used to go to Riviera for sports or play. Women used to wear
backless and pajama pants which were only allowed on such occasions.
Women even used to sun tan which became a fashion while vacationing
similar to the pants which became acceptable for sport and resort. Resort
collection were a product of the wealthy of the 1930’s vacationing Cote
d’Azur.
AFRICA
 In the 1930’s Africa became a craze for the rich people and they would go
on safari over there. Thus, for the first time we see leopard and cheetah in
fashion designs.
DESIGNER OF THE DECADE
 The designer of the 30’s was Elsa Schiaparelli. Schiap (as she was known to
her friends) offered Surrealist fun and silly whimsy to increasingly
frightened and desperate world. She was very aligned with a surliest art
movement. She was friends with people like Cocteau, Margarete, Dali etc.
The great depression was devastating lives, Fascism was on the rise, and
Schiap knew all this and she responded with lighthearted escapism
 This is a tear
A dress
dress. If u look She designed this along with
with a
at it carefully it Cocteau. The figure’s hair is
bustle
looks like a dress curving and flowing down the make this particularly
that is being torn arm and the hand is reaching playful Schiaparelli
down the pocket. dress world famous
which was known as
the “Lobster dress”.
 This is her famous skeleton
dress looking like the bones are
pultruding through the dress, all
done with padding
 

A button in the shape of a Buttons made in the shape of A shoe hat by Elsa
mermaid A glove with nail polish A pair of shoes covered in fur Schiaparelli
beetles and lips.
  Another designer of the decade was Adrian. Here are some of Adrian’s
designed dresses as well as the ruby shoes designed by himself. He designed
the costumes for wizard of Oz.

in this movie which is black and white

with an all-female cast and was made
only for men. There is a ten-minute
technicolor fashion show with Adrian’s
designs.
STYLE ICONS
 The style icon of the 1930’s was Greta Garbo. She was an actress, a movie star
originally from Sweden who came to Hollywood to become a Hollywood star.
She really was the first person to do the skinny eyebrow and the hair that was
flat and curly at the bottom. She was declared by the Guinness book of world
records as the most beautiful woman of all time. In terms of fashion she was the
first person ever to embrace a slouchy pant look. She made casual extremely
chic
 Another style icon of the 30’s was Marlene Dietrich. She was a Hollywood
although she was German. She performed a lot of naughty roles and was the
first woman ever to dress as a man
 The first androgynous superstar who wore pant and suits just like the men in
her normal life as well as films. The mayor of Paris told her if she ever wore
pants and suits, she would be banned and she still did and wasn’t banned for
it. She absolutely corresponded with 30’s beauty aesthetic
 Another style icon of this era whose work started in the 20’s but reached the
height of its fame in the 30’s. Her name was Amelia Earhart, she was a pilot
an aviatrix to be precise and an adventurer and a remarkable woman. She had
an extremely iconic look with her leather flying jacket and a hat.
 She also was a designer with her name on a luggage collection and fashion
collection, sportswear by Amelia Earhart.
 Another style icon were Edward VIII and Mrs. Wallis Simpson.
 Edward VII was the heir to the throne of England The British era was at its
height during this era. He fell in love with a divorced and not very pretty
American woman who was quite brash and spent tons of money on clothes and
was a party
 girl yet he was besotted by her. Their romance caused an outrage as he couldn’t
marry her as the British king could not marry a divorced woman during those
times. People really imitated Wallis and Edward.
 He made a speech to British public that he was unable to continue his duties
without the woman he loved. Everyone was outraged as the Britain was on
the brink of war and the king went off to marry after abdicating which he
actually did follow through on. The dress Wallis wore on her wedding was
so famous that everyone wore versions of it during their own weddings
 The dress was known as “Windsor Blue” as they were the duke and
Duchess of Windsor.
THE DARKER SIDE
 Although fashion was at its peak ,for so many people the great depression was the
most devastating life experience. You would think that fashion wouldn’t play in with
them. Feed manufacturers started packaging the sacks with colorful patterns so that
the women who lived in the dust bowl, after feeding their chickens with the feed
would wear these sacks as clothing. Below is a picture of a family in which all the
children are wearing feed sacks as clothing.