How to Dress for A Depression: The 1930s and Women's Fashion

All parties must end, but the spectacular and catastrophic end to the 1920s -- that wonderful decade of design, decadence, dress, parties, huge financial speculation and finally disaster is still known as the Great Depression.  Nothing before or since has equaled the economic meltdown that followed the crash of the stock market in October of 1929.  The Great One finally swept away the Gilded Age, almost overnight.  Eventually a more financially equal society would rise up, but it took a while for the reality of the Crash to actually settle in:

As Stella Blum puts it, "One might be tempted to think the the financial deprivations suffered by most people during the Depression would have brought fashion to a halt, but only the catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co. at first reflected the economic tumble."

Even in the spring of 1930 the Sears catalog the import of what had happened had not yet been fully realized: A full page of ads for electrical gadgets seems to assume continued prosperity."


But, by 1932 the Sears catalog noted that "these are not ordinary times". The emphasis was on repairing, rather than replacing.

Thrift was in. Reckless spending was out.  No one had much to spend anyway! Women repaired, remade, remodeled old dresses.  But there was a lot of creativity and inspiration for them to draw on, for fashion was still very important, regardless of economic circumstances.  And it was changing.

Stella Blum again: "That fashions did change, and that people, whatever their circumstances, did try their best to follow them, is a potent argument for the view of fashion as a psychological and sociological necessity." An example of this need to carry on regardless of circumstances is that dress styles in the 1930s actually used more cloth than the styles of the 1920s.

Bette Davis, 1930s

Ironically, existing right beside the need to economize and remake older outfits, a huge influence on fashion in the 1930s was Hollywood glamour. The movie industry was now an established force for cultural change. People flocked to the movies as an escape from the drudgery, despair and poverty that was reality for so many.  The Golden Age of Hollywood began, with stars like Ginger Rogers, Jean Harlow, Bette Davis and Claudette Colbert, wearing glamorous outfits and jewelry, playing larger than life roles on the Silver Screen.

Jean Harlow, 1930s

The full length garden party dress with picture hat, the striking wool suit with a fur picture collar and the grand negligee were all developed for screen and mass consumption.

Gone was the boyish, devil-may-care dress of the 1920s flapper. Waistlines returned to the actual waist, skirts lengthened and became fuller.  A more feminine, curve defining silhouette returned to womens' dresses. Puffs on sleeves were popular and square shoulders emphasized the now tight fitted torso.

Bias cut fabrics (the cut was created by Madeliene Vionnet) became staples of evening wear in silks and satins.  Synthetic fabrics like nylon also were used.

The iconic 1920s cloche hat was also gone, replaced by berets, pillboxes and brimmed hats.  Turbans became popular later in the decade.

1930s Evening Gown, DaisyandStella

Sportswear became even more dominant -- and that harbinger of Rosie the Riveter, overalls for women, first appeared in the Spring 1930 Sears catalog.

Art Deco design was still a major influence in jewelry design, but jewelry overall became more sophisticated and glamorous. Lines softened. As civil unrest in Europe increased prior to WWII many jewelers fled to America. American tastes were incorporated into jewelry design.  Of course, the glamour of the Big Screen had a huge affect on costume jewelry.

1930s Velvet Dress, StrayLightVintage

Hollywood became a marketing playground for fashion and costume jewelry designers alike. Affordable versions of jewelry and clothing designed for movies and Hollywood royalty were also mass produced and made available in department stores for women. Brand placement was invented!  Some of the more famous actresses of the day modeled for the department stores, helping to seal the deal.



Jewelry company names like Eisenberg, Hobe and Trifari began their rise to prominence in the 1930s. Wonderful KTF glittering fur clips and spectacular parures by Hobe are examples of the finest in 1930s costume jewelry.

1930s Eisenberg Fur Clip, KatsCache

Some of the best known designers and manufacturers of 20th century costume jewelry all seemed to get a foothold in the market of the 1930s. Marcel Boucher, Elsa Schiaparelli, Miriam Haskell and other well known designers all influenced 1930s jewelry design. Coro, Trifari, Lisner and other companies began large scale production in the 1930s -- the idea being to provide affordable (with exceptions) pieces of jewelry to women who otherwise could not afford to buy. The quality in these brands differed -- but there were new trinkets of all prices available.


A jewelry designer whose aesthetic fit well with the 1930s refined sensibilities was Miriam Haskell. She was interested in achieving a look that finished an entire ensemble. Hers truly was costume jewelry in the truest sense of the word -- finely designed, handmade confections to finish off an outfit meant to go together from head to toe. She used all sorts of materials, from plastics to fine faux gems and her trademark Russian gold gilding.

Sketch for Miriam Haskell Jewelry

Indeed, plastics such as bakelite and celluloid were used extensively to create jewelry from the whimsical to the very sophisticated.  Bakelite cherries dangling cheerfully off of bakelite chain necklaces are an example of the creative use of plastic in costume jewelry that really took off in the 1930s.

The Hollywood Regency design movement that mixed elements of Georgian and Regency period architecture and furniture design with the Moderne period began in the 1930s and extended to jewelry.

The great irony of beautiful jewelry and clothing designed for fantasy and marketed for mass consumption during a time of terrible economic distress actually makes sense -- the need for something uplifting and elegant -- a sign that things perhaps were not as bad as they really were was a very human reaction to the turmoil that the Depression introduced into once stable lives. A refined, complete look, from hats to shoes and accompanying jewelry makes the 1930s a stand out time for fashion.

Gallery

1930s Enamel Brooch, TheJewelSeeker

1930s Celluloid Necklace, VintageImagine

Bias Cut Evening Gown

Vionnet Day Ensemble, The Met

Hat Designs, 1930s

Refined 1930s Makeup and HairStyle

Complete Outfit Pattern, 1930s

Pattern for Overalls, 1930s

So Put Together!

Evening Gown

                                           References

Blum, Stella:  Everyday Fashions of the Thirties as Pictured in Sears Catalogs, Dover Publications, 1986

Brunialti and Brunialti: American Costume Jewelry: Art & Industry, 1935-1950

VintageFashionGuild.org - Fashion Timeline, 1930-1940

CollectorsWeekly.com - Eisenberg Jewelry

CollectorsWeekly.com - Vintage Lucite Jewelry

MorningGloryJewelry.com