Women's Fashion - How gender has influenced fashion

From the start of the 20th century a woman's form was restricted by Victorian fashion and forced into a curvaceous silhouette. In the case of the corset, women wore it as they believed it would pull them in and push them out in all the right places, allowing them to fit into the fashion of that era. Women's fashion was set to change dramatically throughout the years influenced by the changing roles women played in society.

During the late 30's the self-made leader of fashion at the time, Coco Chanel, was the first designer to adapt men's tailored suits when she wore breeched trousers and a tweed shooting jacket. This was a break through in fashion for women as it crossed gender stereotypes. Trouser suits were adapted slightly to fit women's forms and seen to create a sexual ambiguity, enhancing femininity with the re-working of men's clothing.

In the late 50's and 60's women's fashions changed radically again, flaunting a new relaxed attitude, quickly becoming the "In Vogue". The main attraction was the new, very daring, "mini-skirt", arguably the symbol of women's fashion in the "swinging sixties". This radical show of legs was fundamental in the changing of fashion history. This would be the first time that women, not of ill repute, had shown so much flesh in the past century. It was a major milestone in fashion for these new independent, freethinking women.

In today's society it is perfectly acceptable for women to wear whatever they like and so are offered a much more relaxed and varied choice of fashion. The most prominent cause of such dramatic changes in fashion was evidently the perception of a women's place in society. A complete shift from what was once perceived as a "Man's World" to a sexual revolution and the acceptance of a women's right to equality has subsequently had major influences on the fashions and styles of clothes offered to women today.