The History and the Present Situation of Peplum Skirt (3)

The fashion of the 1950s is now seen as promoting one of the strength of women returning home. Unlike 1940's box-shaped outline package, the suits of the 1950s pursued the aesthetic standards of the French fashion. It emphasized the fragile femininity, such as the form of the soft shoulder line, stiletto heels, long gloves and knee circle skirt. Even the dress of the working women had these qualities. Peplum was decorated outside the suit jacket, adding charm to pencil skirt. The cap was decorated with veil and feathers and a subtle sexy thus had a faint sense of decoration. It was used to contrast of the simplicity of 1940s fashion style. Although Christian Dior continued to introduce the A-shaped and H-shaped contour after the 1950s, X-shaped hourglass contour was still the classic. It made the later designers to follow this trend.
“Between the barren and the abundance”, the peplum rose between two dramatic times changes. It is so similar with Flapper Girl jazz dress’s background. In the 1920s, jazz girls wore clothes with lowered waistline and their skirts were loosely straight. It was like blowing in the wind for the pretense old world. However, the men went out to sing a different tone. Astronomer, William Arnold Granger, failed to appreciate the boyish straight line. For the waist, he had some odd but extraordinary interest. He assumed that the extreme disparity in waist to hip ratio contained the highest level of beauty. His wife, Ethel, first met him in 23 years old. She was chasing the trend to wear flat and straight. However, Mr. Granger successfully brainwashed her. Her waist was down to 23 inches, as well documented in the 1950s as the world's first slender waist.
This extreme femininity of "obsequiousness" was copied on the cover of the last September issue of Italian Vogue. Model Stella Tennant imitated Ethel Grange. Face perforation plus wasp waist shape make a person seem to be suffering. Whether you regard such self-injurious behavior as beautiful, at least we have to admit that the fashion world the ideal image of women has always been man-made landscape. How to find the perfect image of yourself in men’s eyes? Women have always been curious about this. Ethel Granger’s extreme obedience was going too far. But by the late 1960s, women began to have such a state of mind: men can be landed on the moon, how can a woman maintain their own mysterious charm? Such an argument existed in 1969’s press. Media at that time was keen on advocating the "feminization" of the woman, even the corset made a comeback. Advertising gave it a nice attractive name: "Romantic clothing”. “Put it on and to emphasize you femininity” even became a conceptual revolution. However, this ideal of the feminine image is not always a natural presence. The beauty of body is also a feeling of beauty. Interest in this beauty cannot be superficial. Better improvement of their form has more long-term effects than simply bounding or freeing a woman's body.

Jason Wu Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion Show