Fashion Details Lecture Week 2 Recap

The Edwardian Period

The Silhouette

A silhouette is a dark outline or a solid shape of an object in restricted light against a bright background. The word also has been used in fashion to describe the shape of a person's body by wearing a garment of a particular style or period.

The Hourglass, S-Bend

The Hourglass Silhouette

As more women entered the workforce, their wardrobe had to be change to fit their roles outside of their home. They wore tight and restricting clothes to show off their wealth. The bustle disappeared and the silhouette simplified. The overall silhouette of the 'Hourglass' was described that it was wide at the shoulders and narrow around the waist and wide again at the hips. This silhouette is also worn with hats outdoors and were often decorated with taxidermy birds, feathers, and silk flowers were popular millinery trims. Plain straw boaters and other hats with brims were popular. While bonnets were still worn during this period, the hat was all the rage.

Hats with feathers and silk flowers.

Leg-O mutton sleeves, ruff lace collar, wrist length sleeves

Their outfits also included extremely wide, leg-O mutton sleeves puffed out at the shoulder and narrowing down at the wrist. Skirts were bell shaped, fitting smoothly at the waist and flared down often to a maxi or floor length. The skirt was also more concentrated at the back and was decorated with embroidery, lace, braids and trimmings.

Lacing and Boning

Boning placement. Lacing and boning on the corset. Length starts from the bust to the hips.

Edwardian S Bend Corset

How the corset would mould the waist into a S-bend silhouette.

The silhouette was achieved by wearing a corset which was tightly-laced, heavy-boned that removed pressure from the abdomen which decreased the waistline and was moulded into a S-bend curve. Corsets restricts the body so much that it lead to a serious health issue. However, people of that period would still wear it for the sake of fashion despite the consequences.

(Reference articles: http://www.maggiemayfashions.com/turncentury.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900s_in_Western_fashion )

Types of Edwardian Corsets

Outfits

Left lady: Jabot collar, Morning coat and a Maxi length skirt.

Right Lady: Turtleneck undershirt, V neckline and a floor length dress.

Technical Flats

Technical flats are black and white flat technical drawings thats shows a garment as if it were laid flat to display all seams, topstitching, hardware, and any other design details.

( Reference article: http://www.designersnexus.com/fashion-design-portfolio/digital-fashion-flat-sketches/ )