Fashion+History+final+project

= Changes in fashion from the 1900's to present day and how this affected the Feminist Movement... =

@http://www.flickr.com/photos/rauchdickson/4871769935/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Have you ever stared at your closet as the clock ticked by thinking, //what am I going to wear to school today???// Well I know I have! Why do I care how I dress? How will others look at me if I wear this versus this? I wonder what my mom and grandma used to wear to school? I wonder what people wore before jeans were invented? .... etc. These were some of the questions I had when I started my project, and although the answers to //all// of my questions will never be answered, at least I got the chance to explore some of them.

An exhibit titled **"American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity"** was on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition explores some American women fashion trends from 1890-1940, and how they have affected the way modern American women are seen in society today. You can watch a video of the display by going to the link below. I hope this will give you a better idea and view of how much fashion has evolved and influenced women throughout history. @http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId=%7BCA088C8E-D618-4503-91E7-833569115BF2%7D

After watching this video, I realized that video's are an excellent way of capturing an audience's attention and getting one's point across. I really wanted my audience to see the changes in American women fashion throughout the years, and what better way to do this than a video? fashion history project proposal

media type="youtube" key="HL2dGQxTZoo" height="349" width="425"

The thesis for my editorial was: Although people may think that fashion is of little importance, it is in fact a major reflection of American history and the evolution of women in society. I focused on the 1920's and 1940's-2000's. @fashion editorial The thesis for my research paper was similar to that of my editorial: Although fashion may appear of little importance, it is in fact a major reflection of American history and contributor to the feminist movement and the evolution of women in society. I went into more debt about how fashion has influenced the feminist movement and changed the way women identify themselves in society. @Fashion research paper

For my expert source, I interviewed a man named **Daniel Delis Hill**, who is a fashion expert and author of many books on fashion. He grew up in Tennessee, and earned his BA and MA in art history. Since graduating, he has held several different jobs and completed six books. He has also made time to paint and draw at his home in San Antonio, Texas. During our email interview, he provided some great insight into the importance and role of fashion. You can learn more about him and his books by clicking on the link below. []

**Final thoughts**... The reason why I chose this topic for my project is because I am fascinated at the different trends that have, at one time, seemed normal, but might look ridiculous to this day and age. I was talking to my mom one day about what kinds of clothing were “in” during her teenage years, and was surprised to find that some of the styles back then have come full circle and are “in” again, such as hiphuggers with belts, short shorts and dresses, bikinis, and halters. However, some of the fashions are considered “out” such as bell-bottoms and overalls. My mom also said that “the perm” was extremely “in” during her youth, until studies found that the chemicals were very bad for your hair, so the “natural” look for hair came back. Although fashion today may seem less important to the feminist movement, fashion was very influential (and still is) in shaping how women perceive themselves and how others perceive them. I think that today, women may not give much thought to the way they dress, which takes the feminist movement a few steps back from where we were a few decades ago. Because we, as women, now have the freedom of dress, we should treasure and appreciate these rights and express ourselves to the best of our abilities.