A 100-year history

Written by TEHYA CAREY Graphics by SAVILLA BRODHEAD

Clothes are the first visual impression that we make of one another. They transcend language and give us the ability to be heard or make a statement even in instances where freedom of speech is taken away. It serves as an outlet for people to express themselves and their experiences, and has long been utilized as a tool to show political solidarity or even rebellion. This becomes increasingly more apparent when we look at America’s sociopolitical history over the past century.

In the decades-long fight for women’s suffrage, white bloomers were often worn in the earlier stages of the movement which was not common for women at the time. This progressed into women wearing white, as it represented purity and femininity. Many female politicians choose to wear white today as a nod to the suffragists who fought for their place in the political scene.

During the 1940s, clothing became a way for people to support the war effort without getting too involved. Textiles with slogans such as “V for Victory” and bright patterns of red, white and blue became very popular. With fashion serving as a political outlet, clothing became controversial.  Zoot suits, which were popularized by black, Mexican and Filipino Americans were deemed unpatriotic due to the baggy fit and excessive use of fabric used in them. They continued to wear them however, as a way of representing their individuality and cultural pride despite the hardships they were subjected to for wearing the suits, such as police brutality. 

After the men returned from World War II, women were ejected from the workforce and were socially pressured into docile, homely roles. Modest, hourglass like silhouettes were popularized along with slogans and ads encouraging women to shop for clothes and makeup.  The cultural shift in perspective of a woman’s role  back then was evident in the trending fashion, which was used to position them as soft and ladylike after the “Rosie the Riveter” campaign of WWII (which was controversial enough on its own due to the women taking on“masculine” roles and uniforms). 

As we can see, fashion can be used by anyone to convey a statement. Whether it be corporations and the government’s way of trying to create influence through trends or people expressing their stances on societal and global issues,clothes are a mouthpiece to signal who someone is and what they stand for. A great example of fashion being used as defiance and societal commentary is hip-hop culture. It associated oversized clothing and jewelry worn by black and latino Americans with resistance to the white mainstream social hierarchy. Today, artists choose to continue dressing themselves in the hip-hop style to pay homage to the generations before them. No matter how rich or famous they become, artists will continue dressing in clothes too big for them and heavy jewelry because hip-hop, and its apparel, is  a form of resistance, helping marginalized groups  make their presence known in places they have otherwise been excluded.

Ultimately, what we wear has always been more than style; it is a form of communication that speaks across barriers. Even when speech is restricted, clothing allows people to assert identity, share their stories and align themselves with movements or acts of defiance.