A Study of American Women’s Clothing Culturefrom Feminist Campaign

Abstract：America has experienced dramatic changes for more than three hundred years.As for American womens clothing，it changed from Victorian 18-inch corsets，dark brown dresses to casual clothes and fashionable miniskirts.Meanwhile，American womens social status，values and even their consciousness changed also.This thesis aims to study the clothing culture with a focus on the campaign of American feminism，so as to study how womens clothing reflected American womens consciousness and social status.

Key words：clothing culture；feminism；self-consciousness

1 The colonial period：womens dark brown gowns

1.1 Women of no feminist consciousness in colonial period

In the 17th century，Europeans began to immigrate to the New Continent in large number.Women definitely became an indispensable part of these immigration.But American womens awareness of feminism can be traced back to the 1840s instead of 17th century.According to the Bible，women are the original sinners and are subordinate to men.Under such circumstances，the colonial period is a time which reflects the absence of real American feminist consciousness.

1.2 An analysis of womens clothing in colonial period

Many of the first settlers who became the founding fathers of America were Puritans.They were a group of serious，religious people，advocating high religious and moral principles.Puritan clothing we can see that were usually very long，in dark color，and covered the whole body of women.Picture one and two in the appendix depict the clothing of American puritan women.

In colonial period，womens dresses were referred to as gowns.A cap is an indispensable part of womens gown.The cap was worn by women and girls to cover their heads.It was a practical piece that allowed the head to be dressed without styling the hair.At the same time it protected the hair from everyday dust and dirt so that the hair need not be washed as frequently.

In colonial period，women had no real consciousness and they were subordinate to their husbands.They put all their time in house-caring and wore what the society required them to wear.

2 The first feminism period：the coming exposure of womens bodies

2.1 The first wave of American feminism from 1860 to 1914

The first wave of American feminism began in the middle 1800s and ran through the 1920s.Some women began to question the social attitudes toward them.They felt that they were under the control of society and men and they can no longer bear this situation.Then，these women appeared to demand equal civil rights and defy social conventions and choose their own lifestyles and clothing.

2.2 The awakening women and their clothing style changing

Thanks to the first wave of the feminism that laws of inequality were abolished.As womens consciousness awakened in the early 19th century，women began to change their conscious in many social activities.Clothing style changing is distinctive.

During the first years of the 19th century，women dressed with high waistline that emphasized womens breasts and skirts that ended in decorative pattern.The neckline，usually rounded，could be cut high or low.After several years，corsets appeared which fastened the waist，but also caused great bodily harm to women.Then，American women accepted another fashionable dress style that they gave up hoopskirt and began to expose a portion of their legs.

3 The Second feminism period：womens playful and casual clothing

3.1 The second wave of American feminism from 1914 to 1960

The second wave of American feminism refers to the increase in feminist activity which occurred in America，Britain and Europe.It emerged in the early 1960s and focused on uncovering male sexism and the domestic oppression of women.

Political changes have always been the essential element and origin of feminism，and the center of the second wave of feminism was the rise of womens consciousness of gender oppression.The second wave of feminism did not just make an impact upon western societies，but has also continued to inspire the struggle for womens rights across the world.

3.2 Modern women and modern clothing

In the period following World War One，womens clothing changed greatly.American enjoyed the image of playful leisure clothing.Women of fashion often wore clothing with soft lines.Women began to expose more of their bodies.The skirt lines ended just above the ankles.Fur pieces and button were combined together to create complicated care for the dress.

By the 1960s and 1970s，many women regarded pantsuits as indispensable，and wore them at home and work.The miniskirt，which found popularity especially among the young，was individualized by a variety of materials，patterns and accessories.

The clothing revolution was reflected by the feminist movement and womens consciousness changes.As the clothing changing，womens social status come to be equal with men that there were less sexual discrimination and no women were the subordination of men.

4 Conclusion

Through analyzing womens dresses in three different periods，we can find the evolution of womens clothing as well as the development of their consciousness.In the colonial period，women were disciplined under strict Puritan values that they were forced to wear long，dark colored dresses and dare not expose any part of their physical beauty.At this time，women were subordinate to men and they were used to listen to their men.We can say that women in colonial period were a group people of no self value and no self consciousness.As time passed，clothing designs diversified and the quality of clothing materials also had a breakthrough.Designers of womens clothing became bolder.The most important thing was that women were not bound up so tightly by their clothing as before.It was lucky for women to have the consciousness that they had to fight for themselves and they did so.From their not so tight clothing we came to see the free-eager spirits.They came to have the sense of liberty and equality.During the 20th century，with womens job opportunities and the conditions of their social status changed，women had more choices in the clothes they wore.They could enjoy more comfortable and simple design dresses.Fortunately，during the 20th century，American women changed themselves totally.They are independent and tough and brave as well as men.Now，they are free，not only in their clothing but also in their spirits.

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作者簡介

李春梅（1990.10.28—），女，漢族，四川成都，高校行政老師/助教，大學本科學歷，任職于西南交通大學希望學院，研究方向為英語教育、英美文化。