Fashion in the period throughout the years 1900-1909 in European and European-influenced and American women with the countries continued the period, as do women’s broad hats and full “Gibson girl” hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment of fashionable women.
http://www.himfr.com/buy-free_shirts/”>free shirtsWith the decline of the bustle, sleeves began to increase in size and the 1830s silhouette of an hourglass shape became popular again. The fashionable silhouette in the early 1900s was that of a mature woman, with full low bust and curvy hips. The “health corset” of this period removed pressure from the abdomen and created an S-curve silhouette.[1]
In 1897, Silhouette slimmed and elongated a considerable amount. Blouses and dresses were full in front and puffed into a “pigeon breast” or monobosom shape of the early 20th century that looked over the narrow waist, which sloped from back to front and was often accented with a sash or belt. Necklines were supported by very high boned collars. [2]
Skirts brushed the floor, often with a train, even for day dresses, in mid-decade.
Around 1908, the fashion houses of Paris began to show a new silhouette, with a thicker waist, flatter bust, and narrower hips. By the end of the decade the most fashionable skirts cleared the floor and approached the ankle. The overall silhouette narrowed and straightened, beginning a trend that would continue into the years leading up to the Great War.
Frothy washable day dresses of translucent linen or cotton, called lingerie dresses, were worn in warm climates. These were trimmed lavishly with tiny pintucks, lace insertions, embroidery, and passementerie. Their origins lie in the artistic or aesthetic dress and the adoption of the uncorseted tea gown for wear outside the home.
Unfussy, tailored clothes were worn for outdoor activities and traveling. The shirtwaist, a costume with a bodice or waist tailored like a man’s shirt with a high collar, was adopted for informal daywear and became the uniform of working women. Wool or tweed suits called tailor-mades or (in French) tailleurs featured ankle-length skirts with matching jackets; ladies of fashion wore them with fox furs and huge hats. Two new styles of hats that became popular at the turn of the century is the automobile bonnet for riding and sailor’s hat worn for tennis matches, bicycling and croquet.
This decade marked the full flowering of Parisian haute couture as the arbiter of styles and silhouettes for women of all classes. Designers sent fashion models or mannequins to the Longchamp races wearing the latest styles.[4], and fashion photographs identified the creators of individual gowns.[5] In 1908, a new silhouette emerged from Callot Soeurs, Vionnet at the house of Doucet, and most importantly, Paul Poiret[6]. The styles were variously called Merveilleuse, Dir?ctoire, and Empire after the fashions of the turn of the nineteenth century, which they resembled in their narrow skirts and raised waistlines.
The new styles featured form-fitting gowns with high or undefined waists, or ankle-length skirts and long tunic-like jackets, and required a different “straight line” corset. The Paris correspondent for Vogue described this new look as “straighter and straighter … less bust, less hips, and more waist…how slim, how graceful, how elegant…!”
The sack coat or lounge coat continued to replace the frock coat for most informal and semi-formal occasions. Three-piece suits consisting of a sack coat with matching waistcoat (U.S. vest) and trousers were worn, as were matching coat and waistcoat with contrasting trousers, or matching coat and trousers with contrasting waistcoat. Trousers were shorter than before, often had turn-ups or cuffs, and were creased front and back using the new trouser press.[9]
Waistcoats fastened high on the chest. The usual style was single-breasted.
The blazer, a navy blue or brightly-colored or striped flannel coat cut like a sack coat with patch pockets and brass buttons, was worn for sports, sailing, and other casual activities.
The Norfolk jacket remained fashionable for shooting and rugged outdoor pursuits. It was made of sturdy tweed or similar fabric and featured paired box pleats over the chest and back, with a fabric belt. Worn with matching breeches or (U.S. knickerbockers), it became the Norfolk suit, suitable for bicycling or golf with knee-length stockings and low shoes, or for hunting with sturdy boots or shoes with leather gaiters.
The cutaway morning coat was still worn for formal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere, with striped trousers.
The most formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark or light waistcoat. Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with a winged collar. The less formal dinner jacket or tuxedo, which featured a shawl collar with silk or satin facings, now generally had a single button. Dinner jackets were appropriate formal wear when “dressing for dinner” at home or at a men’s club. The dinner jacket was worn with a white shirt and a dark tie.
Knee-length topcoats and calf-length overcoats were worn in winter.