Fashion and social life' refers to a dynamic process of collective integration and individual differentiation that constantly changes a forest of objects, practices and individuals. It is an important technique for establishing social difference. Fashion can be a form of dress, a set of ideas, a style of music, a ritual or habit. In the modern era, it is a cultural process that symbolically places individuals within various social strata.
Edward Long was a keen observer of the fashion world. He wrote essays that cover the period from Belle Epoque to the First World War. His essays are a personal cultural history of New York. They resemble the testimonies of nineteenth century boulevardiers, e.g. the 'fashionables' of the day. Long's articles testify to the normalization of fashion life in the 1920s and early 1930s.
The pace of fashion accelerated after the Armistice. 'Waistless' dresses, with long strings of jewelry and elaborate shawls were popular. During the war, women began to wear curly hairstyles. After the war, the 'Bonnet japonnais' style of hair became the new vogue, i.e., the style of the day when the Allies breached the Hindenburg Line. In this time, women began to wear coiffures with double parts and a hairstyle a la Grecque.
In 1910, Paris was the center of civilisation. The city was abuzz with artists such as Matisse, Chagall, Picasso and Proust. Long followed the fashionable crowds to the races at Longchamps and to the opera. The more conventional members of the fashionable society entertained at great parties and masked balls. Long was a social observer, not a social critic. He believed that milliners controlled the taste of the public in order to assure prosperity. Let’s have a look at http://socialelitefashion.com/:
Edward Long was no fashion theorist, but he believed that fashion had a benign nature. He admired the commercial acuity of modernists, who offered more profitable opportunities than classicists. He also believed that nature had reached its apotheosis at seaside resorts. Long was also skeptical of the tyranny of feminine caprice. During the war, the turban craze had hurt the hairdressing business. He returned to his traditional themes, such as children's hairstyles. However, Long failed to appreciate modernist art.
In 1916, the '1830s' style became popular. High, ornate coiffures liberally incorporated the Marcel wave. Mens suits also emphasized the chest, and heavy shoes balanced loose trousers. The 'Marcel wave' was back in vogue. The Prince of Wales introduced the double-breasted dinner jacket and the Windsor necktie knot.
In the late 1920s, 'fashionable' women began to dress more like ordinary Americans. The 'roaring twenties' were over, but the era of the flapper was not over. During the first three years of the 1930s, flappers were replaced by'sophisticated women'. The flappers wore waistless dresses with long strings of jewelry and elaborate hats. They wore elaborate hairstyles, including the 'Dog's Ear' and the 'Grecque'.
By the late 1930s, ordinary Americans wore more sophisticated clothing and were more interested in the fashions of the day. However, Long continued to write about fashionable women, albeit less about children's hairstyles. He also reported the reopening of a 'first class restaurant' in Paris, and his articles lamented the enforced simplicity of wartime fashions.
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