Dressing up in Time of War. Women and Fashion during the First World War

During the First World War, the role of women became crucial for the survival of all productive sectors of the countries at war: women had to take the place of men who left to fight t the front. In a short period of time, women acquired a new and important presence in society and had a new roles and responsabilities. Women were emploied in all the works that were historically defined as male. In 1918 , the numberof women employed in the war industry reached significant amounts. For example: in France they rappresented 25 percent of the workforce, 22 percent in Italy. The female employment in work activities involved the creation of clothing suitable for moviment and work. But even outside the employment sphere, in daily life, female clothing changes dramatically. Fashion, which has always been able to record immediately economic and social changes, interpreted the changes taking place during the war and suggested clothes absolutely revolutionary for the time. With the banning of all the ostentation of luxury and refined elegance, it became essential to follow a more sober and rigorous lifestyle. Even the lack of materials contributed to a more austere fashion style: skirts became shorter allowing women to walk faster, etc. The corset was finally abolished and the crinoline disappeared. The purpose of the paper is to give a brief history of women's role and fahion during the years of the conflict and to understand if the changes during the war years were structural or if, at the end of the war, all was as before.