For more than 100 years, women’s rights activists have boldly campaigned for the inclusion of women in various leadership positions, including politics, managerial positions, inheritance, and the freedom for women to choose the way to dress. In their road to freedom, great women leaders formed unstoppable movements which played a significant role in today’s empowered woman.
The feminine activists were selective when it came to dressing. Their choice dresses were designed to pass a strong statement about how a free woman should look like. Their dressing code helped transform fashion in a big way.
The right to work
Before the late 19th century, the woman was considered a homemaker and was required to stay at home, bring up children and dress decently. According to the patriarchal society then, decent dressing meant apparel that covered the woman from her hair to the toe and that’s how even the women of that age believed to be the norm.
With the dawn of the 20th century, the women realized they had been imprisoned for long and they began feminist movements to push for the woman to be allowed to seek employment and earn a wage or at least a salary.
A massive movement was started in Texas and many women began to abandon their traditional housemaker role. They began to go to the towns and cities to seek employment and as a result, they also abandoned their traditional dressing and bought more decent and fashionable apparel fit for a working woman.
Designers started to design looser styles that allowed the women to walk more freely and for the first time, the hemlines of women’s clothing rose above the ankle. Since the days of the Texas movement, hemlines continually rose to just below the knee and eventually above the knee. One of the ripple effects from the Texas movements is evident in the ever-changing fashion trends among students in today’s generation ‘Z.’
Student essays about social movements
Feminists who pioneered today’s women’s fashion had challenging times, forcing the patriarchal society in their times to honor women and women’s rights. Through aggressive right movements, they wore unique apparel that helped shape modern fashion. There are many essay topics students can create from studying the early social movements and right movements. Students can visit https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/social-movements/ and get inspiration to write an essay on fashion. The site has many other essay examples students can access anytime they need to get inspiration.
Me too movement
Me too feminist movement was aimed at pushing the political class to allow the inclusion of more women into politics. There were already few women in the political arena but a bigger representation would help fight for all other women’s rights.
Edwardian fashions designed a loose tunic that would replace the baggy trousers and included statement-making colors – purple to represent a dignified and royal woman, green to represent a woman full of hope, and white to stand for a pure woman.
White became the standard color during events and the three-color tunic helped display a woman who was serious about fighting for her rights while at the same time not moving far away from dressing traditions.
In the movements that followed, the renowned designer Coco Chanel changed the entire women’s fashion landscape after she designed her fashionable skirt suit that was straighter than the traditional skirt suit. She went further and designed a small black dress and then begun wearing trousers. Her designs were a major pacesetter to future women’s designs.
The 1970’s anti-fashion movement
Before the 1970s, the American woman was didn’t have much say in fashion because of how society had shaped her. Summertime came and went with the woman still wearing her stockings, girdles, and padded bras.
There was a paradigm shift in the 1970s when the woman began wearing miniskirts to express her individuality. Some women felt that clothes make the woman and were advocating for the woman to give up her miniskirt for midis.
A larger number of women realized they were being manipulated and resisted the movement seeking to be allowed to make their decisions on what to wear and to make their clothing. The miniskirt prevailed and the entire woman fashion world changed. Women began wearing pants, jeans, and shirts with no bras and sportswear. There were fashionable sweaters, jackets, and shirts which women wore as they chose.
Conclusion
The aggressive women’s rights movements that begun more than 100 years ago played a significant role in shaping today’s woman’s role in politics, business, leadership, and family. The current women’s fashion was also greatly influenced by the movements thanks to the unique dressing code the movement organizers chose. Although the generation that pioneers massive changes in societies suffer disgrace and rejection, generations that follow enjoy the fruits of freedom.
