Edwardian
or Belle Epoque Fashion
The Victorian era is named after Queen Victoria, the Edwardian one after her successor Edward who ascended to the throne in 1901. In Continental Europe, it is better known as the Belle Epoque ("beautiful era"), an time marked by a general mood of optimism and belief in progress. After decades of eclectically borrowing decorative styles from the past, time was right for a new aesthetic.
The influence of Art Nouveau, which had developed in the 1890s, was apparent in almost every item of everyday life. Never before or after has art dominated the aesthetics of an era so thoroughly. Sport was discovered by the upper crust: tennis, golf, bicycling, and automobile sport. This called for new, less impractical clothes and supported the movement that had futilely raged against the corset for decades.
Not surprisingly, ladies' fashion adopted Art Nouveau - not just by applying its distinctive lines as embroidery or cording, but also in the fluent, elegant lines of its bell-shaped, trained skirts. They were supported by petticoats trimmed with flounces, preferably made of silk to affect the desired frou-frou, the rustling sound that was considered erotic.
The most conspicuous trait of Edwardian fashion, however, was the posture that went with it. It had slowly developed during the late 19th century: The so-calles S-line, forward-leaning, with the belly pulled in and the backside sticking out. To support this, a new kind of corset was worn with a completely straight front line which reached far down to press the belly back. Surprisingly,these corsets were worse than the extremely tight-laced ones of the preceding decade: The spine did not appreciate the unnatural shape forced upon it, and the long front was extremely uncomfortable when walking or sitting down.
lowly, however, the anti-corset Rational Movement took hold, jointly supported by suffragettes, artists, physicians and the sports movement for various reasons - women's lib, health or aesthetic. At first, the general public only accepted it in the form of house dresses, preferably in the high-waisted Empire style where the lack of a corset was not so apparent. Small wonder, as the first designs of "reformed dresses" are just too sack-like even for the modern eye - imagine what a person used to corseted figures would think of those! For street and evening wear, reformed dresses remained out of the question or most.
But little by little, corsets became more flexible and the natural posture returned and made way for what we now call "Titanic style". Around 1910, skirts became narrow and straight - so much so that it was impossible to take a decent step forward. 1911 was the year of the "hobble skirt". But that fashion did not last long for obvious reasons. In supprt of women's claims to a piece of political and economic power, women's fashion adopted more and more traits of male clothing. The straight skirt is one of them, as are revers, straight sleeves, cuffs and even neckties. The early 1910s see the development of ladies' suits that follow the same general lines as those of today. Only the huge hats worn with them are all but mannish.