1930's in Canada // Fashion

Fashion

The fashion styles in the thirties changed dramatically from the beginning of the decade to the end.  At the start, when the happy nature of the twenties ended and the bleak reality of the thirties began, the skirt lengths dropped to barely above the ankles and all of the dresses were severely cut and very modest.  By the end of the decade, however, the necklines had plunged and the hemlines had risen to the knees again.

As always, heeled shoes were in.  Hats and other similar hair ornaments adorned the heads of the women.  Gloves were worn by all fashionable ladies and a touch of cosmetics, particularly nail polish, were just supplemental to finish the picture.  Veils, nets and cauls were also very important for women to wear.  On occasion, women even wore slacks!  That style was influenced by movies and their starring actresses.  But women still had to wear skirts on their bathing suits.

As always, women’s fashion precedes men’s fashion.  However, there were little changes in men’s fashions.  They still wore suits, slacks and shirts.  In some places, it was illegal for men to go topless.  A new style of pants came into existence; plus fours, which are basically long short pants.

As fashions tend to be, a lot of it was influenced by the celebrities of the time – the movie stars.  They introduced many things, including smoking in public.

However, there were many who were too poor to afford new clothes, let along clothes of high fashion.  These people struggled to live and often wore clothing made from old flour sacks.  These people couldn’t afford to waste anything, and the flour sacks were made from perfectly good cloth.  Flour sacks were also made into many other items.