Fashion and Economy Highs and Lows

Economics is a science that deals with the production and consumption of goods and services. Fashion refers to the styles and designs of clothing. One deals with finance, analysis, structure, and graphs while the other deals with fantasy, emotions, and imagination. However, regardless of their meanings, it is stimulating to witness two subjects some would consider polar opposites to have the ability to predict and detail so much of the other; so as to have led to the development of a correlation. 

1910s - Photofrom Harper's Bazaar Magazine

1920s - Photo

1940s Photo from a lady's magazine

Discovered by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the Hemline Index is the common ground where economics and fashion correlates and where fashion becomes more than just clothes. The He

The Beat Girls - 1960s dance troupe

mline Index theorizes that during times of economic flourish, the fashions of women’s skirt lengths rises, and in opposition, during economic hardships their skirt lengths would render lower into more conservative lengths – so as to achieve a sense of security. However amusing some might find that fashion can predict the outcomes of the economy and vice versa, it is quite possible that the elevations and declines of women’s skirt lengths can correlate with the highs and lows of our economy. Looking back, in the 1920s when stock prices were high and the economy was flourishing, skirt lengths rose as high as to the knee. However, in the 1930s when the economy submerged into depression, the lengths of women’s skirts fell to mid-calf. Again, after the recovery from WWII, skirts elevated to an all-time high in the 60s, leading to the design of the mini skirt. It was not until the 1980s when the stock market crashed that skirt lengths fell again. However, after recovering from the crash, which lasted from the late 80s to early 90s, miniskirts became, once more, the pop trend (though dresses of different lengths were available). Then, during the 2000s, the economy fluctuated and drowned due to the events of September 11, the housing market, and the ‘war on terrorism’. It was during the fall of the housing market and the war (set around 2008) that maxi dresses (with the bohemian trend) became the new craze. 

Photo taken from Oscar de la Renta 

SP 2011

Bohemian Look

Trying to recover from this depression / recession that we are currently in, it is notable that our economy is beginning to steady and we’re on the right track; seeing as the length of skirts has risen to the calves and knees as recently seen in collections from designers such as Marc Jacobs, Max Azria, Nicole Miller, Nina Ricci, and Oscar de la Renta.

LINKS: 1960s Beat Girls Beat Girls Bohemian Look 1910s Harper's Bazaar
Fashion-era Designers