Style Column
GREY FOX COLUMN David Evans consults two fashion experts to look at how styles of the 1920s were influenced by world events, and what impact our own events could have on the future of fashion
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’m of an age where my grandparents were in the prime of their lives during the 1920s. They saw huge changes during their lifetimes; born when very few people had seen a motorcar or aeroplane, they lived to see men walk on the Moon. The 1920s saw a revolution in every aspect of their lives, as the world emerged from the horrors of war (and the Spanish flu pandemic of course) and witnessed changing social attitudes, advances in science and engineering, a flowering of the arts and economic growth followed by collapse. Changes in mens’s and women’s fashions in particular reflected more liberal attitudes and tolerance and, to fit with the Roaring Twenties theme of this issue, I thought I’d explore whether the 2020s will see a similar explosion of transformative energy. I’ve asked two experts to help me with this. Eric Musgrave has written about fashion for over forty years and many of you will have read his book Sharp Suits, a celebration of the history of the men’s
“Of most interest to menswear watchers is, of course, Edward, Prince of Wales, whose innovations are well known – he was seen with turn-ups on his trousers from about 1922. He championed Fair Isle knitwear over waistcoats. He liked plus fours, which dropped to mid-calf rather than the usual just-belowthe-knee length” suit. Caroline Young has written extensively about Coco Chanel (full list below).
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