Quel Look, Quel Scandale!
Can clothes change the way we think? Or do they simply reflect changing thought? Last week, I went to Paris' wonderful museum of Decorative Arts to see the exhibition ‘Tenue correcte exigée, quand le vêtement fait scandale,' which loosely translates as 'Appropriate clothing must be worn, when clothes create scandal.' The exhibition explores the scandalous history of fashion from the fourteenth century through to the taboos of the present day.
"They were too short or too long, too close or too loose fitting, too immodest or too covering, too feminine for me or too masculine for women."
You will, no doubt, be as surprised as I was by the many liberties that have been taken with dress codes over the years and how dress codes have repeatedly breached moral values. Women in trousers, men in skirts, the female tuxedo, the miniskirt and even jeans have challenged society's norms and codes. Certain items of clothing were criticized and even banned when they first appeared. What was the reason? The exhibition explains: “They were too short or too long, too close or too loose fitting, too immodest or too covering, too feminine for men or too masculine for women”. Fashion throughout history has repeatedly transgressed the established order.
Image Credit: Pixabay/Jason Rowe
The way we dress communicates more than we think. Our clothes reveal our values, beliefs, identity and culture. Fashion designers often design clothes that seek to push back the boundaries of what is perceived to be 'normal.' Alexander McQueen, the British designer who died in 2010, is a good example of a designer who embodied controversy. His worldwide reputation grew in part thanks to his shocking and controversial designs. Earning the nickname of 'l'enfant terrible,' McQueen is credited with the trend in low-rise jeans known as bumsters.
Image Credit: Pixabay/Victor Soto
Even today, in many societies, including our own, women are subject to criticism if they wear too short, too small, too feminine clothes. When I was young I learned that trousers were still forbidden for women in France. Indeed, the law that required women to apply to the Prefecture of Police to wear trousers was only abolished in... January 2013! And this despite the fact that women first started wearing trousers in the 1920's and 30's. Notoriously, the German actress Marlene Dietrich wore a man’s tuxedo in the movie Morocco. Dietrich embodied the androgyny and new masculine style for women in 1930's fashion.
Image Credit: Pixabay/oldies
Unisex fashion didn't really appear until the 1960's, when changing fashion was again linked to political and social turmoil. Women in trousers was a clear symbol of a desire for equality that extended out from the body and into the political arena. On the other hand, despite attempts by designers such as Jacques Esterel in the 1960's and Jean Paul Gaultier in the 1990's, we have yet to see men in skirts in the workplace.
Fashion is an art and like other art forms, tracing its evolution over the course of history gives us great insight into society and its changes.
Check out this fun and informative show, which runs until April 23rd. For more information, visit www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr
