Colors are brilliant, and international inspiration is everywhere - Oriental and Russian motifs dominate in the early 1920s. The runway parade almost grinds to a halt during World War I, when efforts go toward winning the war. Women's suffrage isn't achieved in the US until 1920, but with men off fighting, women are called upon to manage businesses, work in factories, and take jobs outside the home. Comfort and practicality rule. Rayon, the first man-made fabric, is invented in 1910, as a substitute for silk.
Hemlines rise to reveal ankles for the first time.
After the war, jazz ladies celebrate the Roaring '20s with flapper dresses and short skirts. Boyish figures are in, with flattened bust, and bobbed hair. Men add swing to their step with wide-leg pants, knickerbockers, and knitted pullovers. As if in anticipation of the market's fall, skirts lengthen before the crash of 1929. World War II brings even greater freedom in women's lives, and ushers in the creation of nylon.