“Is not the most erotic part of the body wherever the clothing affords a glimpse?” -Roland Barthes (1915-1980)

Social morality and how women dress has greatly affected fashion. Therefore, the modern era has been revolutionary for changes in feminine dress. The most critical development of all—the gradual revealing of the body. A feature story from the website at the University of Texas at Austin sets up this scenario. The Victorian era was deeply invested in preserving feminine morality and wearing clothing that covered the body. A glimpse of a lady’s ankle was shocking in itself in this period.

So the jump to the prototype of the modern bathing suit for women, as seen in the illustrations for this post, was quite a leap of judgment in itself. The 1920s and 1930s were a see-saw of fashion inventiveness, although skirts were never that short and returned to greater lengths for much of the 30s. Nevertheless, inroads were made. Women’s ankles and calves were revealed without the foundations of society being shaken to the ground. Even more liberating was the abolition of corsets and undergarments that restrained muscles and forced feminine curves into a dictatorial shape. Fashion grows in confidence from this point on.

And what did this fall’s New York Fashion Week reveal? Well, several comments from fashion buyers were reported in the media that they’d be selective in what they bought from the shows, since shoppers weren’t going to buy just basics. This means that garments were on the conservative side and less wow-y than usual. But colors were good, and Marc Jacobs provided the best runway lineup with clever retro references to the early twentieth century. Some of the active fashion blogs do a great reporting job, with very telling and appropriate commentary. The two I like in particular is FashionTribes.Com and I Am Fashion. Moving past the hype, the parties (a Bush daughter attended one!), and the celebs in the front rows hogging the press coverage, the industry is trying to do its best to move attractive clothes in an environment that is antithetical to innovation.