8 dresses that changed the course of history
With the efforts of thousands of people or by chance, women's dress can be an element of the most important social and political changes. We collected 8 examples of dresses that changed the course of history, going beyond the utilitarian sense of clothing. As the saying goes, men use weapons, women use dresses and win.
Dress reform
The struggle for the rights of women began small. Elections are elections, but at first it would be nice to stop the whole story with compressed internal organs, lack of oxygen and impaired blood supply to the brain. For this it was necessary - just nothing - to be from the corset. In 1881, the Rational Dress Society came into being in London, the purpose of which was to reform the modern female dress. It was assumed that the new style should be more healthy, comfortable to wear and rational from an economic point of view. The movement was actively supported by the medical and feminist community. Already in 1883, the Healthy & Artistic Dress Union magazine began to appear regularly in England. Later, similar socio-political unions appeared in Sweden, Holland, Italy, Austria and Germany. The result of the activity of these organizations was the emergence of a "dress of reforms", the cut of which with a high waist allowed the woman to move more naturally, breathe deeply and, finally, feel freer! In France, Paul Puare, Madeleine Vionne, the Spaniard Mariano Fortuny, who invented a plating-fit dress, and, as always, Gabrielle Chanel were in time, were in charge of the dresses of the new formation. As a result, their names are most often mentioned in connection with the release of women from the corset.
Little black dress
In the early 1920s, at the end of the First World War, many women were mourning. In the same circumstances, the affairs of the elite and the nobility evolved very badly. Minimalism and comfort were not a pose, but a necessary necessity. Praising Gabrielle Chanel for the “invention” of a little black dress, one should first of all admire her ability to feel the situation and the talent of the marketer. In fact, the appearance in October 1926 of the “little black dress Chanel” in French Vogue simply legitimized and made fashionable that form of clothing that Coco Chanel has already chosen for itself. This was a turning point in the history of fashion, since earlier dresses of women from the privileged class, especially evening models, differed significantly from the clothes of ordinary people. But already at parties to celebrate the new one, in 1927, noblewomen dressed like maids, and maids like noblewomen: unpretentious black, discreet cut, no extra details and accessories. Erasing the visual boundaries between classes has become one of the steps towards a more democratic and condition-free society.
Dress-robe Nina Khrushchev
While the snapshot from the meeting of the heads of the USSR and the USA in Washington is usually used to emphasize the "backwardness of Soviet fashion", during the Cold War, he played a completely different role. Nina Khrushcheva was the first Soviet lady who was shown to the world. And when, instead of a powerful predator, the Americans saw a kind aunt in a bathrobe, their hearts softened. Moreover, Jackie Kennedy herself admitted that she admires this "simple and open woman." And may Nina Khrushcheva not become a fashion-icon, she can be respected for being flesh-and-blood of her people and not abusing the possibilities and status of her husband to appear to be someone else.
T-shirt Katherine Hamnet
Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to take the post of prime minister of a European state, didn’t like nuclear weapons. While the majority of Britons opposed increasing the country's nuclear potential, the Iron Lady agreed with Reagan not only to slow dance, but also to deploy Pershing-1A short-range missiles at the US air base in English Berkshire. Then the designer Katherine Hamnet decided to act as a representative of public opinion: she appeared at an official reception to the Prime Minister in a T-shirt of her own design and literally threw Thatcher in the face of the fact "58% DON'T WANT PERSHING". A snapshot of the meeting covered all the media - so the world learned that the majority of residents of the United Kingdom do not support the Thatcher decision.
Monica Lewinsky's Blue Dress
“I didn’t have sex with this woman, Monica Lewinsky. We didn’t have such a relationship,” Bill Clinton testified. However, the blue dress presented as evidence (Gap maker, cost $ 50) with traces of the “genetic material” of the guarantor of the American constitution made Clinton clarify that he did not consider “episodes without vaginal penetration sexual contact”. All nine episodes. Yet the US House of Representatives accused Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice, and by a majority vote, for the third time in US history, impeached the president. Clinton had previously been involved in sexual scandals and at that time already had a formal accusation of harassment in the service. However, it is not washed blue dress with drops of presidential seed - the most obscene and at the same time key part of the scandal - made Clinton blush and hesitate. Impeachment rejected at the last stage. The positions of Clinton and the entire Democratic Party were considerably shaken, which led to the victory of the Republican candidate, militarist George W. Bush, in the 2001 presidential election.
National dress under the white t-shirt of Leima Gbovi
As you know, at the ceremony of awarding the Nobel laureates, almost the toughest dress code in the world with an uncompromising "white tie" is in effect. But when in 2011, Laima Gbovi, Tavakul Karman and Helen Johnson-Sirleaf went out for their awards “For non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for the rights of women to participate fully in building peace” in bright national clothes, the guests of honor expressed their exceptional approval and respect. The fact is that Laima Gbovi with her supporters organized the Women in Peacebuilding Network movement and was able to stop the second Liberian civil war, during which thousands of women and children were killed. Starting with appearances at the fish market, Gbovi managed to unite both Christians and Muslim women in a desire to stop the bloodshed and save their children. Gbovi did not believe that the world could be built with a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the ready, and chose her femininity as a weapon. Instead of shouting slogans - singing and prayers, instead of physical violence - "sexual strike". When, at one of the demonstrations, Leimu together with other women tried to detain the military, they threatened to publicly expose themselves (which is a form of curse in West African culture), after which they remained intact and continued to defend their ideals. At the demonstration, Liberian women wore white clothes and T-shirts with peace symbols, to emphasize that they are neutral and speak only for the end of the conflict. Gbovi forces in 2003, the second civil war in Liberia was over. The head of Liberia was Helen Johnson-Sirleaf, who became the first female president in African history.
Michelle Obama's Red Dress
Shortly before the 2012 presidential election, Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic convention in North Carolina in a red and gold dress by designer Tracy Reese. Spectacular bright model of a successful cut without unnecessary details immediately won the love of American women. Even those who had previously been skeptical of Obama’s political ideas were ready to listen to her words. The modest (cost of the dress is $ 400) and the elegant look of Michelle Obama made a more positive impression than Ann Romney’s outfit at a similar election event (the dress of Oscar de la Renta for $ 1990). As a result, the Obama family performed in the familiar genre of "their own guys." Romney also strengthened in the position of distant from the people of the majors - with a dress de la Renta and a fortune of $ 200 million, it is really not difficult. The outcome of the election is known to all.
Pink warrior sarees
Once Sampath Pal Devi - a resident of Uttar Pradesh in the north of India - witnessed a terrible scene: in front of her eyes a man brutally beat his wife. Sampath attempted to intercede for the victim, but in the end she herself became the object of attack by the aggressor. The next day, she returned to the same place with her like-minded people armed with bamboo sticks, and repulsed the villain so that it was disreputable. Soon the bold advocate and her friends began to talk at every corner. Women chose pink dresses as their “uniform” in order to deliberately demonstrate to their opponents that they will have to fight an initially positive and defenseless man who deserves a completely different attitude. So they called them "Pink gang."
Today, the organization includes more than 300,000 women in Uttar Pradesh. Their activities are also aimed at opening schools and training centers for women, where they are taught to sew, weave baskets and make jewelry, in order to be able to feed their children and not tolerate bullying of their husbands. In India, marriages with 12-year-old girls are still practiced, many girls die from beatings after gang rapes, and women become disabled and die as martyrs from the criminal actions of their husbands. At the same time, criminals often get away with it - criminal cases on such occasions are extremely reluctant. In all respects, having vividly declared itself, the Pink Gang was able to draw the attention of the world community to the situation, and also became an unattractive threat of physical violence for all women offenders, be it a street rapist, a father who dissolves hands or a corrupt official. Thus, a pink Indian sari became a symbol of woman power, and local women no longer feel lonely and defenseless.
Illustrations: Evgenia Barinova