Hi lovelies,
There’s no denying that the clothing world is traditionally seen as a female interest, which is interesting when you consider the history behind fashion for women.
Dig a bit deeper, and you find that fashion used to be a very oppressive thing for women and girls around the world. There are definitely strong arguments to suggest that’s still the case in some modern societies, as well. Women used to have no real say in what they wanted to wear, and society’s beauty standards have almost always dictated our fashion choices.
However, we’re now entering an era when women all over the world are fighting back with their fashion choices. We’re reclaiming fashion and taking things that used to be restrictive, transforming them into statements of strength. It’s a bold and powerful movement built around the idea that we can wear whatever the hell we want.
Nobody gets to tell us what we can or can’t wear - and these modern fashion trends are the perfect examples of this:
The Mini Skirt
We have to start with the most iconic example of female empowerment through fashion. The mini skirt became symbolic of feminist movements in the 1960s as women fought back against patriarchal dress codes. At that time, society basically forced women to dress modestly, which meant skirts could never be above the knees. It was weirdly policed in some countries, so we naturally had enough of it.
Protestors would take to the streets wearing mini skirts as a symbol of power. It was a way of saying, “We’ll wear whatever we damn well want, and you can’t tell us what to put on our bodies”. To this day, the mini skirt remains a way for many women to feel confident and bold in their fashion choices. We wear them to feel good about ourselves without giving a crap about what anyone else thinks.
You genuinely still get weirdos to this day who complain about mini skirts being “too short” or “too revealing” - but that just makes them more fun. It’s the perfect example of sticking it to the man and taking fashion into your own hands.
Suits & Trousers
Men have held suits & trousers in a firm grip for generations. It’s not overly surprising, considering women weren’t allowed to go out and work for Centuries. The suit became a symbol of the patriarchy - it was like a cute little uniform for men all over the world.
As such, it was considered ridiculous for a woman to wear a suit and trousers. Even when women started entering traditional workspaces, they were forced to wear skirts, tights and blouses. Wearing a suit was seen as too “manly,” and people still hold that view today.
That’s why it’s so refreshing to see more women in suits.
We’ve realised that suits are actually very comfortable, and they make us feel quite powerful. Celebs are starting to adopt them on red carpets, which gives other women more confidence to head to work in a suit for once. This has always been something we were told not to wear, so it feels suitably defiant to pop on some trousers, get a nice shirt, don a tie and bring it all together with a fitted blazer.
Corset-Style Tops
The corset is one of the most troubling examples of female oppression through fashion. Starting around the 16th Century, corsets were a mainstay for women until the early 1900s. You could make a frighteningly good argument that the old corset was responsible for a lot of the body image problems we face in today’s society.
Back then, women felt forced to wear corsets to try and adopt the “ideal” figure. Men wanted women with tiny waists and big busts complimented by curvacious hips. In other words, a completely unrealistic body type - but corsets sucked everything in and pushed the right things up. They were incredibly uncomfortable, so breaking free from the corset era was a big thing for women in the past.
These days, we’re going back to corsets - but in an entirely different way. The modern corset top is a sign of power and body positivity for women. It follows a similar style as old corsets but without the forced restriction. Women wear these as a way of showing confidence to the world and giving a big middle finger to the oppressors of the past.
The big thing about modern corset-style tops is that they’re now the main feature. They’re no longer hidden under loads of other garments - and they’re incredibly sexy. It’s our way of saying, “Look, I love my body, and I want to show it off because it makes me feel good.” We’ve turned something that was insanely oppressive and made it a sexy fashion choice!
Fitted Bodycon Dresses
You’re only three items into this blog, but you can already spot some of the ridiculous contradictions in how fashion has been used to oppress us. We weren’t allowed to wear mini skirts because they were too revealing, yet corsets were forced upon us for generations to show off our figures - make it make sense!
Things get even more contradictory when we talk about fitted bodycon dresses. They’re easily one of the best ways to transform your confidence; you feel outrageously sexy in a bodycon dress, and it’s a great outfit for going out, heading to parties, etc.
Yep, you guessed it, society doesn’t like fitted bodycon dresses. You get prudes (normally men or older people born in different generations) who look down upon dresses like this. You’ve undoubtedly seen people comment on social media about so-and-so dressing in things that are too revealing or provocative. It sometimes makes you think twice about putting on a bodycon dress because of the unwanted attention you might receive.
If you ever think like that, then it’s a good sign to wear the damn thing! Bodycon dresses are made for us - they make us feel great; we love how we look, so why should we let other people tempt us away from putting them on? Let’s empower ourselves to make fashion choices based on how we feel, not how society makes us think we should dress.
Relaxed Athleisure Wear
The contradictions in women’s fashion come in thick and fast when we look at things like relaxed athleisure wear. This includes things like oversized hoodies, baggy joggers, trainers, sweatshirts, etc. It’s only just becoming widely acceptable for women and girls to dress like this while doing everyday tasks. Before, we could wear athleisure clothing during exercise or athletic activities - but God forbid we wanted to feel comfortable and relaxed while going out for coffee or lunch.
It’s fine for men to rock up in a hoody and joggers, but we’re supposed to be more put together and “nice.” The contradiction here is that athleisure clothing is too modest for us to wear. It’s not befitting of a woman - we need to wear things that show off our figure.
If you’re banging your head on the table, then that’s the normal response to this. We’re supposed to show off our figures, but not too much because it’s unseemly - what the hell does that even mean!?
It’s so stupid, which is why women are hijacking the athleisure trend. You can’t go anywhere without seeing a girl walking around in her comfies, and we’re here for it. We deserve to be comfortable, and we don’t need to put effort into our daily outfits. If we want to walk around in baggy hoodies and joggers, then no one can stop us!
All Types Of Jeans
Hands up, how often do you wear jeans? They’re a staple in every woman’s wardrobe, but did you know that it took almost 100 years for women to start wearing them? Denim jeans were invented in 1873 and became a popular fashion choice for men. It wasn’t until the 1950s and 60s that denim jeans entered the female fashion market.
Why did it take so long? Because jeans were seen as “manly” and associated with cowboys in the Wild West. This makes it even sweeter to consider that the female fashion market now dominates jeans. We’ve taken something that was restricted to us for decades and turned it into a massive industry.
You can’t walk into a store or shop online without seeing dozens of jeans variations - most of which are purely for women. We’ve made jeans to suit all female body types, and it’s amazing. This is a great example of taking something and making it our own.
As you’ve scrolled through this post, you’ve realised just how much we’ve had to fight for basic things - like the simple ability to dress how we want. Despite all the progress, women are still made to feel bad about their clothing choices today. We’re also constantly having an internal battle about whether we’re wearing something because we like it or because it’s what we think society will like.
Use these fashion trends and styles as key examples of reclaiming fashion and empowering yourself. If you want to wear something, then wear it. Don’t listen to the noise or let anyone tell you not to - if you feel good in something, then you’ve made the right choice!
