1928 Party Dress

Presenter: Erin Flynn

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 21-22

Semester: Fall

Faculty Mentor: Hillary Homzie

Department: Communication & Media Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: Class Project, SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1t054mN8WZuXNwsD3sB7FuReKaQDSuACQ

Abstract:
This project is a dress that was sewn from a 1928 pattern, the color of fabric chosen for the dress was a popular color for the time: burnt orange. The dress reflects the trends of the time, including a boxy fit, dropped waist, calf-length and asymmetrical hemline. Trends were changing at the time due to women’s rights movements like the equal rights amendment, white women gaining the right to vote, and women rebelling against traditional gender roles. These were reflected in the rebellion of women dancing and changes in their clothes like lower necklines and higher hemlines. Furthermore, these changes manifested in the way they wore their clothes as either a way to express androgyny or a way to embrace their bodies that they hadn’t been able to before.