What was women's fashion like before World War I?

Answer 1

In the Victorian Age, girls used to be tied up in corsets and stays to keep them from growing too big. Also, they were very tightly laced up at all times, in order to mold them into a particular shape that was considered appropriate for a woman. This restricted proper growth of the body and many a times, the organs couldn't be adjusted in the narrow circumference of their waist and abdomen, thanks to the corset. An ideal woman of the Victorian Age was the one who could tolerate pain. This basically gave the image of the quintessential frail, and dainty Victorian Lady. The elite classes of the society had a certain set of materials just reserved to be used by them. Sumptuary laws were strictly imposed on lower working classes and they were forbidden to use the materials of clothing associated with the nobles and the so-called high classes of the society. Examples of such clothing-ermine fir, brocade, velvet etc. With the beginning of the World War 1 though, women started getting their hair cut short. They started dressing less conservatively and as unity got promoted due to the necessity of combined labor for the nation, social barriers dissolved, colors became sober, skirts became shorter and they even started dressing in a masculine manner.