Fashion Trends In Canada

Fashion trends are a reflection of the political, social and economic changes that surround us. Clothing carriers a major role in the social construction of identity. Changes in fashion and in clothing can be used to trace and interprets these transformations in culture. For instance, the war was the dominant influence on fashion in the 1940s. It became clear that women were desperately needed in industry for assembling weapons and other duties. The war ended the extravagant fashion commonly worn by women and it was replaced by clothing that was more practical, simplistic and durable to withstand the stresses of life during this period of time." In this essay, I will examine the impact of World War II on women 's fashion in Canada. I will look

Victoria became a Canadian icon representing nearly one million Canadian women. She worked producing Bren light machine gun in a production line during World War II. She became popular after a posters featured her working- hair up in overalls for the war effort. Veronica became a symbol of Canada’s miraculous economic wartime transformation. The Bren Gun Girl was similar to the fictional "Rosie the Riveter", the American poster girl character. Another important women was Canada’s Elsie Gregory McGill, who was the first woman in the world to graduate as an aeronautical engineer. In 1940, Elsie worked for Fairchild Aircraft Limited, creating Hurricane combat aircrafts.

Although Canada was not attacked, the war had an enormous impact on Canada. Because the men were sent out of the country to fight the war, a dramatic changes occurred to women at home. They played a major role during World War II, taking on many new jobs and changing their identity. The attitudes to the role of women in the services changed in that initially, there was a reluctance to allow women into new fields of employment but as the war progressed, however, it became evident that if the country was to make the most of its resources, women’s contributions would be vital. One would not think of fashion trends when thinking about the wars, but it was important to the women at the time “as the uniform shaped soldiers, so did the uniform shape the military. Women were practically indistinguishable from fighting forces when in battledress. (Toman, 110). Women’s clothing during the Second World War was greatly influenced by new role that they played outside of the home. Clothing shortages, the introduction of pants into women’s wardrobes and Uniforms were all significant changes that reflect the economic and social changes of