Bob or traditional hat?

Bob hair, tight skirts, flat shoes – the new fashions of the 1920s were well received, but also criticized by their enemies. As a reflection, these reintroduce somewhat forgotten traditional garments.

Michael van Orsouw / Swiss National Museum

Lucerne's great council chamber had hardly ever seen so many women before. Women from Zurich wore aristocratic clothing, women from Thurgau wore work clothes, and women from St. Gallen wore chiefs' and upper canton clothes. Bernese women show off their black scarves. There are also women from Basel, Solothurn, Vaud, Gruyere and central Switzerland, wearing traditional costumes with local characteristics. 300 women in traditional costumes sang in unison “Are you calling my motherland?”and there was a real sense of optimism.

The reason for this large-scale folklore parade is the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China “Swiss Traditional Costume and Folk Song Association” June 6, 1926 in Lucerne. The new association hopes to preserve traditional clothing and encourage Swiss women to adopt traditional clothing, so-called “traditional dress.” “Clothes of the Motherland”make strong. Basel canton representative proposes new association “Fashion folly against short haircuts” and oppose “Any foreign artistic influence, especially in the fields of music and singing” local; must be targeted «Foxtrot, shemi, rhythm, operetta, etc.» – The women approved the proposal with thunderous applause.

Swiss women in traditional clothing, early 20th century.Image: Lucerne Central and University Library

New roles, new fashion

along with “Foreign fashion follies” The trends at the time were mainly women's fashion. Because it wasn't just traditional clothing that was being rediscovered; in the 1920s, women's clothing took a giant step toward modernity. Clear lines and straightforwardness in design and architecture are reflected in the new fashion. During this period, women were increasingly developed: they no longer worked solely as nannies, waitresses or seamstresses, but were in large demand in the booming offices.

For many women, these developments meant liberation from old patterns of behavior and taking on new roles in society. No wonder more and more women were demanding political participation and women's suffrage, this time through petitions (but again in vain!).

The new role models for women in business, politics and the home were recognized most quickly and unanimously in the world of fashion: fashion houses and seamstresses introduced new cuts, styles and garments to suit the new era. Women now reveal their legs and they use them to stand firm in life. They have strong arms and can drive their own cars. They have smart people with short hair because they want to.

More and more women are working in offices. Like Basel in 1920.Image: Swiss National Museum

Short hair and lipstick

Modern life, which they modeled, required new types of clothing: they wore shirtdresses that had previously been worn only by working women, or knee-length sheaths, and the latest fashion of transparent artificial silk stockings. Legs exposed. The waist previously emphasized by the corset seemed to disappear completely.

They let their hair be what's called race length “Bubikopf” The cutout, which sometimes disappears under the hat due to its bell-shaped appearance «Bell Shape» is called. Long pearl necklaces, lush fringes and wild fringes are the new lifestyle accessories. Or even wear costume jewelry made from cheap materials, such as ostrich feathers or artificial flowers.

The golden glow that graced the catwalks of fashionable metropolises like Paris and Milan spread to the wider world, and also to Switzerland. this “New Woman” Short hair, small breasts, narrow hips, long legs, sometimes wearing long pants and flat shoes, holding a cigarette and driving a car. As makeup, lipstick and nail polish flew across the Atlantic, Switzerland's conservative soul finally got into action. “Pain and Eye Disease” The emerging makeup is called derogatory.

Everyday fashion during the Seegfrörni at Lake Zug in 1929.Image: Zug Library

Short hair became a sensation in the 1920s.Image: Gertrud Lehnert, History of Fashion in the 20th Century, Cologne 2000

Harsh criticism and anti-fashion

New clothes are criticized, for example in magazines “Swiss Catholic Women” 1923: «The role of a skirt is to cover and protect the body. This is contradicted by dresses that are too short, dresses that are too tight, dresses that flatter your figure too much, necklines that are too low, sleeves that are too short, and sheer dresses that don’t have enough protective underwear. “

Traditional clothing movements contrast with new fashion forms. These were seen as a source of originality, the epitome of simplicity, a counter-fashion to popular trends. However, these costumes are not as ancient as they seem. By the end of the 19th century, traditional Swiss clothing had been largely forgotten!

In a sense, World War I was the beginning of the renaissance. In 1916, women from canton Vaud gathered in Sauvaberin to express Swiss uniqueness through traditional dress in response to external pressures during the war. Something important happened: Guidelines for the cutting of traditional clothing and regulations for the correct wearing of traditional clothing were issued for the first time.

The new fashion angered conservatives.ETH Zurich Library, Image Archive

Traditional clothing is also popular in the city

After the war, the revival of traditional costumes gradually began. Surprisingly, traditional clothing became urbanized; because that “Clothes of the Motherland” Now it’s also exciting for city dwellers. For many people at the time, cities were a collection of negative phenomena such as poverty, housing shortages, moral decay, filth, and overcrowding. This urban skepticism, coupled with dissatisfaction with the growing influence of international trends, is offset by earthy customs such as traditional dress and folk songs.

As mentioned before, the Swiss Society of Traditional Costumes and Folk Songs was founded in 1926 – it is worth noting that this was not held in the countryside, but in the center of the city, namely Lucerne. From now on the old and the new merge; one does not replace the other; on the contrary, yesterday and today stand side by side in Switzerland. Despite the short hair, many new traditional clothing groups were formed in Switzerland in the late 1920s. In addition to fashion, anti-fashion has also established itself: “Clothes of the Motherland” Completely reinvented myself.

After World War I, clothing and urban life were no longer at odds with each other.ETH Zurich Library, Image Archive

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