History of Feminism Through the Lens of Fashion

History of Feminism through the Lens of Fashion

I. Introduction:
There have been three waves of feminist revolutions and with each wave came an outstanding fashion trend, which varied significantly from one extreme to the other. Fashion like so many other things associated primarily with women may be dismissed as trivial, but it shapes how we are read by others especially on the levels of gender, class, and race. As a result, the way we are read determines how we are treated, especially within the workforce- whether we are hired, promoted, respected and even how well we are paid. In other words, getting dressed everyday morning ultimately has political and economic consequences. If past and present feminist ignored fashion, they would be surrendering their power to become a huge influential icon; history has shown that feminist indeed can harness fashion and use it for their own political purposes. The three waves of feminist revolutions have directly affected the society’s fashion trend, and also indirectly influenced woman’s tastes towards beauty. II. 1st Wave Feminism: a. What is it? i. The first wave of feminism took place around the late 19th century, early 20th century. b. What was fashion like during this time? c. What was the fashionable impact? III. 2nd Wave Feminism d. What is it? e. How did it start? f. What was the impact on fashion? IV. 3rd Wave Feminism g. What is it? h. How is it different from the first two? i. Whose voice is directed into it? V. Conclusion: j. Brief over view of II, III, IV k. How has it changed over time? l. How can we relate to the feminist movements associated with