During the early 1940s, journalists observed that after years of men controlling women’s fashion, Hollywood had become “a fashion center in which women designers are getting to be a big power.” In a town where “the working girl is queen,” it was women who really knew how to dress working women. Edith Head’s name dominates Hollywood costume design. Though a relatively poor sketch artist who refused to sew in public, Head understood what the average woman wanted to wear and knew better than anyone how to craft her image as the-one-and-only Edith Head. However, she was one of many women who designed Hollywood glamour in the studio era. This chapter juxtaposes Head’s career with that of a younger, fiercely independent designer who would quickly upstage Head as a creative force. In many senses, Dorothy Jeakins’s postwar career ascent indicated the waning of the Hollywood system and the powerful relationship between female designers, stars, and fans.
Design characteristics of Chinese traditional clothing of the Ming-Qing Dynasty era in contemporary women’s fashion