he first forty years of the 20th century witnessed immense social and economic upheaval, many changes a response to conditions created by the Great War (1914-18). Afterwards the population rose, large-scale manufacturing of consumer goods soared and average real wages increased for the country overall, although, paradoxically, traditional industrial regions of northern England, Scotland and South Wales experienced high unemployment and economic depression. Unable here to fully explore geographical variations, this article examines how improved clothing technology and marketing alongside modern retail outlets brought more convenient and fashionable clothes to a wide population and transformed the nation’s shopping habits.
Traditional bespoke clothing
Between the wars an elite minority continued to have their clothes personally madeto-measure by exclusive tailors and costumiers in London, Paris and New York. Savile Row remained the epicentre of superior male tailoring, with
Henry Poole & Co (established 1806) serving King George V and the Prince of Wales. Britain’s first internationally-acclaimed female couturier, Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon – who headed the fashion house ‘Lucile’ (and was also, famously, a Titanic survivor) – enjoyed a global reputation between the early-1900s and 1920s for designing luxurious ladies’ wear and is also credited with introducing the first live ‘mannequin’ (model) parades, precursor to the ‘catwalk’ shows now central to modern fashion marketing. A new generation of British couturiers was also emerging, including Norman Hartnell, who set out in 1923, moving to impressive Bruton Street premises by the early 1930s and beginning his long association with the royal family in 1937.
Court dressmakers
