Breadline Chic
How did fashion designers predict the recession while financiers got caught with their pants down?
Left: AP Right: Catwalking/Getty Images
There’s nothing like a little fur to remind you that you’re one of the Haves. The ‘30s was the age of the classy whole pelt—head, tail and all—worn around the neck and shoulders. Jean Paul Gaultier brought the look back this season, sans morbid animal face.
Left: AP Right: Catwalking/Getty Images
Sure, Prada sent silk turbans down the runways in 2007, but Miuccia has always been ahead of her time. Now the headwraps are everywhere, just as they were in 1932, when actress Julie Sudd donned one for this demure portrait. To pull off the look today, try the metallic Ralph Lauren version—it’ll hide any torn hair you pulled out when you lost your life savings.
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This adorable boy is holding kittens and wearing woolen knickers—how could he possibly be depressed? Men can channel the carefree street-urchin look with cropped trousers from this year’s Duckie Brown collection. Three-quarters of a pantsuit is easier to afford, anyway.
Left: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Right: Scott Gries/Getty Images for IMG
In his over-the-top Paris show this year, Karl Lagerfeld created a clear homage to the classic tailored suits pioneered by Coco Chanel in the ‘20s, like the 1929 suit seen here. The 2009 version will look just as sharp with pearls and a jaunty hat, but will probably cost approximately forty times what the original did.
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The Great Depression was all about accessories, as hats and scarves can stretch a three-day wardrobe out for weeks. The designers of the Wunderkind line took a tip from this ‘30s outfit and showcased versatile caps and bright ribbons during Paris fashion week.
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Child labor was commonplace during the bad years; if you were a boy, chances are you were working in a factory or hawking papers. The latter job came with better clothes, and today, the designers of Elmer Ave have taken the newsie outfit high-end, with suspenders and a pageboy cap worth much more than a penny.
Left: Harold M. Lambert/Getty Images Right: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for IMG
When life hands you lemons, put on a ball gown. The floor-scraping dress flourished during the Depression, especially in Europe—here, the Marquise de Paris was sketched trying on a purple Augustabernard evening dress in 1933. In 2009, women can ape it with Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s flowing interpretation.
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The cold dark economic winter makes everyone long for spring, so blossoms, butterflies and rainbows will come back into vogue. Here, a Collete Dinnigan gown that is a dead ringer for the one sported by a student at the American Academy of Dressmaking in 1929.
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When hard times hit, we often regress to our youth, so it’s no surprise that Marc Jacobs sent boyish looks out this fall. One can almost picture the male model rollerskating down a country road in 1935.
Left: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Right: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for IMG
Women of the ‘30s loved elaborate headwear that could distract from their shabby dresses, like this 1939 snooded velvet buccaneer hat with life-size blackbirds. The bright yellow version from September’s Marc Jacobs show provides a similar feint.
Left: Conde Nast Archive/Corbis Right: Catwalking/Getty Images
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