Glamour, 30's fashion expo

Triplex 03.04.14 > 19.04.15

From 3 April 2014 to 19 April 2015, the Brussels Fashion & Lace Museum welcomed visitors to its temporary exhibition Glamour, 30s fashion expo.

Little known fashion of the 1930s

Fashion of the 1930s is often overlooked. Squeezed between the 1929 stock market crash and the start of World War II, it has been perceived as simple and straightforward. It waved goodbye frivolous outfits and boyish hairstyles. Women returned to a more discreet form of fashion, in keeping with the crisis of the times. It harks back to a particular type of classicism. The work of Coco Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet characterised this era.

More conservative and conventional outfits

The silhouette is now slender. The feminine forms are enhanced by sophisticated cuts. The fabrics are draped at an angle and adjust to the body, providing more flexibility to the garment. Refined underwear sculpted the silhouette.

The haircuts of the 1930s

Hair was worn longer and waved. Hairstyles became more voluminous. Outfits were set off by a small hat, worn on the side of the head. In the 1930s, the dress code was extremely complicated. This complexity increased as you rose up the social scale. Rich socialites leading a life of leisure chose their outfits according to the time of day and their pastimes.

The list of outfits was endless: indoor dresses, morning dresses, day or evening suits, dinner dresses, afternoon dresses, garden-party dresses, gala, casino, ballroom dresses, dresses for small evening parties and dresses for grand evening parties, etc.

Glamour, 30s fashion expo: discover the feminine outfits of the 1930s

For a few months, Glamour, 30s fashion expo highlighted the exclusive world of the 1930s in Brussels and exhibited outfits characteristic of these times of crisis.

As part of the exhibition, the pieces from our collections were placed in the inventory of the movable cultural heritage of the Brussels-Capital Region. Discover amongst others the complete information form on our incredible hostess dress designed by Madeleine Vionnet.