Research; Female Silhouettes

 One of the first traditional female "suits" was the Riding Habit. This would be worn for riding, and consisted of a tailored jacket with a long skirt or petticoat to match. The woman would also wear a tailored shirt and a hat, styled around the most popular and formal men's style of the time. The long skirt would cover the woman's legs while she rode her horse to protect her modesty. The main characteristics of a riding habit are;
- small waist
- low rise collar to allow for head movement while riding
- loose sleeves to allow the woman to rotate and raise her arms with ease
- the skirt would be longer on one side than the other, to allow for covering the woman's legs while on horseback

Riding habits boast an hourglass figure as the women would wear a corset or basque beneath their tailored jacket, appearing to shrink the waist. The tailored jacket would emphasize the woman's shoulders and the peplum would emphasize the hips, creating a balanced and proportionate top half. The long skirt would elongate the figure and follow the curves of the hips.




I like the idea of a short jacket that emphasizes the shoulders and bust, as I am pear shaped so anything that helps accentuate my petite top half and balances out my hips is great! My 'client' for this project is myself so I will bear this in mind when I sketch out some designs.



This jacket hasn't got a low rise collar but it does have a very wide collar, which still allows for movement.

 Below are some other images of different riding habits, to demonstrate how the style can vary.

Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous women in the world, known for her beauty and figure. She was a classic hourglass shape; large breasts, tiny waist and large, balanced hips. A quick google search tells me that Marilyn was 5'5", with a 35" bust, 22" waist, 35" hips and a bra size of 36D, though how accurate this is, I can't be sure. Her waist size was approximately 2-3" smaller than the average American woman in the 50's, and 12" smaller than the average today! The hourglass shape has long been a popular figure for many women, though its desirability has fluctuated through the years (e.g. in the 80's when athletic figures were all the rage, or the 90's when it was popular to look drugged up and ill), it seems to always remain popular in some way. 

Kim Kardashian is a clear example of an hourglass figure is hugely popular today.

Some people are blessed with a combination of large breasts, a small waist and a curvy bum, but there are plenty of garments (and surgical procedures) that can enhance the bodies we were given. Dresses such as the ones below are a prime example of how you can manipulate how the figure appears. The main piece of cloth follows the desired curvy shape, and being in a dark, bold colour, it draws the eye to these curves. The lighter side panels are more discrete, as if trying to blend in and not draw attention to themselves. Having said this, there are garments where the main colour is lighter than the side panels, or even a bright colour with black side panels, but it gives the same effect, drawing the eye to the main, curvy front panel.

Here are a few different examples:

The pantsuit or trouser suit came about in the 1920s and consisted of a pair of trousers with matching jacket or coat. At first only a small number of women took on this more masculine style, but the 20s soon became an era where the lines between femininity and masculinity were blurred.

These days, many women wear trouser suits for work or even leisure, and they have become more feminine, accentuating an hourglass figure. Suits are very much still a masculine look, but plenty of women have proven they can wear them just as well.