Fashion In The 1930s

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I do not think I have given a thought to Tarzan of the Apes since the long-distant day when my voice broke and I realised I would never be able to impersonate his yodelling, ululating war cry.

It was very much the fashion to try when I was growing up.

In fact, his call was synthesized from the voices of an operatic soprano, a contralto and an Alabama hog-caller, so it is probably just as well that I gave up.

Tarzan is the scion of a noble British family who ends up being raised by West African jungle apes as one of their own.

He develops the muscular prowess of a gorilla and the manners of a British aristocrat - although I always thought he would be a more interesting character if it had been the other way around.

He had not crossed my mind for nearly 40 years, but I had not been in Algiers for more than an hour before he cropped up twice in conversation.

Apparently, Hollywood producers of the 1930s used the city's botanical gardens in place of the real West African rainforest to shoot at least one of his adventures.

You can see the attraction. The gardens do look a bit like a jungle and in the colonial 1930s the luxurious hotels of the old French city were near at hand with their snowy napkins and sunny balconies.

An improbable relationship was born.

In one of the later novels, of which I now have a copy, Tarzan visits Algeria, and I found myself in the long, humid sleepless nights following his voyage of discovery in parallel with our own.

The book has not dated well, it would be fair to say.

Tarzan is not of the cloth from which good diversity officers are cut, being wearingly given to racial generalisation.

The French are impulsive, Arabs do not like foreigners, and so on.

He is also better in the small handful of situations which can be solved by hitting other people, rather than in the greater number which call for more subtle analytical skills.

Brooding intensity

Nearly 80 years on from Tarzan's trip, we had come to explore the idea that the bracing winds of the Arab spring might be about to blow through the countries of the Maghreb.

But in a place where the shadow of tough, authoritarian government hangs over every conversation, it is easy to see why people prefer to talk about the many less obviously political ways in which foreign influences are absorbed here.

The Casbah of Algiers, for example, remains a place of brooding intensity - a warren of twisting, narrow, steep alleyways and tall buildings that spill down a precipitous hillside to the old port.

Madeleine Vionnet – Fashion Trends in the 1930s | Pipers Parlor

Trends in women fashion though emphasized a romantic, womanly silhouette. The waist was brought back to its proper position, with hemlines being dropped. Fashion emphasized on the bust, while backless evening gowns became the norm. The female body was modified to a more contemporary tone, while having athletic bodies became a trend. The popularity of having slim and toned down bodies resulted into couturiers to manufacture what is now known as the sportswear. While the concept of “ ready-to-wear ” was unknown then, boutiques were already making clothes known as being “for sport.” In the 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli with Madeleine Vionnet rose to prominence. Both were known for their innovative designs while not shattering the fundamentals of fashion. Schiaparelli became popular with her black knitted white bow. She became known for her exciting designs since then. Some of her noteworthy creations were the desk suit complemented with drawers for pockets, and the shoe-shaped hat. She also made silk dresses colored with flies. Vionet on the other hand got her inspiration in designing clothes from ancient statues. She created classical gowns that more often than not seemed taken out of a Greek frieze. She also manufactured dresses that suited the body less the unwarranted accessories, in turn creating a flowing and stylish line. By the time she retired at the end of the decade, Vionnet had enjoyed a reputation among fashion industry movers.

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