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| Image, possibly British, depicting masculine women's wear |
In a regime that emphasized women’s roles as highly feminized, why did many pieces of women’s wear in Nazi Germany feature rather masculine elements such as angled shoulders, tailored suits waist coats, and even masculine hats? Was it a reflection of the larger world fashion trends or was there another reason? Why did this regime allow both very feminine wear and masculine wear to exist side by side and offer contradictions, visual contradictions, within their ideology and policies towards women?
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| Frauen-Warte Cover depicting a Woman in her ideal role as Mother |
Women’s wear in Nazi Germany embraced feminine qualities for obvious reasons in that it emphasized their roles as mothers and care takers. Women’s wear was also distinctly masculine for reasons that are less clear. Having women sport masculine wear in Nazi Germany bolstered the image that the Nazi regime wanted to have for their women which was to be both racially superior, fashionable, and capable in the modern world like other women living in the 40s.
40s fashion in terms of women’s wear was quite masculine as a whole with angular lines and sporty pieces. To remain competitive in the world (or at least look it), it only made sense that German women, or specifically Aryan women, living under the Nazi regime remain fashionable as well following larger trends. By following the larger world fashion trends, Aryan women in the Nazi regime appeared to be just as trendy as any American, British, or French woman. This appearance of being fashionable and up to date on the latest trends gave the impression that women in the Nazi regime were not only racially superior but also superior on a larger world playing field.
Allowing their women to wear masculine looks reinforced the image that their women were also actively and productively contributing to the German war economy. To actively contribute to the economy in their proper roles as prescribed by the Nazi regime, Aryan women were visually not only productive but also fashionable. This importance of imagery was of great importance in the regime and used widely.
Masculine women’s wear in Germany is not a new phenomenon. In the 1920s, the “new woman” image provided women with a new sort of independence with them earning their own income and desiring to dress in new fashions to fully embody their new roles in the world around them. Women working in the public sphere in the 20s and taking on rather masculine roles was revitalized in the 40s after a return to the feminine fashion in the 30s. Working in factories, fields, managing the home, women in early Nazi Germany were taking on more masculine roles once again with many men on the front line leaving their previous employment behind. To mirror their roles, their fashion followed suit using masculine tailoring and design elements. Like in the 20s, women in the 40s were entering the masculine world and their fashions followed suit.
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| German Woman in Late 30s, Early 40s Working as a Secretary |
Sources and Further Reading
Dirix, Emmanuelle and Charlotte Fiell. 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook. London: Goodman Fiell, 2013.
Guenther, Irene. Nazi Chic?: Fashioning Women in the Third Reich. New York: Berg, 2004.
Guenther, Irene. “Fashioning Women in the Third Reich”, in Life and Times in Nazi Germany edited by Lisa Pine. New York: Bloomsbury, 2016.
