1900's fashion was a continuation of fashion in the 1880's with long elegant lines, broad hats and big hair styles being the norm. A new silhouette was introduced near the end of the decade signalling a change in style for the next decade, with the corset fading from women's wardrobes. By 1908, smaller busts and narrower hips becoming more desirable in the fashion houses of Paris. The end of the decade also showed skirts approaching the ankles and no longer skimming the floor with long trains.

Hemline's slowly rose from the beginning of the twentieth century and by 1925 they had risen almost 16 inches, showing the kneecap. Uneven hemlines and asymmetrical shapes became popular in 1929 making way for longer hemlines in the 30's. Boyish shapes were becoming more and more desirable with bra's barely supporting bigger breasted women who turned to bandaging their breasts flat. Flappers refused to wear corsets and began rolling their stockings to the knee, leading to suspenders which were attached to the girdles which began to replace corsets.

The war, which finished in 1945, had a very big impact on fashion. With rationing in place, there was a short supply of fabrics. This made outfit's much less detailed and exciting and with most people roaming the streets in their military uniforms, the mood was dismal. Women's outfits became much more structured and uniform-like and practical with the influence of the men's military garb. The 1940's was a busy time for women who were taking over many of the men's roles and some of the styles came about simply for practicality. The turban was used to keep women's hair from getting caught in machinery and then became useful in hiding unkempt hair. Shoes were purely for practicality with most women wearing wedges.

The younger generations became the trendsetters in the 1960's with radical, innovative styles taking hold and icons such as Twiggy having a big influence over people's style. The early 60's saw pleated skirts worn with short sleeved blouses and straight sweater dresses worn with belts. Mini skirts, set 6/7 inches above the knee didn't come about until around 1966, when they were made using cotton and PVC, other popular fabrics were lace, tulle and chiffons. Pinafores and shift dresses often including white collars were popular. Pinafores were often teamed with polo neck jumpers or neck tie blouses.

One thing best embodies the 80's…shoulder pads. Bigger was usually better when it came to the upper body. Trousers skirts and shorts were usually tight fitting while shirts and jackets were usually very broad. Popular fabrics were lycra, denim (especially acid wash) leather and anything with bold prints. Dancewear had a strong influence over the 80's with youngsters wearing leggings, leg warmers, leotards and torn shirts and sweaters. Shows such as Miami Vice, Dallas and Dynasty also influenced people's style as well celebrities such as Madonna who became a style icon for many young girls and was looked to her for bold fashion statements. When it came to footwear, it was generally quite big with chunky sneakers and mannish Dr Martins. With many of the broad and baggy aspects to the style of the 80's it could be described as androgynous however tight fitting skirts etc kept up the femininity.