This is a Chanel suit from the Victoria and Albert Museum and this relates to the show “Guys and Dolls”. The Chanel suit was introduced in 1925; however, it became extremely popular in 1954 which matches the 1950’s setting of “Guys and Dolls”. Since 1954 the Chanel suit has been a staple in fashion and is very often replicated or is the source of inspiration for other pieces. It became a symbol of femininity, elegance, and the working woman with many high class women wearing them around to boost their popularity. It is also an important fashion piece in feminism; the looser silhouette is meant to be a sharp turn from the popularity of corsets at the time of its creation. It was a step towards more functional clothing for women which is why it was so popular. While “Guys and Dolls” is definitely not very feminist, the Chanel suit and symbol of the working woman. The uniforms for the women of the save our souls groups had the same silhouette. Chanel suit inspiration also appeared in some of the outfits that female ensemble members wore. Following WW2 more and more women were entering the workforce and women’s fashion at the time did not support that so the more functional design of Chanel suits became an icon for women in the workforce and a source of inspiration for work uniforms for women. There were many other important pieces of fashion history that appeared in “Guys and Dolls” like Christian Dior’s “New Look” which could be seen being replicated in some of the dresses the women were wearing. I am a really big fan of fashion and fashion history so seeing these pieces of fashion history in the Victoria and Albert museums and also seeing fashion history portrayed well in shows is amazing to me.
Theatre in London U of A 