Under the editor-in-chief, Edna Woolman Chase, from 1914 to 1951, Vogue Magazine underwent many changes. As a result of World War I, many women were urged to enter the workplace. Thus women were making their own money and had the freedom to spend it any which way. The new female consumer provided magazines such as Vogue with a new audience. This gave way to the avant-garde culture in which the reader was educated on superior tastes within fashion and the cutting-edge styles. Women were encouraged to shop, but to shop for particular things, hence Vogue magazine operated as a guide for readers, helping them purchase the “right” things.
This transition was very apparent in the Vogue covers of the 1920s where the illustrations of women supported a more “free” and career driven individual. This was believed to be represented in the one of many fashion evolutions, in particular with the transition in the female’s hat. The cloche hat was more of a practical hat that allowed women to do more, and see more. This style hat is present in over more than half of the Vogue covers during the 1920s. In particular, I was interested in the October, March and May covers from 1929. The illustrations capture a woman in the middle of a certain action, walking down the street, driving a car, and talking on the phone. While the tasks can be regarded as insignificant, the representations of women illustrate a move towards independence.
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