Author: Arnold, Rebecca

Source: Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, Volume 6, Number 1, February 2002 , pp. 45-60(16)

Publisher: Berg Publishers

Abstract:

During the 1930s and 1940s, Louise Dahl-Wolfe's fashion photographs for Harper's Bazaar helped to define the idea of the “American Look.“ This was a distinct visual and fashion style that drew upon ideals of American national identity to produce clean, modern images and designs that focussed on form. Dahl-Wolfe's photographic style incorporated contradictory myths of America, focussing as it did on a combination of images that celebrated nature, and those that showed the burgeoning dynamism of big cities. She favoured outdoor locations, and “real“ scenarios that showed models in, for example, simple New York sportswear designs apparently holidaying in the sun. Her use of early colour photography techniques enabled her to create light-infused photographs that emphasised models' natural bodies in relation to their environment, and which fitted well with the mass-produced fashions that her imagery promoted. Her work contributed to the construction of American women's visual identity during the period. It is discussed in relation to the FSA imagery of the Depression, the growth of popular illustrated magazines in the 1930s, and themes within wartime propaganda of the 1940s.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/136270402778869127

Publication date: 2002-02-01

More about this publication?

• Subscribe to this Title
• ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Arts (General)
• By this author: Arnold, Rebecca

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers