Many celebrations continue to mark the centenary of the First World War.
And, later this month, a well-known fashion historian will bring his clothing collection to Port Moody to highlight what women wore before and after the Great War as well as the Second World War.
Ivan Sayers will be in town to help raise funds — for a second year in a row —for the Port Moody Heritage Society, a non-profit group that promotes the Port Moody Station Museum; the venue itself has been active on the home front with WWI education, since the start of the centenary.
Sayers will show parts of his latest exhibit from the Museum of Vancouver, From Rationing to Ravishing, a display that spans from around 1912 to the late 1940s.
At the turn of the 20th century, ladies' clothing was "pretty debilitating" with tight corsets, he said, but by the time women earned the right to vote in 1917, the styles were "more liberating because women proved their abilities."
The 1920s went from oversized bags to a more curvaceous look during the Depression era. "You may have lost the house but at least you had your 'personal assets,'" he said, adding there was less material to work with as fabric was in short supply.
But later in the 1930s, the hems dropped and prices went up. There was also a focus on sentimentality as the Allies prepared for war, with puffy sleeves and cutesy designs. The styles were a kind of propaganda to encourage men to go off to fight as women and children at home needed protection, Sayers said.
By the 1940s, fashions centred on physical strength as Canadian women did their part in the war effort and designers included victory patterns in their material. In the post-war era, the glamour is back with Christian Dior creating his New Look revolution with full skirts and evening gowns.
Sayers will have live models to show his predominantly Canadian-designer collection, during his two-hour show at Inlet Theatre (100 Newport Dr.), titled Fashions on the Home Front.
• Tickets to the Feb. 28 event at 2 p.m. are $23. Light refreshments and door prizes will be available at intermission. Go online at inlettheatre.ca.
