TWEED, FEMININITY, AND FASHION, 1851–1918 by Fiona Anderson
This article summarizes the rise of tweed garments from the 19th century to the 20th century. The material was invented by Harris Tweed in Scotland. Tweed was pretty well known as a weather resistance material with a thick and slightly heavy body. Due to these characteristics, this material was mostly worn by men in specific garments like jackets, coats, and outerwear. The fabric slowly was being adopted by females, but it took around half a century for it to fully integrate to women’s wear. When women started wearing tweed, it was through underground buyers of the fabric from Scotland, and they wore it with very low profiles because women wearing mens wear material was mostly looked down upon. Once the British imported the materials for manufacture, tweed on women were slightly more commonized. It started off with women who often worked with men wearing these materials as jackets, and then it became ubiquitous to other women who enjoyed riding, golfing, or other sports activities. As the nature of the rise of tweed on women, the material started off being worn by upper and upper-middle class, and as the integration of tweed from London to New York occurred, many started making imitation tweed for the middle and lower class.
When I think of tweed in our 21st century, I mostly think of vintage, luxury, and Chanel. It was really interesting reading this chapter about tweed because I did not know its origins and the purpose of the material. Because nowadays tweed is only commonly seen in luxury fashion shows, imitation fast fashion brands like Zara, or on older women, it has a delicate yet expensive connotation to it. Looking into its cultural origin, I was surprised to learn that tweed originated from menswear and that it was common knowledge that it is weatherproof hence mostly worn during outdoor activities. I also find it very interesting that the marketing techniques back then still exist in the fashion industry today. In the chapter, it covers how once the British started manufacturing their own tweed, tailors had a Scottish name attached to their products to make their product more authentic as if it was made in Scotland. This I feel like is still a marketing technique for internationally imported goods using cultural context to appeal to a crowd who may be unfamiliar with the product. Another thing that really caught my attention was how the material integrated with womenswear design. One of the photos in the chapter shows how tweed was integrated into making women’s jacket and skirt with a corset silhouette and a puff shoulder detail that would never be found in menswear.
I also enjoyed reading this article and was fascinated to hear about the history of this textile, since I too think of it as a staple in ‘women’s’ fashion specifically, though of course it is used in ‘men’s’ fashion as well. I would never have thought of it as revolutionary for women to start wearing tweed without this historical context, so I found that to be really interesting as well. I also agree with what you said about the British manufacturers choosing names that made them sound more Scottish – I guess it’s not all too surprising that this happened, but it’s certainly thought-provoking that consumers will trust a product more based specifically on its branding.
Julie and Elena, I also didn’t realize the utilitarian origin of tweed. The story of tweed illustrates specific fabrics (or other materials) can take on meaning that is very far from it’s origin, yet still retain aspects of it. For instance, tweed was used initially as men’s outdoor rugged cloth. When it was first made, the fact that it was British didn’t really mean very much. But once it was apart of the global and colonial stage – it began to be associated with the British Empire and even sold itself as part of “authentic” British (Scottish) goods. What are the other associations you have with tweed? I also associate it with Ivy League colleges, New England elites, aristocratic sports such as horseback riding and grouse hunting for sport — all of these things also (I believe) root back to England. What other kinds of textiles do you think have histories that vary from our contemporary associations with them?