Fashion was a barometer of social changes and reflected very clearly, in the way women dressed, the new values and attitudes of the 20th Century. During World War II, the lack of fabric determined clothing restraints and, consequently, plainer clothes. The hard conditions during the war imposed practical clothing and even a masculine trend in the feminine fashion. After the war ended, there was a wave of optimism to which fashion responded with a more feminine and delicate trend. The wasp waist and full skirt gave birth to the curving silhouette of the 1950s. In the 1960s, youth gradually managed to impose their fashion behavior. Therefore, that period will always be associated with the miniskirt. The space age “frenzy” was also expressed by this decade’s fashion.
In the 1970s, great cultures marked fashion designers, inspiring them by social trends like Feminism and the Hippie movement. In the 1980s, clothing was a mix of glamour, physical awareness through fitness and the natural look. Unlike the previous decades, the 1990s fashion did not express a standard look, being focused on individualism and a more natural and comfortable style.
To mark the complex evolution of this social behavior, Romfilatelia, the specialized company in issuing philatelic items in Romania, is launching the second series of postal stamps, entitled The 20th Century Fashion. The issue comprises sex “se-tenant” postage stamps and three labels that present the evolution of fashion from 1941 to 2000.
The first two stamps of the set illustrate two trends in the feminine fashion that characterize the 1940s and 1950s. The two stamps have in the background the building of the Romanian Opera in Bucharest. The value is 5,000 Lei (ROL) for each stamp.
The two stamps, of 21,000 Lei (ROL) each, illustrate the feminine fashion trends of the 1980s and 1990s, with the House of Parliament in Bucharest as a background.
The next two stamps present the feminine fashion trends of the 1960s and 1970s, having as background the Circus building in Bucharest. Their face value is 31,000 Lei (ROL) for each stamp.
The labels’ design display some important technical achievements, such as television, the cassette player and mobile phone, from the specific fashion period.
