The four illustrations from the earliest decades of the twentieth century illustrate the importance of fashion in the formation of identity just as much as Twiggy's outfit does, and in fact are possibly even more telling given their distance from current styles. Regardless of what people of the time though regarding the sexuality of certain of these gown, all of them give the female figure an incredibly sculpted look, whether or not they attempt to accentuate the female curves. These sculpted fashions coincided with much stricter demands on the social role and identity of women, yet even the subtle changes here reveal the shifting cultural acceptances.

The difference between the first two dresses is somewhat startling -- though the accentuation of the thin waist and large bust is diminished in the dress on the right (the later of the two), mobility is also severely hampered by the circumference of the...
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