Opening the Broadway show "Girl Crazy" in 1930 was no easy task, but as Ethel eased her way into her next musical number that fateful October night, her voice was heard by all. It was more than just her voice that captured the audience’s attention. It was the way Ethel carried herself with grace, the way she always smiled brightly at the audience, but most of all, it was her elegance in costumes and outfits that made her iconic in 1930’s culture. Exemplary of this is Ethel’s costume during that very October show. It was a beaded black dress that glimmered and sparkled under the bright lights of the Broadway stage.
Ethel’s voice shined and demanded everyone’s attention with such loveliness that it moved even the cruelest and bitterest of men. However, it was her outfits that were the platform for catapulting her into further iconic success. During her Broadway show "Red, Hot, and Blue!" in 1936, Ethel wore a gold dress of paillettes that stopped at her knees with soft curls by her ears. Not only did this encapsulate the feminine and simple style of the 1930’s, but it garnered enough attention to continue the trend of homemaker dresses, a fad which trailed for the rest of the 1930’s and 1940’s. In fact, Ethel glamourized and vowed upon the trend of the wrap dress called a “hooverette”, which was a knee-cut dress with ruffled sleeves tied at the waist. It used a practical cotton fabric that was affordable for any women during the era of the Great Depression.
Ethel’s style only matured along with her age. Broadway show after Broadway show (16 shows in total to be exact), Ethel proved her classic and iconic status to be one of the most important during the 1930’s and well into the 1970’s.
Ethel Merman: 1930's Style Icon
12 1930's Women's fashion