Of Mice And Men

1930 TREND
When people felt the negative impact of the Great Depression, designers stopped experimenting because of the lessened demand for clothes.
Trends in women fashion though emphasized a romantic, womanly silhouette. The waist was brought back to its proper position, with hemlines being dropped. Fashion emphasized on the bust, while backless evening gowns became the norm. The female bodywas modified to a more contemporary tone, while having athletic bodies became a trend. The popularity of having slim and toned down bodies resulted into couturiers to manufacture what is now known as the sportswear. While the concept of "ready-to-wear" was unknown then, boutiques were already making clothes known as being "for sport."
In the 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli with Madeleine Vionnet rose toprominence. Both were known for their innovative designs while not shattering the fundamentals of fashion. Schiaparelli became popular with her black knitted white bow. She became known for her exciting designs since then. Some of her noteworthy creations were the desk suit complemented with drawers for pockets, and the shoe-shaped hat. She also made silk dresses colored with flies.
Vionet onthe other hand got her inspiration in designing clothes from ancient statues. She created classical gowns that more often than not seemed taken out of a Greek frieze. She also manufactured dresses that suited the body less the unwarranted accessories, in turn creating a flowing and stylish line. By the time she retired at the end of the decade, Vionnet had enjoyed a reputation among fashion industrymovers.

THE GREAT DEPRESION
After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, the United States was thrown into despair on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed and the official beginning of the Great Depression. As stock prices plummeted with no hope of recovery, panic struck. Masses and masses of people tried to sell their stock, but no one was buying. The stockmarket, which had appeared to be the surest way to become rich, quickly became the path to bankruptcy.
And yet, the Stock Market Crash was just the beginning. Since many banks had also invested large portions of their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks were forced to close when the stock market crashed. Seeing a few banks close caused another panic across the country. Afraid theywould lose their own savings, people rushed to banks that were still open to withdraw their money. This massive withdrawal of cash caused additional banks to close. Since there was no way for a bank's clients to recover any of their savings once the bank had closed, those who didn't reach the bank in time also became bankrupt.

Businesses and industry were also affected. Having lost much of theirown capital in either the Stock Market Crash or the bank closures, many businesses started cutting back their workers' hours or wages. In turn, consumers began to curb their spending, refraining from purchasing such things as luxury goods. This lack of consumer spending caused additional businesses to cut back wages or, more drastically, to lay off some of their workers. Some businesses couldn'tstay open even with these cuts and soon closed their doors, leaving all their workers unemployed.

Riding the Rails
During the Great Depression, millions of people were out of work across the United States. Unable to find another job locally, many unemployed people hit the road, traveling from place to place, hoping to find some work. A few of these people had cars, but most hitchhiked or "rodethe rails."
A large portion of the people who rode the rails were teenagers, but there were also older men, women, and entire families who traveled in this manner. They would board freight trains and crisscross the country, hoping to find a job in one of the towns along the way.
When there was a job opening, there were often literally a thousand people applying for the same job. Those who...