Notes

WritIn Rome, the woman wore a palla ( a shawl draped over her head) over her stola ( a long dress). The Roman man used to wear a Toga over a tunic. The toga was a semi-circular cloth draped over the body and was a mark of Roman citizenship. The draped style of clothing was popular then and their tunics were as close to modern dresses as any.e a note in this area. It's really easy to share with others. Click here ...
This is the period after the Romans exited England. During the reign of the Anglo-Saxons, the men and women used to wear a belted tunic. The women’s tunic was ankle length and over this, a shawl covered their head. The color of the clothes used to denote the financial status of the people.

There were also clear distinctions between the garments of the rich and the poor. The rich women wore layers of dresses. The rich men wore tunics that were sewn up on the sides in contrast to the poor who had their tunics open from hem to waist.
This is the period after the Romans exited England. During the reign of the Anglo-Saxons, the men and women used to wear a belted tunic. The women’s tunic was ankle length and over this, a shawl covered their head. The color of the clothes used to denote the financial status of the people.

There were also clear distinctions between the garments of the rich and the poor. The rich women wore layers of dresses. The rich men wore tunics that were sewn up on the sides in contrast to the poor who had their tunics open from hem to waist.
Gowns for ladies and trousers and jackets for men – this was established as the dress code. Men’s fashion consisted of buckled shoes, waistcoat, a shirt, and an outer coat. Seamstresses and tailors designed clothes for the aristocrats and everyone else followed suit as much as they could afford.
Another major development during this period was the Industrial Revolution in Britain (1760 to 1840). Textile manufacturing flourished in Britain during this period. Till this time everything was handmade – now machines took over production and tailoring. Knitted and woven fabric of fine gauge was produced by these machines.The invention of the sewing machine (1790) enabled speedy and less labour intensive manufacturing of garments

The prewar period of fashion from the 1890s to the first world war is known as La Belle Epoque and clothes consisted of extravagantly decorated evening dresses and tailored day dresses with corsets shaping the female body to regressive proportions. The clothing was elaborate and ornate and very expensive. No one could dress by herself- there were many layers and petticoats and tightly laced corsets under their gowns.
Corsets which were tightly laced at the waist and chest made the waist seem tiny and the hips were forced back. Hats and parasols were a major part of the elaborate dressing style of this period.

Fashion magazines started to be popular and influential. These magazines started to cover the fashion scene accompanied by photographs and this had a great impact to spread the word on new trends in fashion.

La Gazette du bonbon was one of the first French fashion magazines and a very popular one. In 1863 Ellen and Ebeneezer Butterick created the first sized patterns for dressmakers.

Famous Designer Paul Poirot (1879-1944 ) had some hand in this change. Paul Poirot designed the first outfit that a woman can wear on her own, and more clothes that did not include a petticoat or a corset. He came up with the famous “flapper” style which replaced the tight fitting corsets and voluminous skirts.

Designers of the period: Jeanne Paquin (The first fashion show was organized in 1910 by Jeanne Paquin who is known as the first female couturier)Jacques Doucet (He made clothes with a fluid silhouette in diaphanous materials), Mariano Fortuny

World War 1 started in 1914 and ended in 1918. The war had a great effect on fashion as people were forced to adopt austere measures to cut costs. Elaborate styles of dressing had to give way to more practical dresses. Monochromatic and darker colors were used for clothes. Social activities had to be curtailed and hence the dressing for the parties was less.

Designers of the period: Jeanne Paquin (The first fashion show was organized in 1910 by Jeanne Paquin who is known as the first female couturier)Jacques Doucet (He made clothes with a fluid silhouette in diaphanous materials), Mariano Fortuny

World War 1 started in 1914 and ended in 1918. The war had a great effect on fashion as people were forced to adopt austere measures to cut costs. Elaborate styles of dressing had to give way to more practical dresses. Monochromatic and darker colors were used for clothes. Social activities had to be curtailed and hence the dressing for the parties was less.

In men’s wear also there was a major change. The formality of the past years was replaced by clothing that gave more emphasis on relaxation and youthfulness- sports clothes gained acceptance. Wide grey flannel trousers called Oxford bags became popular. Short jackets replaced long stiff jackets. Knickers ad sweaters gained popularity. The tailcoat was replaced by a short tuxedo.

Film stars like Louise Brooks, Gloria Swanson, Collen Moore were influential in shaping fashion sensibilities of the era.

Designers of the era – Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Jeanne Lavie. Among them, Coco Chanel was the most popular. An iconic designer, she popularised the little black dress, her signature jacket, use of knit fabric in making clothes.

During this period there was a re-emergence of feminine fashion – to recapture sophistication and elegance in dressing. Ankle length skirts, evening dresses all became popular once more. At the same time, the girls started to wear trousers.

Sportswear was gaining popularity and women started to take an interest in sports and gained a more athletic figure.

Designers of the times: Elsa Schiaparelli ( the most famous fashion designer between the world wars), Madeleine Vionnet, Main Rousseau Bocher.

The wealthy who had enough of austerity during the world war started to be interested once more in the elaborate dresses of earlier times. The age also saw the return of the corsets. Ready to wear dresses was adopted by modern women as they were deemed as elegant and modern.

Designers of the period: Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior and Jacques Fath were the 3 most dominant fashion influences of the post war period. Christian Dior emerged as a front runner with his first collection in 1947. The post-war clientele who had enough of the austerity of world war lapped up his la epoch style dresses with enormous skirts.

merican Movie star James Dean popularized blue jeans in the movie Rebel Without a Cause in 1955. A combination of T-shirts, Jeans and leather jackets as worn by him became hugely popular.

Another major change in men’s fashion occurred in the 1950s with the introduction of Italian tailored clothing with single-breasted suits, tapered pants, narrow ties and pointed shoes.
Designers of the period: Christian Dior, Jaques Fath, Hubert Givenchy. Hollywood costume designers like Orry Kelly (winner of three Academy Awards for Best Costume), William Travilla (Who designed clothes for Marilyn Monroe)

Unisex clothes were all the rage in this period. The A-line dresses without much body definition started to be popular. Mini skirts came to be in 1965. Young working middle-class girls with financial independence started to be a major force to reckon with.

Tight trousers and brightly colored military jackets and patterned shirts were favorites of men.

Designers like Yves Sait Laurent came up with modern clothes for modern youth. Designers Andres Courreges and St. Laurent made clothes with the theme of modernism and futurism and space-age themes. Jeans started to be accepted as daily wear.

Designers of the period: Mary Quant (English fashion designer), Barbara Hulanicki (Polish fashion designer) Pierre Cardin (French) Andre Courreges, Yves Saint Laurent (French), Emanuel Ungaro, Rudi Gernreich, (American) James Galanos, (American) Emilio Pucci (Italian), Paco Rabanne (Spanish)

Vivienne Westwood opened her boutique catering to customers who loved Punk clothes in this decade. Punk was defined by ripped t-shirts, chains and weird hairdos.

In the 1970s there was a fashion preference for flared trousers. Hippy clothes with maxi skirts, wide-legged trousers (bell-bottomed denim), hot pants, tie and dye clothing, kaftans along with platform shoes, all were popular.

Designers of the period: Kenzo Takada, (Japanese-french) Sonia Rykiel (French designer, called Queen of knits), Laura Ashley also called Mountney, (British designer) Calvin Klein (American) Ralph Lauren American) Pierre Cardin (French) Valentino Capucci (Italian) Giorgio Armani (Italian) Nino Cerruti (Italian)
Jeans became a staple in every wardrobe. Women of the 80s wore tailored suits with wide padded shoulders to the office.

Fitness was big during this period. Sports brands like Nike, Reebok, Adidas came up with athletic clothes and were very popular. Fashionable sportswear with tracksuits, training shoes, leggings and lycra / stretch body-hugging clothes became popular.

Madonna, Boy George and Michael Jackson were music icons as well as fashion icons and their styles were taken up by their millions of fans. Celebrities like Princess Diana also held a lot of influence in fashion sensibilities of the period. What they wore became fashion.

Jeans became a staple in every wardrobe. Women of the 80s wore tailored suits with wide padded shoulders to the office.

Fitness was big during this period. Sports brands like Nike, Reebok, Adidas came up with athletic clothes and were very popular. Fashionable sportswear with tracksuits, training shoes, leggings and lycra / stretch body-hugging clothes became popular.

Madonna, Boy George and Michael Jackson were music icons as well as fashion icons and their styles were taken up by their millions of fans. Celebrities like Princess Diana also held a lot of influence in fashion sensibilities of the period. What they wore became fashion.

Jeans became a staple in every wardrobe. Women of the 80s wore tailored suits with wide padded shoulders to the office.

Fitness was big during this period. Sports brands like Nike, Reebok, Adidas came up with athletic clothes and were very popular. Fashionable sportswear with tracksuits, training shoes, leggings and lycra / stretch body-hugging clothes became popular.

Madonna, Boy George and Michael Jackson were music icons as well as fashion icons and their styles were taken up by their millions of fans. Celebrities like Princess Diana also held a lot of influence in fashion sensibilities of the period. What they wore became fashion.

Synthetic materials like lycra, spandex and viscose became popular fabrics for making figure-hugging clothes. Luxury brands like Prada, Gucci and sports brands like Nike became hugely popular.

Designers of the period: American Fashion designers Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace (Italian) Vivienne Westwood (British), Thierry Mugler (French), Claude Montana, (French) Angelo Tarlazzi (Italian)

Designers of the period: American Fashion designers Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace (Italian) Vivienne Westwood (British), Thierry Mugler (French), Claude Montana, (French) Angelo Tarlazzi (Italian)

Designers of the period: American Fashion designers Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace (Italian) Vivienne Westwood (British), Thierry Mugler (French), Claude Montana, (French) Angelo Tarlazzi (Italian)

Designers of the period: American Fashion designers Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace (Italian) Vivienne Westwood (British), Thierry Mugler (French), Claude Montana, (French) Angelo Tarlazzi (Italian)

The key takeaway in studying the history of fashion has been that fashion changes periodically as a result of a revolt. Whenever there is a fashion going on strong there is a tendency to oppose it. A style then develops that completely changes the previous one on its head. For the corset there was a flapper, for the princess gowns there was a punk. This attitude of protest inherent in humans changed fashion trends.

Today everyone wants to be unique, where once people wanted to look alike. Fashion has evolved – from being a response to cultural changes to being a reflection of a person’s individuality. Social ‘conformation’ is no longer the goal of fashion.

One thing is common for fashion through the centuries and holds still to this day – those with wealth and influence continue to hold the power to influence the course of fashion history. Earlier it was the royals, today it is the celebrities and big corporations and brands. But the common people also have a larger say than ever in the history of fashion – their tastes drive the market for fashion.