Running head: THE HISTORY OF FASHION

The History of Fashion Ashlyn Zonca Madonna University

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Abstract Fashion repeats itself, it is an expression of who a person is, it is wearable art, and is more important than people may think. The fashion industry is the largest industry in the world. Over a million people work in the fashion industry worldwide. Fashion tends to repeat itself. Trends that are poplar today are not necessarily new. They are often a combination of popular elements of garments that were popular years even centuries ago. Fashion is also wearable art. It takes so much time and effort to create couture garments. It is elaborate and intricate details that make it art. Garments are often inspired from art history and certain elements throughout history are used to create the garments and that is also what makes them wearable art. The fact that fashion is an expression of a person makes it art. Fashion is an expression of who a person is. Fashion can tell a story about a person. It is mean to be fun and creative. The way someone dresses says a lot about them, it helps them show the world how they want to be perceived.

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The History of Fashion In the world of fashion one day you are in and the next day you are out. Fashion is constantly changing and new styles and trends are becoming popular everyday it seems, but in reality, most trends that are popular today are ones that were popular years, even decades ago. Fashion tells a lot about who a person is. People can dress based on how their mood or where they are going. It is a way for people to get to know someone without even speaking. Fashion is in our everyday lives whether people realize it or not. It can be seen everywhere whether in stores, on TV, on billboards, in magazines as well as even on the street. Fashion repeats itself, is an expression of who a person is, it is wearable art and is more important than critics believe. Fashion is anything that is favored at a particular time and is considered to be up-to-date, but is usually associated with clothing. The word literally means to make and comes from the Latin facere. Fashion is a state of mind. A spirit, an extension of ones self. Fashion talks and it can be an understated whisper, a high-energy scream or an all knowing wink and a smile. Most of all fashion is about being comfortable with yourself, translating self-esteem into a personal style (Durcanin, 2013). Fashion is more than just clothing it is what makes a person who they are as well as what helps the economy. Fashion is a big business. It is so big that according to Cynthia Durcanin of Elle Magazine, More people are bu ying, selling and producing clothing than any other business in the world. Everyday millions of workers design, sew, glue, dye and transport clothing to stores. Ads on buses, billboards and magazines give us ideas about what to wear, consciously, or subconsciously (Durcanin, 2013). The fashion industry gives millions of people jobs around the world. It is the largest industry and it is what is truly helping the economy the most contrary to what most critics may believe.

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Fashion changes from season to season and from year to year. What was popular last year may not be popular the coming year, but may have been popular years or even centuries ago. According to the Hutchinson Encyclopedia, in the 19th century, fashion was dictated by the courts as well as by the ruling classes. Only the wealthy were able to afford clothing made exclusively for them by fashion designers. They dressed fashionably and decided what styles were in at the time, but those who could not afford it, were not able to wear the up-to-date trends (Fashion, 2011). Fashion is all around us and it comes in all different styles today unlike in the 19th century where people were only allowed to wear certain types of clothing. Men were only able to wear the typical suit of that time and women were only to wear corseted dresses of that time period. It was not until after World War II that the social rules regarding dress began to relax. People were able to dress a little more casually. Today, according to Cynthia Durcanin, an editor for Elle Magazine, fashion also comes from the streets. Fashion designers are watching what new trends are popular on the streets and that is what influences what their next line of clothing will look like (Durcanin, 2013). Fashion on the streets works its way up to high and mainstream fashion today, whereas decades and centuries ago, that was not the case. Magazine editors, fashion designers, musicians, political figures, royalty, as well as actors and actresses are also the ones who influence or dictate fashion trends. People want to dress like their favorite celebrities and they want to wear what they see. Today, fashion is more accessible than ever. People want to dress like their favorite celebrity or wear the current fashion trend that is in the fashion magazines and due to ready-towear lines as well as retail stores of all different price ranges, people are able to afford at least cheaper versions of the outfits that their favorite celebrities are wearing. Due to technologys influence on fashion, it has led to mass production of fashion. What people see their favorite

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celebrities wearing, they are instantly able to look that outfit up online and order it or go to the store to buy it. Due to industrial sewing machines as well as computer design programs, the amount of time it takes to design a piece of clothing as well as to manufacture it and have it sold in stores has dramatically been reduced. Designers design their lines a year in advance and have the garments made so they are able to have a fashion show. Then, buyers are able to watch the show and decide what pieces they think would be best to have sold in their stores. It is then that the buyers tell the designer how many of this particular piece they would like. The buyers buy it and the designer has that piece manufactured and it is then sold in stores. It is after the fashion shows and around the time that the pieces reach the stores that the fashion editors are able to have their magazines published and for sale so the public can then see what the new trend for the season is. This shows how much thought and effort goes into producing clothing and selling it in stores. All of this thought and effort would not go into something that was useless and pointless. This is what helps to make the fashion industry the largest industry. It is through all of this effort that people are able to buy clothing to wear and to protect themselves from the cold and other harsh elements. Fashion trends are often repeated throughout the years. In fact, in the 1920s, women wearing menswear was also very popular. They would wear straight-lined dresses which are also popular today as well as women wearing menswear. More loose fitting jeans and tuxedo jackets as well as pant suits are popular for women today. This trend tends to go in and out of style. It was popular in the 1980s and is back again in 2013. In 1925, skirts lengths were the shortest they had ever been up until this time period and today shorter hemlines are still popular although the length tends to vary from year to year. In 1968, see through dresses and tops were popular and this is a trend that is popular again today (Fashion, 2011). Color blocking is another trend that

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goes in and out of style. As well as army influences in military jackets and camouflage pants and jackets. Another example is high waisted or trouser pants that are always going in and out of style. This shows that fashion trends do in fact repeat themselves. Fashion is important because it is something that has been in peoples lives for centuries. If fashion was not important, it would have gone away years even centuries ago. Fashion makes people feel good about themselves and that is why it is important and why it has been around for so long. The new fashion trends today are not all in fact new. As it has been shown, most of the trends that are worn today are because of the trends and fashion innovations that happened centuries ago. The draping in dresses that is seen today also came from the Greek and the Roman dress. The elaborate dress that is mostly only seen in wedding gowns today came from more of the Victorian Era and the Romantic. The garments worn today are more combinations of all the trends and fashion innovations that have been popular throughout centuries. However, there are still new fashion trends that are being created today such as more structured dresses that have more of an architectural influence to it and use geometric shapes and ideas. When garments are more structured and they have a lot of geometric shapes and ideas and different patterns in them and when they become elaborate and just truly amazing, they are works of art. Fashion is wearable art. Much of the couture garments are influenced by art history and that is what makes it wearable art as well. Designers are haunted by history and should provide thought-provoking analysis of the need for interpretation in fashion (Conway, 2013). This shows a renewed interest in art history. Designers want to take the popular trends of the past and make them more modern. They look at artwork from the past and that becomes their inspiration for their garments. Being able to wear this art helps to give people an idea of the past and maybe even encourages them to learn more about art history. Fashion brings art to life and

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allows people to actually see it move. They can wear it and feel it and through this, designers are able to reinvent the past. Fashion is much more than just pieces of clothing. It tells a story about a person. It shows who a person is or at least who that person wants to be seen as. It is something that people create to express themselves and that is also what makes fashion art. Just because society may say that a certain trend is in right now, does not mean that it has to be worn exactly the way it is shown on the runway. Fashion is subjective and is meant to be fun. It is meant to be altered and played with. If a trend is popular and someone does not like something about it, or it does not fit their body type, they can make it work for them. Maybe make the hem longer, or add an accessory to it to make it your own. Nowhere does it say that everyone has to dress this way or wear these clothes. Fashion helps make up who a person is on the outside and is meant to make people feel good about themselves. Fashion is also a way to show social status. This was much more popular in the 19th century for example, but it is still popular today. Certain fabrics and colors were only worn by the wealthy and the royals as well as elaborate garments and that was how their social status was known. It was about showing off what you could afford and have made for you. The same is still true to today to a certain extent. There are still very luxurious fabrics that are expensive that only the rich can afford, but there are garments that look the same that are made of synthetic fabrics that are much cheaper for the public to be able to afford. Today, garments are still personally made and designed for those who can afford it and there are still luxury fabrics that help to show social status. A person only being able to use certain colors and fabrics shows that fashion is important. The wealthy would not have clothing made for them for no reason. It was important to show off social status through clothing and that is still important today. Those who dress well

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care about their appearance just as the wealthy did centuries ago. If one dresses nicely, it shows that they care about themselves and that they take themselves seriously. Through dress they are able to express themselves and show the world who they really are. Being able to express yourself through clothing is what makes fashion art. Some people may believe that fashion is no longer elegant and therefore is no longer important. According to John Simon, we live in a more dressed-down age (Simon, 1996). People are more concerned with cheap clothing and being comfortable than dressing up every day like people used to years even centuries ago. It is true that garments today are not as formal and elegant as they once were, but that is because society has changed it. People want to be more comfortable in what they are wearing. There are still elegant pieces, but they are for more formal events. It has made clothing more important and affordable and has caused it to lose its value. He is quoted saying, Fast clothes for people who eat fast food (Simon, 1996). Clothing has not lost its value just because it is more affordable. It is now available to the public thus allowing it to eliminate a little more of the social class status through clothing. It is because of the affordable prices that people are able to dress nicely and feel good about themselves no matter what size they are. Some people cannot help what size they are and now there is clothing that can fit them and they can look good and feel good. If people can feel good about themselves because of what they are wearing and how garments make them feel, then it is important. Some people also believe that fashion is not important. They believe that fashion is pointless and it is just a way for society to decide what everyone should wear. John Simon states that, Change in fashion is the tax that the industry of the poor levies on the vanity of the rich (Simon, 1996). It is true that fashion is clothing and it may not be important to everyone. Not every person is going to care about the way they look, but the fashion industry is the largest

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industry in the world. It is what gives millions of people jobs. Fashion is not so pointless if it is what keeps the economy going. It is also not just for the rich if workers are making clothes for everyone. John Simon also stated that, Fashion is a form of ugliness that we have to alter every six months (Simon, 1996). Fashion repeats itself, so there is no need to throw away clothing just because it is not fashionable at this very moment. There are also ways to take the clothing that you have to update it so it can be worn as the current trend. Just because a piece of clothing is no longer fashionable, does not mean you cannot still wear it. Anyone can be fashionable because clothing today is affordable for everyone, not just for the rich. Fashion does in fact repeat itself. Trends that were popular years ago go in and out of style all the time. Trends that are popular today are often a combination of elements of design that were popular centuries ago. Not many trends today are actually new and innovative; they are just different takes on previous trends. Fashion is an expression of who a person is. It can tell a story about a person. Fashion is meant to be made your own; it is mean to be fun and creative. It is also wearable art. So much time and effort goes into producing garments, especially couture garments that it is truly a work of art. Couture garments can be so elaborate and vintage that they are wearable art. Fashion is so much more important than people realize. The fashion industry is what gives millions of people around the world jobs. It is what helps the economy and it also helps people to feel good about themselves. Fashion gives people confidence and it is so much more than just pieces of clothing. So much work and effort goes into producing clothing and it has a much larger meaning behind the fact that they are clothes. They actually mean something and do more than just protect people from weather and harsh elements; they make a person who they are.

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References Conway, H. (2005, February 14). The art of dressing up. New Statesman, (846), 39, Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com Durcanin, C. (2013). What is Fashion? Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/1999/10/what-is-fashion/ (2009). Fashion. Comptons by Britannica, v 6.0. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com (2011). Fashion. Hutchinson Encyclopedia. Helicon Publishing. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com Simon, J. (1996, October 28). The content of form. National Review, ({48}) 35(1), Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com