The relationship between clothing styles and developments in clothing creation work together to change how we dress. Over time, styles change in relation to the technology used to make the clothes.
Clothing has come a long way since it was first made. At first every one had to make there own individual clothes that where then handed down through generation. Only the wealthy was able to purchase already made clothing because of how limited and expensive they were. The civil war is what brought along a change. Factories were built to quickly produce more uniforms at a cheaper price. Ratios of the average man were used to determine the different sizes. This will later be used to produce all of men’s clothing.
As factories grew, so did the
Today, designers have computer-aided design at their disposal. Clothing made by tailors,individuals, or by their family members at home. The Civil War was a critical historical development of men’s ready-made clothing. At the start of the war, most uniforms were made in workers' homes under government contract. After continuous war, manufacturers built factories that quickly and efficiently meet the demands of the military.
The attire of the period had variants sometimes when it came to age, social class, economic position, and even job placement. These factors made a difference in style of clothing, style of sleeves, choice of fabric, and amount of fabric used in a garment. A rich woman might buy very expensive brocade for her dress where a poorer woman might simply buy a singular colored wool or cotton. When the war arrived, cotton and silk increased, making it harder to obtain (Mitchell 4). It was these fabrics; wool, silk, muslin, linen, etc., that made the weight of the whole outfit so heavy and awkward.
Throughout the history of the United States, different wars were fought and sides had to be taken one way or another. The Civil War was the first and only war up to this time where Americans fought Americans over their different beliefs. Something had to be made to distinguish who was on what side when fighting the war, which was when uniforms were made. Along with different sides, there were also different ranks between soldiers and generals. Uniforms were successful in keeping sides between the Union and Confederate forces and soldier’s ranks during the Civil War.
Before the American Civil War, ready-made apparel existed, but its variety was limited. Coats, jackets and undergarments are only available in predetermined sizes. Most clothing was made by tailors, by individuals, or by their family members at home. The Civil War was a pivotal event in the historical development of men’s ready-made clothing. At the outset of the Civil War, most uniforms were custom-made in workers’ homes under government contracts.
...societies go more clothing that allow them to move easily and are more aware of physical fitness and always looking for the freedom in everything and mainly movement. However, it stands to reason that while the existence of such weighty components has reduced greatly, their concepts have set an indisputable model that remains related and lasts to influence today’s fashion.
These lower class men wore overalls, mainly to work in, and old ragged shoes that were very cheaply made. Their clothing was often made at home with cheap cotton and fabric. This type of clothing often ripped and stained more easily than the more expensive type of garments. This class could simply not afford the new clothing that was being made and produced at the time. Poor designs also came along with the poor fabric. Overall, social classes played a major role in how people dressed according to who could afford which type of clothing. People were classified and judged for how they dressed in the
Fashion in the 21th century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3).
Using real-time data can remove this possible risk. Fashion has become an evolutionary extension and amplification of formerly existing fashion.
Fashion denotes the changing styles within social hierarchy. Simmel theorized on the underpinnings of fashion with his distinct theory on fashion as a form of segregation. This theory gives rise to a cycle of ever changing styles in an effort to distinguish social classes, exposing aspects within society that effect decisions made by individuals on their choice of dress. Simmel believed that fashion arose in the form of styles which define an elite group. This belief best defines fashion throughout the early to mid-20th century as throughout this period fashion was seen as a form of segregation. When a style becomes a common look it is no longer fashionable in the eyes of the trend setters. Fashions are driven by the consumers desire to emulate current trends and by their need to display their social capital.
To begin with, I will look at each of the two subjects. Fashion is an extremely large subject with many sub-categories and can mean many different things, however in this essay I will take fashion to mean the popular clothing style. I will put emphasis on looking at high fashion as these are the leaders of their field. Fashion itself though, is not to be confused with clothing. Clothing is a part of fashion, but it is predominantly purely functional, for protection from different aspects of the environment. Fashion however, is primarily for image. It is a way to present individuality and personality. A physical mouldable form of expression. Designers wish to create works of art that can be worn, and this is wear clothing becomes an art form.
Marketing, advertising, and the media all try to influence the way our generation dresses. Their reasons are mainly profit based. We also make our clothing choices based on the Functionality of the garment. Consumers of our generation often look at the comfort, durability, and adaptability of a piece before purchasing. History has had a great influence on the look of most clothing worn today. Clothes reminiscent of the past are often known as "retro" which has become one of the signature styles of Generation Y. Clothing also helps us to express ourselves. Youth often choose clothing to reflect their unique personality. These factors are explained further below.
Therefore, in an attempt to both show the gravitas of fashion’s impact and justify its mirroring of times and therefore society, a walkthrough of fashion throughout history and its adaptation is exceedingly appropriate. To begin with, Britain’s Industrial Revolution in the 1850s to 1900s came with the introduction of sewing machines and chemical dyes. However, this movement of clothe manufacturing rendered its availability strictly to the opulent. This is a direct relation to the economical situation of the time, showing that people’s expenses were not directed towards the most up to date fashion i.e. luxury products but rather necessities indicating a slowly developing economy. As we move from the 1900s to the mid 1920s, the inception of the First World War influenced the need for more ‘practical’ garments. To illustrate, one of the greatest designers of the century Paul Poiret, designed his garments in a style known as the Directoire. His dresses were simple straight tube sheaths defining simplicity and exemplifying both the political and economic situation of the times justifying the necessity for a free moving design in clothing. Why adopt the notion of simplicity and free moving garments? Women had to leave their traditional domestic roles and become part of the working class or work force and adopt and replace many roles that were normally given to men. Furthermore, the Great Depression in the 1930s comes to play its own role in fashion history further pushing the necessity for a fashion to be translated to accustom a busier lifestyle. This created an economic gap between the rich and the poor. Therefore, fashion in the 1940s in the substantial sense portrayed the necessity for work and socioeconomic background and furthermore encased the economic situation where, as previous times in the 1900s, high-end fashion was restricted to the rich. Following a chronological timeline comes the
Historically, multiple styles of dressing have been created during the last several decades, which played an important role in modern fashion in the UK. Everyone has a different and unique dressing style in their general life. Some styles are influenced in vintage styles which is attributing to the deep effects of old vogue, and another group of dressing styles are inclined into the fresh element. According to those different styles some of them are even evolved in the milestones in fashion history.
In conclusion, fashion will speak out a person’s social signal, people dress on designs that blend with their social class. Just as population, social activities and fashion are changing with time. Fashion has made clothing to be convinient, everything needs to be done with the least effort and spend the least time.
Clothing has been around for thousands of years; almost as long as the modern human has. At first, it served the practical purpose of protection from the elements; but, as life for early humans stopped being a constant struggle to survive, they started noticing how they looked and the concept of fashion began to take shape. These first few garments were typically dyed draped cloth that was pinned at the shoulder and/or waist. This was seen in many ancient civilizations around the world, Greek and Roman the most notable. Over time, clothing began to get more and more complex and formed to the body’s shape, eventually leading up to the tailored style we now have today. However, the sophisticated world of Haute Couture; or high fashion, can distinctly trace its roots to Paris during the mid-19th century. Clothing from there was thought to be superior to those from anywhere else, and women began to come from all over Europe just to buy dresses. This was probably due in part to one notable dressm...