CONTEMPORARY AND CONTEXTUAL STUDIES
ESSAY
FASHION HISTORY AND THEORY-HOW HAS CLOTHING EVLOVED INTO FASHION
AARTI JOSHI
H00141506
CONTENTS
• Introduction and Literature Review
• Origin and Theory of Clothing
• Conclusion
• Referencing
Introduction and Literature Review
Fashion as lifestyle, reflects a certain commonality of thought and vision that exists in various spheres of art, design, architecture etc. at a certain point of time. Like every creative process, it has a natural cycle from inception, popularization, to an inevitable decline giving way to another new trend. As new trends evolve, along with it evolves a different aspect of clothing/ fashion. This article will firstly give a brief understanding of the term “fashion”,
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Often used synonymously with clothing, fashion is, in fact a generic term that encompasses a wide variety of architecture, furniture, clothes, accessories, etc., all integrating into a statement of “lifestyle”. It is so multi-faceted that its connotations and denotations are numerous. To an average person it implies a particular style of clothing or accessory that is contemporary and trendy, one that becomes outdated in the next season/year. To an economist, fashion presents an ever changing dynamic scenario because it has the inherit potential to make any new product obsolete within a short time-span, including the need for replacement even though the newer item may not necessarily perform a substantially a better function. A sociologist may perceive fashion as a product of socio economic, political factors prevailing in any country and the world at a particular time, while for a psychologist, it is an expression of human behavior, a manifestation of the personality, and a reaction to human perception of the environment around. Fashion is perceived by the youth as an outlet and reflection of their thoughts, aspirations and contemporary
Throughout history, there were many things that influenced fashion and the ideal body image of the time. Things such as politics, and changes in social roles were some things that had an influence on the fashion of the day. One particular shocking thing that had influenced on the fashion around the 1800s were sickness and diseases. Not only were diseases and sickness caused by different fashion trends, but it set the tone for certain ideal body images and also influenced the fashion of the time.
The evolution of clothing has been drastically changed through the course of history, from the style to how they’re made. Women and men’s clothing changed at different rates. The way clothes are made reflect the style. Clothing always has been an important aspect of one’s culture as well as a representation of a time period. Overtime clothing has changed just as the people it clothes.
Fashion in the 21st 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). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
George Simmel was born in Germany in 1858 and emerged as one of the major theorists of the turn of the century (?,?). His writings on philosophy and social sciences included one of the only insights, at the time, into the structure of fashion in society, Fashion, 1904. In this text he expressed his thoughts on society in relation to fashion and style, examining societal groups and how they used fashion as a form of segregation. He referred to the elite class as trend setters, differentiating themselves by creating new fashions, and lower classes as the mimics, in an effort to associate themselves with an elite identity. This cycle brought many different fashions over the 20th century and was described as the trickle-down effect. Although Simmels theory depicts various characteristics still currently valid there are aspects that no longer play a role in the transformation of fashion.
Fashion is an outlet people use to express themselves. People anxiously wait to see what the next trends are as seasons pass by. We buy anything that doesn’t break a bank, people buy a $10 shirt just because it’s cheap and they might not even wear it, but it’s all right, since it wasn’t expensive. As harmless and normal as that scenario sounds, the fashion industry has created the harmful concept that is “fast fashion”, in which stores sell an abundance of extremely cheap trendy clothing and “where deliveries are small and often, with stock delivered twice a week, for instant-access fashion.” (Cochrane)
Fashion is usually put into the same category as clothes and/or accessories. But it really is more than that. It is all about how it was made and the actual work that goes into it. Sometimes, the type of clothes you wear can help you express your inner beauty and personality.
Fashion plays an important role in the lives of billions all over the world; people, as part of a status craving society, turn to “fashion capitals” of the world for ways in which to dress and carry themselves. New York, Milan, and Paris are leaders among this fierce industry that the world lusts after. Fashion can speak volumes about ones personality, or also about the condition the world is in at the time. In France, fashion changed rapidly and feverously as the times changed.
Fashion was culturally formed, and there is a close relationship between art and fashion. The first designer who had his label sewn into a garment he created was Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895). In the 1840s, adult women adopted a variation on girls' pantalettes as an undergarment. (Toccata: March 2010 toccatamundi.blogspot.com
Each person has a deep desire to be good at the things that they are passionate about. Fashion is a passion that I have and an area that I have more knowledge in than my peers. Growing up in a big city taught me much about the art of fashion different sights of fashion. I lived in Seoul, Korea for fourteen years and I was exposed to a variety of styles in the big city. I remember being a little girl and loving to visit the street markets.
What is fashion and what importance does it have in people’s life? Is it hard to create fashion and who are those people who manage people’s mind and declare what is fashionable and what is not? Fashion started when people began to wear clothes. It was between 100,000 to 500,000 years ago. The way how people dressed indicated social status. Because of this fact fashion trends was established by royalty. In the 20th century when movie industry started to develop quickly, people began to watch how movie’s stars and celebrities wore. Despite this fact, people was mostly inclined on world leaders’ way of dressing. For example, princess Diana was setting the style although she wasn’t a fashion designer. Moreover “her iconic style continues to
Consciously, I can remember being into clothing since the fourth grade. Despite attending a catholic school and wearing a uniform from the age of six to thirteen, I would always try and develop subtle ways to make my gray slacks and blue button-up shirts look more stylish. As I got older, this appreciation for style and fashion only grew stronger, since I got to know myself and the world of fashion much better. By the age of 13, I knew I wanted to have some sort of creative position in that realm, but I was always unsure of what title would encompass my abilities and interests, translating them into a successful career. This fall, I got to the opportunity to work as a fashion coordinating assistant at the office of Calvin Klein in Midtown New York.
In second place, this paper would like to compare the dressing style of 80s with 60s (Tracy Tolkien., 2002). Finally, it is the discussion about the influences of vintage styles of 60s and 80s on modern fashion in the UK and this paper would like to demonstrate the new fashionable trend for recent years. This project will analyze the dressing styles for two different eras and conclude discuss effect on the British vogue especially.
To begin with, I shall look at what fashion is; it is a currently popular style or practice involving clothing, footwear or accessories. It mostly refers to the current trends in looks and dressing style of a person (Cumming 234). In most cases, fashion is confusedly related to costumes; when a person talks of fashion they are seen to mean fashion in terms of textile. Fashion is seen to originate from the Western world and it is copied by other places. In this paper, we shall look at how fashion affects lifestyles and the group of people who are affected most. The paper further investigates how media is used to transmit fashion from one region to the other. Although it has been seen to affect people’s lives many people have different perspectives on fashion and dressing.
Following fashion styles in order to be trendy and to look different and stylish in front of others by wearing different types of clothes and accessories. Fashion can be viewed in people’s style of outlook personality with clothing and hairstyle, style of living and behaving, along with the area of personal interest. Today’s youths are totally influenced by new fashion trends. Fashion brings an interesting twist in our boring life which makes us with feeling of confidence and up to date according to this changing environment. Youth generation is totally affected by this glamorous world of fashion. Their dressing style, hair style, accessories, language and personality all shows that how much they are influenced by fashion.
Fashion is a controversial issue in society nowadays. We live in a consumerism advanced era in which whether following fashion trends or not has become a debatable point. Many people believe that it is important to follow fashion trends. For example, Lord Chesterfield once said, “If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.” The question is why fashion should be an essential matter of concern to all of us. As far as I am concerned, each person should be able to decide if one wants to follow a trend or not.