Fashion Through Time

It is fascinating to study how fashions have changed over the centuries.

Clothing is vital for humans in order to protect us from the elements, but it is
also used to represent status and other aspects of our being. In many ways,
it's interesting to see how some aspects of clothing have remained the same,
and how they have advanced due to better technology, trade routes and
fabrics. Let's examine some of the main eras of history to see how fashion has
evolved.

Ancient Egyptian
The desert environment of Ancient Egypt dictated that clothing had to be light
in weight as well as color. Linen and cotton were especially favored for these
qualities. Finer linens and silks were used very rarely for royalty or high
priests. Men usually went topless, sporting a skirt-like loincloth fastened with a
belt, or wore a long loose robe. Women were dressed in a large sheet of
fabric that was draped over and around their bodies to form a long robe. Light
leather or reed sandals were worn on the feet and well-off people decorated
themselves with chunky, ornate metal jewelry.

o Ancient Egyptian Garments

o Women's Fashions in Ancient Egypt
o Ancient Egyptian Clothing at Different Social Classes
o Clothing of Ancient Egypt
o Ancient Egyptian Fashion and Accessories

Ancient Roman
In Ancient Rome, tunics or togas were the norm for both genders. While men's
tunics ended near the knees, women's often extended to the floor.
The peplos for women looks similar, but was made from two separate pieces
of cloth, attached with pins and a belt. Brides would wear a decorated tunic
with a bright red veil. Married women wore a stola, which was another tunic
worn over the first one, along with a palla or cloak. Upper classes used silks,
and elaborate jewelry of precious metals to indicate their status and wealth.
Unlike the Ancient Egyptians, who mostly stuck to natural colors, the Ancient
Romans reveled in dying their fabrics deep hues that denoted status.

o Images of Ancient Roman Clothing

o Men's Clothing in Ancient Rome
o Ancient Roman Female Garments
o Ancient Roman Women's Clothing, Accessories and Hairstyles
o Fashions in Ancient Rome

Medieval/Byzantine
Byzantines favored fabrics with rich colors and patterns, especially silks if they
could be afforded. Their clothing was loose and consisted of layered tunics
and cloaks. Fashions that originated in Ancient Rome were still popular, such
as the toga and stola. Women wore clothing that kept them mostly or fully
covered, with veils or wrapped fabric to cover the hair. In Western Europe too,
women's fashions tended to be quite layered, voluminous and long. In
contrast, men could wear hose, along with a jacket. Rich people opted for fine
linens or even silks, while lower classes wore cheaper wool.

o Clothing of the Middle Ages

o Medieval Fashions
o Fashion Influences in Medieval Western Europe
o Byzantine Clothing Trends
o Byzantine Tunics

Renaissance
In Renaissance times, there were strict guidelines as to what people were
allowed to wear. This largely depended on their status or profession. Working
classes wore wool or rough linens, primarily because these fabrics were
cheaper and easier to work in. For working men and women, clothing was
simpler than the upper classes, so that it did not get in the way of their manual
labor. Nobility and rich families favored richly dyed and printed fabrics.
Women's gowns were tightly-laced at the bodice to show off a fine figure, with
large skirts and sleeves. Men's clothing was also specially designed to
accentuate their physical prowess. Depending on a person's status, or the
occasion, such as a wedding or special feast, sleeve puffs and skirts were
extended even further out for a larger impression.

o Renaissance Fashion History

o Clothing and Status During the Renaissance
o Renaissance Fashion and Trends
o An Illustrated Guide to Renaissance Fashion
o Elizabethan-Era Clothing
18th/19th Century
Formality and decorum was key during the 18th and 19th centuries. Women
were advised to wear conservative clothing to preserve their modesty. Often,
the only part of their skin that showed was at the neckline and occasionally,
the lower forearms. While tight corsets and large hoop skirts were originally
popular, they later gave way to simpler, lighter dressers that accentuated the
natural female figure. Men wore breeches or trousers, with starched shirts,
and formal jackets. For many years, they would wear their shirt collars
extended upwards, instead of folded down. Stylistic differences were
sometimes borrowed from neighboring countries. At this time, hats were a
favorite accessory and could be quite elaborate especially for well-off women.

o Fashion During the Regency Era

o A Detailed Look at a Regency Ball Gown
o An Introduction to Fashion of the 1800s
o Women's Clothing of the 1800s
o Colonial Fashions

1900 - 1980
Changes in technology between 1900 and 1980 meant that people enjoyed
rapidly changing fashion trends just about every decade! The 20s were
especially notable for their departure from the stiff Victorian fashions.
Suddenly loose, informal and even provocative clothing was fashionable. In
the coming decades, in part due to the war, women's clothing in particular
became a little more conservative and formal during the 50s and 60s, before
the hippie movement of the 70s brought back a sense of non-conformist
attitudes. During this time, free-flowing t-shirts and dresses, paired with jeans
for both genders and bell-bottoms were popular.

o 1920s Fashion Trends

o Clothing of the 1940s
o 1960s Fashions for Men and Women
o Children's Clothing During the 1950s
o A 1970s Clothing Gallery

1980 - Current
Synthetic fabrics in shocking colors ruled the 1980s. Clothing was
exaggerated in the form of mini-skirts, over-sized shoulder-pads, hoodies, and
fashions inspired by rock and disco music icons. The 90s brought back a
slightly more sober approach with more streamlined clothing. Going into the
next century, sleek and minimalistic have now become the cornerstones of
modern fashion.

o Fashion Through the Second Half of the 1900s

o Examples of 1980s Fashions
o Trends of the 90s
o 1990s Clothing and Fashion
o How Music Inspires Fashion

Written by: Thomas Jefferson, a staff writer at ooShirts.com

The Most Influential Fashion Trends,

Decade by Decade
by HILARY GEORGE-PARKIN
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When you think about it, in the course of human history, 100 years isn't a particularly long time.
But in the course of fashion history, it's the difference between trying to get around in a bone-
cinching girdle and ankle-length skirt, and the Nike leggings and Vans sneakers you might be
wearing at this very moment.

In the intervening years, there have been major shifts in technology, politics, culture and social
norms—and fashion has reflected that in its ever-changing cycle of trends. From the sky-high
platforms of the '70s to the high-waisted bikinis of the '40s, we see plenty of the most popular
looks of decades past serving as inspiration for designers today.

Below, take a look back at the most influential trends from the 1900s through to today (and
see which ones you'd actually still consider wearing).

1900s: The S-Bend Corset

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The Edwardian period saw the introduction of the "S-bend" or "health" corset, a style that altered
the wearer's posture and (shocker) was no more healthful than its predecessors. Toward the end of
the decade, the fashion shifted to girdles and away from the dramatic hourglass silhouettes that had
been demanded of women for decades. Leisure apparel was also introduced, with options like
blazers, long skirts and wool sweaters becoming part of many women's wardrobes.

1910s: The Hobble Skirt

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Finally, hemlines crept up slightly past the ankle, making walking less of a chore—unfortunately,
this coincided with a trend for "hobble skirts," a style popularized by designer Paul Poiret that was
narrow through the ankle and sometimes banded below the knee, constricting women's movement
and sometimes leading to injury. While this fad mercifully did not stick around for long, the more
practical duster coats and lace-up boots of the era are echoed in fashion today.

1920s: Flapper Style

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Flapper ensembles are instantly recognisable as the look of the 1920s, and it's easy to see why:
With their relaxed drop waists, ornately beaded designs and feathered accessories, the trends of the
era have enduring appeal. The most influential style, however, may have been a more subtle one.
According to The Dictionary of Fashion History, it was in this decade that Coco Chanel introduced
the little black dress: "It offered simplicity and elegance and, instead of being a colour associated
with servants or widows, black became chic."

1930s: Bias-Cut Gowns

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While the American public was reeling from the Great Depression, the silver screen became a
welcome site of escapism. There, film icons like Bette Davis, Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford
dazzled in glamorous gowns and tailored skirt suits. The silhouette was long and lean, in part
thanks to the popularization of Madeleine Vionnet's bias cut, a technique that allows fabric to drape
over the body.

1940s: The Bikini

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One of the less predictable consequences of wartime was the increasing popularity of the two-piece
swimsuit, a result of fabric rationing enforced by the U.S. government beginning in 1943. Three
years later, French designer Louis Réard introduced the bikini we know today, naming it after the
site of American nuclear tests and daring to cut it below the belly button—a style that wouldn't
fully be embraced without some degree of public outcry until decades later.

1950s: The "New Look"

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In 1947, Christian Dior debuted the "New Look" silhouette that would shape the decade to come:
With its wasp waist, structured bust and voluminous taffeta layered skirt, it was the antithesis of
wartime restraint. Even the lighter garments that eventually became common fare among middle-
class women retained much of this pronounced femininity: cinch-waist dresses, full mid-calf skirts
and sweater sets.

1960s: The Miniskirt

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Hemlines crept ever northward in the '60s, and ground zero for the shift was designer Mary Quant's
London boutique, Bazaar. ''If I didn't make them short enough, the Chelsea girls, who had
wonderful legs, would get out the scissors and shorten the skirts themselves,'' she later told the The
New York Times. At the time, they were controversial, but clearly, the naysayers were ultimately
overpowered. Additionally, two of the most popular hues of the Space Age were—appropriately—
white and silver, two colour trends that were the result of advancements in fabric technology.
André Courrèges's signature optical white, for instance, was enabled by the introduction of a new
bleach in the late '60s, according to historian Valérie Guillaume.

1970s: Platform Heels

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Jeans got wider, heels got taller and synthetic fabrics flooded fashion stores during the '70s. In New
York, Halston's coterie of Studio 54–dwelling cool girls brought disco trends like Lurex halter tops
and palazzo pants to the mainstream, while on the other side of the Atlantic, the punk scene
thrived, led by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren in tattered T-shirts and safety-
pinned tartan.

1980s: Leggings

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If there's one item that was as ubiquitous in the '80s as it is today, it's leggings. Alongside the
aerobics craze of the decade, Spandex became a bona fide fashion trend—though back then, they
were worn with leg warmers, off-the-shoulder sweatshirts and/or scrunchies. For more
professionally minded women, the broad-shouldered power suit became an office staple—and for
good reason. As historian Bonnie English writes in A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th and
21st Centuries, "Women in professional careers used fashion as a political language to illustrate
their expectations of power and position in the management structures of large corporations." If
you were going to be shattering the glass ceiling, you might as well be wearing shoulder pads.

1990s: Minimalism

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The youth-oriented culture of the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" decade was fertile ground for grunge
to take hold, as it did following Marc Jacobs's groundbreaking S/S 93 collection for Perry Ellis.
Teens and 20-somethings embraced baggy trousers and floral prints—and still, today snap them up
in vintage stores. Elsewhere, minimalism became big news in fashion, with slip dresses, sheer
fabrics and a palette of black, grey and white ruling the runways. Finally, hip-hop's influence
extended to the mainstream, with the MTV generation copying looks they saw on artists like TLC,
Aaliyah and Salt-N-Pepa.

2000s: The Tracksuit

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Ah yes, the decade of the tracksuit. Beloved by the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton and
Britney Spears, Juicy Couture's velour two pieces are already a nostalgic item that certain celebs—
not to mention the brand itself—are trying to bring back. Graphic T-shirts ("Team Aniston" versus
"Team Jolie," anyone?), bare midriffs and logo-heavy It bags also reigned supreme. (Hopefully,
the trucker hat trend will stay firmly in 2004. Though, some celebs are attempting to revive it.)

2010s: Athleisure

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With six and a half years of the decade behind us, we feel safe in our predictions as to which trends
will endure most over time. Skinny jeans came into their own this decade after gradually making
their way into the mainstream, and despite endless articles heralding their death, they're not likely
to be going anywhere anytime soon. Same goes for athleisure (and, to a smaller extent, it's more
ephemeral cousin, normcore): Now that we've experienced the joys of walking around in sneakers,
tees and hoodies all day while still looking stylish, who would want to go back?

Next up, the £5 handbag creating a buzz in fashion circles.