The XXth century fashion

Before the World War I fashions did not change very quickly. Men wore dark suits.
They had shorts hair and moustache was popular. Women wore long dresses and
they had long hair. Under their dresses they wore stiff corsets. These gave women
a very narrow waist, but they were very uncomfortable.

In the roaring 1920s dresses and hair became much shorter. People saw women´s
knees for the first time! Corsets disappeared. A straight figure with no waist and
bust was fashionable, and for men – trousers with very wide legs.
In the 1930s and 40s hair, dresses and coats became longer again. Men´s fashion
didn´t change very much. Men wore a suit, a tie and usually a hat, too. Moustache
was less popular.

In the 1950s and teenagers began to spend a lot of

money on clothes. For men this was the age of the teddy boys. Teddy boys wore
long jackets in very bright colours – pink, orange or yellow – and very tight
trousers called «drainpipes». For women jumpers and blouses with wide skirts and
shorts socks were in fashion. The women´s shoes had high stiletto heels.

The 1960s brought a revolution in clothes. Everything changed. This was the time
of the mini-skirt and high boots. For the first time in the twentieth century men had
long hair – the famous Beatles haircut.
In the late 1960s and the early 70s the hippy style was in. Women wore loose ma[i-
skirts. Men wore jeans and brightly coloured shirts or T-shirts. Clothes were very
colorful. Very long hair was fashionable for men and women, and beards became
more common
(but only for men).
The 80s brought teenagers with punk hairstyles in red, blue, purple and green, and
brightly coloured make-up.
Not so long ago, nearly all schoolchildren went to school wearing a school
uniform. Boys wore a white shirt and a tie, a dark jacket, grey trousers and black
shoes. Girls used to wear a white blouse and a dark, knee-length skirt.
Today in many countries students have a very different kind of uniform. They wear
tennis shoes, jeans and T-shirts. On a hot day students might even come to class in
a pair of shorts.
Teachers in the past would never have allowed there students into their class. Then
the men teachers used to wear a suit and tie and most women teachers wore a dress
or skirt. But when you look inside a classroom today, it is sometimes difficult to
tell who is the teacher and who are the students.