Evolution of clothes

From animal skins,

woven material,
silk, status, fashion,
work, warfare,
religious and sports
Development of clothing (covering the
essentials)
• Hats

• Loin cloths

• Shoes
The official version!
Use of clothing
• Allowed hominids to travel outside
of Africa
• To keep cool in the heat
• To keep warm in the cold
•
The wearing of clothing is specifically
human characteristic and most
human societies wear some form of
• clothing.
Anthropologists think that animal
skins and vegetation were adapted
as protection from weather
conditions and allowed hominids to
tolerate extreme temperatures as
Wearing animal skins
• The earliest form of clothing was
probably animal skins worn over the
body for warmth and used as
• bedding.
The best information we have about
the history of clothing comes from
• the tools used in its creation.
Distinctive sewing needles made
• from bone were found near Russia.
These needles were dated to
around
18,000 B.C., and were likely used to
sew animal skins together to form
Sewing, kitting, crocheting

• First material used for clothing that

was not leather but textile was
probably felt (processed animal
hair).
• Nålebinding, which is early textile
method of knitting and crochet
• Then came textiles (woven fabric)
but because of their composition
(protein and plant sources), they
tend to disintegrate over time, so
there's very little evidence of their
history.
Ancient clothing

• Clothing may have been around for

hundreds of thousands of years,
with some scientists proposing that
it may have been in use even more
than 650,000 years ago
• The first fabric uses occurred about
100,000 years ago.
• These theories are based on studies
of the human body louse, which
according to genetic studies,
diverged from its ancestor, the
head
louse, about 100,000 years ago.
Developing fabrics

• Clay tablets have been found that

show fabric weaving )probably using
flax) in the Middle East as early as
8,000 B.C. It's believed that the first
hand looms were created around the
same time
• The earliest surviving fabric scraps
have been traced to Anatolia (near
modern day Turkey), and can be
dated to around 6,500 B.C. These
include woven rugs, along with some
scraps that indicate early wool
cultivation.
Textiles and fabrics

• Fabric at this time was spun by

hand or woven on primitive
looms
• Starting around 6,000 BC, other
fibers such as rush, reed, palm
and papyrus were used together
with flax (linen) to make ropes
and other textiles.
•
Bark and hemp fibers were
discovered to have been used in
Japan around 5,500 BC.
Textiles and fabrics

• Cotton fabric was developed by

the Egyptians around 5,000 –
4,000 BC

• Silk was introduced as a fabric

around 4,000 BC, in China.

• Woollen fabric was developed

around 3,000 BC.
Chinese Silks
• In China around 2,800 B.C. silk became
a major export, opening up trade
routes and partnerships with
• countries worldwide.
China was able to keep a near Woven silk textile from the
Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan
monopoly on silk production. The province, China, 2nd century BC
monopoly was defended by an
• imperial decree, condemning to death
anyone attempting to export
silkworms or their eggs.
Around 300 BC, a Japanese expedition
• succeed in taking some silkworm eggs
and four young Chinese girls, who
were forced to teach their captors the The main silk roads between
500 BC and 500 AD
art of sericulture.
Classical Antiquity style
• Dress style in classical Egypt, Greece
and Rome favoured wide, unsewn
lengths of fabric, pinned and draped
• to the body in various ways.
The fabrics commonly used for
• these clothes were linen, wool and
cotton.
It was made to suit the weather,
• covering more of the body where it
was colder and less of the body
where it was warmer
Dress style become more ornate for
the aristocratic classes or for those
where certain articles of clothing
Egypt
• Ancient Egyptians commonly used linen, a
product made from the abundant flax plant.
•
Linen is light, strong and flexible which made it
ideal for life in the warm climate, where
abrasion and heat would wear and tear at
• clothing.
Wool was rarely used due to a belief that
animal
• based fabrics were impure, and it was
forbidden
to be worn in places like temples and
sanctuaries. Women entertainers perform at a
celebration in Ancient Egypt; the
Other animal based products such as pelts dancers are naked and the musician
wears a typical pleated garment as
were reserved for priests and eventually were well as the cone of perfumed fat on
top of her wig that melts slowly to
adopted by only the highest class of ancient emit its precious odours; both wear
This inventory, over 4,000 years old documents a list of linen fabrics jewellery, wigs, and cosmetics;
Egyptian citizenry.
including undergarments, shirts, and bedsheets neither wear shoes
Ancient Greece (1,000 BC--1 AD)
• Clothing in Ancient Greece was typically
homemade and worn loose and flowing.
•
The most basic piece worn by both men
and women was called the "Doric chiton,"
which was a large piece of woollen or linen
• fabric worn draped around the body or
secured in place with buttons or pins.
The second most popular clothing item
• was

• the "himation," which was made of a

heavier weight fabric and used as a cloak.
Both garments were usually ankle-length
• and often worn with a belt.
Men usually wore a knee-length chiton,
which made is easier to ride horses and do
Ancient Romans
• The Romans used mostly wool, though they
also used other fibers, such as hemp, linen and
small amounts of silk or cotton (which were
• imported and more expensive).
Clothing generally comprised a short-sleeved
or sleeveless, knee-length tunic for men and
• boys, and a longer, usually sleeved tunic for
women and girls.
On formal occasions, adult male citizens could
wear a woollen toga, draped over their tunic,
• and married citizen women wore a woollen
mantle over a simple, long-sleeved,
voluminous garment that hung to midstep.
Clothing, footwear and accoutrements
identified gender, status, rank and social class,
and thus offered a means of social control.
European Silks
• It was not until 552 AD that the Byzantine
emperor Justinian obtained the first silkworm
• eggs.
He had sent two Nestorian monks to Central
Asia, and they were able to smuggle silkworm
• eggs to him hidden in rods of bamboo.
While under the monks' care, the eggs
• hatched, though they did not cocoon before
arrival.
The church controlled the manufacture of silk
•
in the Byzantine Empire was thus able to
make fabrics for the emperor.
• After the start of the Crusades, techniques of
silk production began to spread across
The monks sent by Justinian
Western Europe.
give the silkworms to the
• In order to satisfy the rich and powerful emperor.
bourgeoisie's demands for luxury fabrics, the
Dyed and woven fabrics
• The development of richly dyed, woven,
patterned and embroidered fabrics started
• in Byzantium and early medieval Europe.
During the high middle ages, the
development and dyeing of wool was
developed more and more, and we began to
• see a clear differentiation between wool as
outerwear and linen as innerwear.
Wool cannot be washed and dried without
• shrinking, which makes it unsuitable for
garments that are washed often, like
• innerwear.
That’s where linen works very well, as it also
breathes quite easily.
Development of fashion
• The diversification of textiles in Europe
happened during the Crusades.
•
Soon afterwards fashion emerged which
historians agree occurred in the mid
• 14th century.
From that time onward, clothes began
to change in Europe at a pace unheard
of in other places in the world, where
• styles remained the same for centuries
while the Europeans began changing
them every year.
This is also the period when straight
seams and draped garments began to
be
Sumptuary laws
• The word ‘sumptuary’ comes from the Latin
word which means ‘expenditure’.
•
Roman. It was considered the duty of
government to put a check upon extravagance
• in personal expenditure
The Sumptuariae Leges of ancient Rome were
laws passed to prevent inordinate expense in
• banquets and dress, such as the use of
expensive Tyrian purple dye.
• In the early years of the Roman Empire, men
were forbidden to wear silk.
• Islamic world. Islamic sumptuary laws are
based upon teachings found in the Quran and
Hadith.
Males are told not to wear silk clothes, nor
have jewellery made of gold, wearing clothes or
France – (1294 to 1789)
• Sumptuary laws in France were imposed
social codes of food and dress upon
• different levels of society in France.
These laws were meant to emphasise
social hierarchy and control behaviour of
• those considered 'social inferiors‘. Only members of the royal
household were permitted
to wear grey fur or ermine
They prevented
certain foods socialdrink
and inferiors from
associated with the
wearing certain clothes and consuming
aristocracy.
• The types of clothing a person could buy
were regulated not only by income but by
• social rank. Princes could wear long toed
Other classes were debarred from shoes 24" longer than their feet
whereas poor people were
clothing limited to six inches beyond the
foot.
themselves with materials which were
associated to aristocracy.
Development of the suit
• National European variations in
clothing started during the 15th
century.
• This is also when silk and velvet began
to be used more prominently.
• During the 17th century, the origins of
the three-piece suit — as the coat,
waistcoat and breeches (trousers)
made of the same cloth.
French silks
• Italian silk cloth was very expensive, due to the cost
of the raw material and production costs.
•
The craftsmen in Italy proved unable to keep up
with the requirements of French fashion, which
continuously demanded lighter and less expensive
• materials.

• In 1466, King Louis XI decided to develop a A mature mulberry

national tree in Provence

• silk industry in Lyon.

In 1540, King Francis I granted a monopoly on silk
production to Lyon.
•
By the 16th century, Lyon became the capital of
the
• European silk trade, producing many different
fashions. A former magnanery in
Luberon
In the middle of the 17th century, over 14,000
looms were used in Lyon, and the silk industry fed
Industrial Revolution
• The Industrial revolution introduced rapid
changes due to the invention of power-
driven machines
• Machines could weave fabric and sew
garments hundreds of times faster than by
hand
• Cotton Gin. The earliest versions consisted
of a single roller made of iron or wood and
a flat piece of stone or wood to expel the
seeds from the cotton. They were difficult
to use and required a great deal of skill.
•
Spinning mule was a machine used to
spin cotton and other fibres. They were
used extensively from the late 18th to the
early 20th century.
Synthetic textiles
• The next big development in fabric
production came in 1891 in France with
the invention of the world's first
• synthetic fibers.
These cellulose products derived from
A device for spinning
wood and other plants was first known Viscose Rayon dating from
as Chardonnet silk but was eventually 1901
• named rayon.
The invention of rayon was quickly
• followed by nylon in the 1930s and
polyester soon after.
Today, a large percentage of fabric is
Nylon stockings
composed of these fibers, bringing
Post First world war
• Women's clothing changed during the First
World War out of practical necessity.
• In 1917, over 700,000 women in Britain
were employed in ammunition factories.
• They wore a working uniform of blouse
and
trousers with accessories such as
scarves,
• which was later replaced by khaki
• overalls
and caps.
Skirts became shorter.
Trousers became a part of Western
women’s clothing.
Post second world war
• The demands of wartime life meant
that more people needed clothes that
were fit for industrial war work.
• Factory safety became a big issue.
Accidents caused by long hair getting
caught in machinery became too
common, so headscarves - or turbans,
or 'glamour bands' - were adopted by
many.
•
Clothes were rationed in Britain from
1
June 1941. This limited the amount of
new garments people could buy until
1949, four years after the war's end.
Post war Fashion
• 1946. The bikini was invented.

• 1950's. The full, billowy skirt and

for
natural waistline was quite popular
a number of dresses.
• 1960's. Bright, swirling colours.
hair
Psychedelic, tie-dye shirts and long
and beards.
• 1970's. Bell bottoms, pant suit, leisure
suit and track suit was what the average
person was sporting..
Cultural clothing
Chinese

Japanese
Kimonos and kosodes

Malaysian
Cultural clothing

Vietnamese
áo dài

Indian
sari

African
Religious clothing

Religious clothing is dress which

has a special significance to a
faith group, religious practice,
custom or tradition.
Business suits

Tweed suit Pin stripe suit Formal dress suit Scottish suit
Development of the tie
• The tie originated in the 17th century,
during the 30 year war in France.
• King Louis XIII hired Croatian mercenaries
who wore a piece of cloth around their
• neck as part of their uniform.
While these early neckties did serve a
function (tying the top of their jackets
that
• is), they also had quite a decorative effect
–
a look that King Louis was quite fond of.
In fact, he liked it so much that he made
these ties a mandatory accessory for Royal
Armor and war clothing

China Japan
Greek Roman

Medieval Red Coats US Army

Modern armed forces uniform

British air force

Naval ceremonial British navy

British army
Camouflage
Scuba dive gear
Specialist sports clothing

Football Rugby Judo

Fencing

Running
Car racing Motorbike Wimbledon tennis

Skiing Fishing Cycling Horse riding

Development of womens hats
Development of mens hats
Evolution of underwear
and
History of shoes
Shoe museum in Romans
Future for clothing

Spaceship clothing

Solar power health monitoring clothing

Future for clothing

Space suits

Exoskeletons