Fashion History

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” (Fashion Quotes 1) The words once spoken by Henry David Thoreau are politically correct. People often look at Elizabethan‘s choice of fashion and ridicule everything about it from the hair, down to the stockings. As it appears, fashion has always been a broad topic of discussion in the world. Whether it is NY Fashion Week or a Macy’s fashion show, fashion is something that has always been an eye catcher. Fashion has been around for many years, and whether we know it or not, Elizabethan fashion has influenced the way modern fashion is today.

Have you ever wondered what people in the Elizabethan Era wore? Fashion was just as important in those days as it is to some people today. What people were wearing mattered to others, and even the government. During the Elizabethan Era clothing, accessories, and cosmetics were all a part of daily life.

People may say that the true years of fashion began in the late nineteen forties and went on through the early nineteen sixties. If you look at fashion today, its almost repeated the look from sixty years ago. In each generation fashion trends become based on history and/or important events. in the nineteen forties fashion was being modeled by the military wear. World War II caused a drastic change in the way clothes were being made and worn. In the nineteen fifties Americans admired the fashion of movie stars and music artists. Media had a strong influence on the wordly trend. The people of the sixties expressed there personalities and emotions through

Have you ever wondered how your favorite pair of jeans or blouse came up in the fashion world? It happened from history. History affected everything we wear today. Although the Great Depression caused setbacks along with the World Wars and Cold war that went on. The fashion industries still managed to come out with iconic statements that we still wear today. Woman’s fashion changed dramatically throughout history, from the Great Depression, World Wars, and the Cold War.

In conclusion, the way people dress is indeed important. It has been important from the beginning of the ancient times until today. As much as we would like to believe that Hans Christian Andersen’s interpretation of “dress is not what is important,” there is absolutely no way that this is possible for us. We are shallow as a whole. Much like the Emperor was in The Emperor’s New Clothes. Works Cited

They had no intention of going for a natural, modest, or conservative look; they strived for elaborate, artificial, stylized, and striking: “As Elizabeth's wardrobe became more opulent and elaborate, with a more exaggerated silhouette, so did that of her courtiers” (Royal Museums Greenwich). It was imperative to be fashion forward; meaning, if the Queen was wearing it, so should everyone else (who could afford it). Queen Elizabeth’s dress was similar to men’s style with broad shoulders, wide hips, and slim waists as she tried to appear more petite than she actually was. Many women during this time followed in her footsteps. Not only did the Queen have a great influence on women’s fashion, but she greatly influenced men’s fashion as well. Before the Elizabethan Era, “Men's fashion was much the same as it had been under her father and brother, favouring a broad, square silhouette with layers of garments made of rich fabrics” (Royal Museums Greenwich). After Elizabeth took the throne, the customary dress altered. Men began to wear corsets to obtain a cinched waist and stuffed 'peascod' doublets to make their stomachs pop out and have a pointed shape. On top of this, men’s dress consisted of underclothes such as a shirt, stockings or hose, codpiece, and corset and over clothes such as a doublet, separate sleeves, breeches, belt, ruff, cloak, shoes, and hat.

Clothing styles have always had a close connection to developments in clothing creation. The two are inextricably linked by public demand, fabric availability, and the wealth of people to afford them. Even back to the Industrial Revolution and Renaissance, when people began to have more clothing choices, one can see the relationship between what the people need or want and what the manufacturers create.

Queen Elizabeth was one of the biggest impacts on fashion in that time. She was mostly the one who set the trends. She also determined the laws about fashion. Many times people would just copy what she would wear. She impacted both women and men's clothing. "Naturally, what the Queen wore greatly influenced those close to her, her ladies in waiting wore her old dresses; other women strove to imitate the style of the Queen and her ladies" (Leed). In the Elizabeth Era the designs and trends came from Queen Elizabeth. Many people looked up to her as a role model for fashion and considered her the image of

Another way of technology changing fashion were the new innovations in the cinema industry. There were new technological developments such as wider screens, stereo sound and 3D which attracted people in to watch their show which showed different kinds of fashion and costumes which also got people changing what kind of clothes they wore in their day to day

There was a very clear line in between the wealthy and the poor. Peasants during the era wore layers of belted tunics, cloaks, hats, and boots or clogs for warmth. These types of clothing would never be seen on the wealthier class of people. Many fashion trends from the renaissance time period carried on from time period to time period and are very prevalent still today.

Wearing a hoop with accessories and expensive needed was a sign of importance and wealth. Only wealthy people could afford fabrics needed and leisure to wear dresses the required a farthingales ( a hoop skirt that holds skirts out). Women wore a bodice that was tightly fitting and made from one or more expensive fabric. It fastens in the back and may lace on the side for additional sizing if needed. the Elizabethans intentions were to button up in the front, but the noble woman bodice, lace in the back not the front. There were different kinds of sleeves that could change the overall appearance of the bodice. Choosing a sleeve, It's all about the weather. Choosing one with heavy fabrics and more materials the warmer it gets. During warm climate woman wore detachable sleeves and still have the arms covered. Some might make the sleeves from out of fancy lightweight materials , that way they could up hole they're image and keep

Clothing expression in medieval Europe, like all other forms of artistic expression at this time, found it's biggest outlet in the ecclesiastical field, as this was where all the money was to be found. The churches employed all the best builders and craftsmen in creating their great cathedrals, and art works. In clothing, the church dictated what sorts of materials were made, and brought into the area, what colors were in use, and what styles were used, influencing the secular as well as ecclesiastical dress. In the feudal system only great Barons and their families wore fine cloths, as clothing was a symbol of rank and importance. Each family made their own clothes, so fashion was very individualistic in style, and each family had their own characteristics. With an increase of wealth in the area, and the beginning of the crusades, new elaborate styles were introduced into the scene. Fashions became strange, and grotesque in nature reflecting the constant struggles and wars of the time, as fantasy and the grotesque generally influence social costumes accompanying times of war. Women in their headgear actually wore huge horns, like an ox, that towered above them and supported a veil, and men's shoes were peaked and extended six inches in front of them for common men, and a foot for gentlemen, and two feet for noblemen.

As technology continues to progress fashion evolves right alongside. Before the invention of the tv the way to spread different styles and outfits was through sketches and designs. By this means it would take extended amounts of time to spread ideas of fashion from one place to another. The influence of technology on the fashion industry cannot be overlooked. Fashion is being rapidly offered to consumers at an amazingly fast rate. Nowadays anybody can have anything they want within the reach of a button on a phone or computer screen, fashion is instantaneous. It used to be following style patterns included venturing to the far corners of the planet in a group of 10 to create a

On the other side of the coin, some people do not care about fashion, and while this is fine, does not necessarily serve the person well. People are often judged by their lack of fashion sense. Even though people may not judge others by bad fashion sense on the surface, the issue does come up in the matters of job promotions and future success. If a person does not dress and carry themselves well, it shows a lack of pride in themselves, which may portray that a person does not care about other things as

Around 1947, after the end of World War II that Christian Dior introduced “Kings” style. This style gave a sense of luxury to Americans and was very classy. The women began to wear formal dresses that had delicate necklines. The women were also introduced to stylish hats and distinctive hairstyles with curls. The men’s style didn’t see many changes expect that the war jackets were now distant, and they followed a narrow shoulder and hip pattern in everything they wore (“Brief History”).