WHETHER we realize it or not, our
daily decisions as to what we will wear are shaped at least to a degree
by fashion. Ultimately, the forces of fashion largely determine what is
available to buy.
Even items of clothing that we
now take for granted were once the latest style. The man’s dress shirt
and necktie, for instance, became the fashion rage over a century ago.
And the woman’s sweater became an established style back in the 1920’s.
Two basic desires fuel the
fashion industry—novelty and conformity. Nearly everyone likes to wear
something new. That is why we sometimes buy clothes, not because an
older garment has worn out, but simply because we want a change. At the
same time, we do not want to look out of place, so we buy clothes that
conform to some degree to the style worn by our associates. Over the
centuries the clothing industry has catered to—and sometimes
exploited—these desires for novelty and conformity.
A Brief History
To create a style, designers use
five basic elements: color, silhouette, drape, texture, and line balance
(or patterns on the surface of the material). The options available to
designers and dressmakers in all five areas have multiplied over the
years. In ancient Egypt, for example, locally produced see-through linen
was the fabric of choice, and it was ideal for a warm climate. But
since linen could not be dyed easily, it was usually just one
color—bleached white. Still, Egyptian fashion designers pleated the
material so that their clothes had a pleasing drape and silhouette. Thus
one of the world’s most enduring styles was born.
By the first century C.E., new
fabrics and colors were available. Affluent Romans imported silk from
China or India, although the expense of transport made woven silk as
costly as gold. Another fashionable material was dyed wool from Tyre, a
pound of which could cost 1,000 denarii—three years’ wages for a typical
worker. The new dyes and materials enabled wealthy Roman women to wear a
stola—a long, ample outer garment—of blue cotton from India or perhaps
yellow silk from China.
Although new styles arose
periodically, in past eras a costly garment would likely be in fashion
for a lifetime. Changes came slowly and usually affected just the
nobility. With the coming of the industrial revolution, however, fashion
became much more relevant to the common people.
During the 19th century, whole
industries arose to clothe both the rich and the poor. Mechanized cotton
and woolen mills proliferated, and the price of fabrics came down.
Because of sewing machines, clothes could be produced more cheaply, and
new synthetic dyes offered a much greater choice of colors.
Social and technological changes
played an even greater role in clothing the masses. In Western Europe
and North America, people had more money to spend. In the 1850’s,
women’s magazines appeared, and soon thereafter department stores began
to offer ready-to-wear clothes in standard sizes. Also in the
19th century, Charles Frederick Worth introduced fashion shows, using
live models to spark the interest of prospective clients.
In the 20th century, new
synthetic fibers, such as rayon, nylon, and polyester, offered
manufacturers a wider array of fabrics. Computerized designs made it
easy to produce new styles, and because of globalization, new fashion
trends could appear almost simultaneously on the streets of Tokyo, New
York, Paris, and São Paulo. Meanwhile, designers and manufacturers have
found new ways to promote their products.
Today young people have taken
the place of the wealthy as the most ardent fashion enthusiasts. Every
month, millions of them buy new clothes, and the trade produces hundreds
of billions of dollars’ worth of clothing a year. But are there hidden snares?
Bibliography: From the book The Historian’s History of the World; Awake!—2003
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