Universitatea „Constantin Brâncuşi” din Târgu-Jiu

HISTORY OF FASHION
-Essay-

Student: Cruceru Andrei-Fabian

Specializarea: Drept ID anul I
 Fashion is a very interesting subject for most teens. Anywhere a person
goes, fashion follows. Right from choosing what to wear for the day, walking
down the streets and seeing what others are wearing, passing by fashion
magazine stands, following fashion trends and accounts on TikTok, down to
copying favorite models. Fashion, like everything else, is constantly changing

History of Fashion

In their original forms, clothing was designed to meet the basic need for
body covering, giving warmth or coolness, protection, and preserving one’s
modesty, but have evolved to very complex forms. Nowadays, clothing is used
as an outlet to express oneself artistically, attract attention, enhance body
features, hide insecurities, and flaunt beauty.

The discovery of body covering by man was the foundation that led to the
formation of the modern form of clothing. There is evidence that man’s simplest
forms of garments included making clothes out of twigs from tree branches,
leaves, and even the hides and skins of hunted animals.

Clothing has also been used in the history of man, to mark his religious
views and inclination and that of the place he occupies. In addition, clothing has
been used to indicate the political, cultural, and social values of a people.
Evolution has resulted following the discovery of new raw materials in the
textile industry, met with the desire for man to develop products that give him
improved service in garment structure and function.

Fashion is influenced by many things. How clothing looks varies on the

location, era, financial capacity, personal taste, occupation, social event, gender,
and other cultural and personal preferences. Fashion is a very flexible form of
self-expression. Even in countries and eras where clothing choices are restricted
in terms of the amount of skin that is exposed, an individual still has the freedom
to play with colors, designs, and mix and match their clothing according to their
taste and capabilities.

A person’s fashion choices can be influenced by certain cultural

restrictions, celebrities, trends, and what makes one stand out. These days,
students make it a point to plan out and build their college wardrobe before the
academic year officially starts. Most working adults who do not have to wear
uniforms to work also prefer to prepare what they are going to wear for the
whole week in advance so that they do not need to fret each morning worrying
about what they are going to wear to work.

Before the late 19th century, the practice of visiting tailors and
seamstresses is the trend. Clothes just are not bought in shops but are instead
tailor-fit to an individual’s body proportion. Every piece of clothing a person
wore was specifically made for that person alone. This made clothes so
expensive but at least the carbon footprint it left did not make that much of a
mark.

In today’s fashion landscape, sustainable fashion is the most popular.

Mass production is out and consumers are calling for others to discontinue their
loyalty toward brands that refuse to help save the environment. Consumers have
become more conscious of what they purchase and are inclined towards ethical
fashion companies that choose to recycle plastic or unsold garments into new
clothing.

There is absolutely nothing new with the way fashion is evolving now. It
has done so in the past few centuries and will not surely stop for any cause as
clothing oneself is indeed a necessity. Fashion has indeed evolved from being
just a necessity to something used for aesthetics. In this new landscape that
consumers have shaped for the fashion industry, things are sure to turn out for
the best.

Fashion for Men

Men’s fashion has always been designed as either relaxed or formal. In

the 1920s, men are known to mix and match casual and formal pieces just like
the popular trend today. Softer collars and wide lapels are also popular in this
era. What men wore for dinner or formal wear were usually double-breasted
cotton piques matched with a wool necktie, and a black hat and gloves.

Sportswear was highly influenced by British fashion in the 1930s.

Straight-cut flannel trousers were on the rise specifically in the sportswear
section. When it comes to formal attire, men have switched from choosing
double-breasted jackets to single-breasted ones. They have kept the wide lapels
from the previous decade and made a wider version of the collar. They have also
switched the necktie out for a bowtie.

By the 1950s, the gray-colored knee-length single-breasted overcoat has

taken the men’s fashion industry in America by storm and was also the era when
the cuffless sleeves for formal wear were rebirthed. For sportswear, men now
wore a brown single-breasted jacket with narrow lapels and narrow pockets
placed on the upper region of the jacket.

After the 1950s, fashion designers have taken notice of men’s clothing
and developed new designs for them. One is the two-piece gray suit that had a
long jacket – going under the hips. Another new design in this era is a zip-up
jacket made of a blend of cotton and wool. It was around this time that clothing
made of leather gained popularity as well.

The 1970s was the era when disco dancing is a thing and thus is also the
time when bell-shaped ankles and sleeves were also on the rise. Low-rise V-
necked tops had been a fashion statement during this era along with leisure suits.
Low-rise V-necked tops is not the only surprising thing that men wore from this
era, but also short shorts made for sports like basketball and volleyball.

In the 1980s, brown-colored suits replaced black suits that men wore to
work. Long narrow lapels have replaced soft and wide ones. The length of the
jacket in this era was also fairly short. The suits in this era were broad-
shouldered. For casual wear, men often paired denim jeans with a denim jacket.

By the 1990s, sleeveless black leather jackets were in as well as flap

pockets. Casual jeans also became baggier or wide-legged during this era. Polo
shirts also gained popularity as well as two-piece striped wool suits that feature
a prominently smaller collar and a narrower pair of trousers.

In the 2000s, muscle tees were on the rise. It is also the era when trucker
caps and a collared shirt paired with a plain white shirt underneath looked cool.
Men also wore bandanas on their foreheads as a part of casual wear. The jackets
for casual wear were now larger and bulkier than those worn for formal attire.

Fashion for Women

Fashion for women is the most colorful out of all the sectors of the
fashion industry. It is women’s clothing that has gone through the most changes
throughout the years. Right from headpieces to gowns, to shoes. What women
wore in each country, in each era varies so greatly from each other that fashion
designers will have no trouble drawing inspiration from old or traditional
designs of women’s clothing.

In the 1920s, the style of women’s dresses was styled with a lowered
waistline and a skirt that rose up to the knees. As the years went by, the hemline
of women’s skirts rose – to mark an era of fun and decadence – but went down
by the end of the decade due to the Great Depression and women felt like they
had to go back to more conservative outfits. Jumper blouses with sailor collars
were a popular pair of long skirts during this era. This outfit was often paired
with a belt or sash.

By the 1930s, chiffon and velvet became the top choices for the fabric to
be used for women’s clothing. Dresses were now cut almost fitting a
woman’s body – but not too body-tight as they prefer to keep a decorum
 of modesty. Blouses or tops of dresses also feature broad shoulders due to
shoulder pads. These were often paired with a medium-width belt and
featured floral prints and fur accents.

In the 1940s, during the War, materials for clothing are scarce so
women’s clothing was mostly made of rayon and viscose. Because using
excessive fabric for clothing was illegal back then, women had to make do and
use fabric they can find in their household to craft new clothing items.

After the war, there was a boom once again in the fashion industry and A-
line skirts were introduced along with pencil skirts. Dresses feature ruffles, and
laces, and are usually knee-length or a tad bit shorter. After a decade, skirts
became shorter and miniskirts became a trend in fashion. At the same time,
maxiskirts and dresses also entered the scene. Flowy fabrics and designs were
heavily influenced by the disco era.

By the 1980s, more and more designers have started to work on crafting
business suits for women. Women then often wore straight-cut or pencil skirts
paired with boxy broad-shouldered blazers to work. Other fashion styles that
emerged during this time were influenced by celebrities and fashion icons.

In the 1990s, skirts and dresses started to fade out of the fashion scene as
more women are looking into getting more easy to move in clothing like knee-
length shorts and wide-leg pants. These were often paired with baby tees,
graphic tees, or loose plain t-shirts.

When the 2000s entered, women started to dress more provocatively and
had more freedom in expressing themselves through the clothing they chose to
wear. Some clothing items like bras which are traditionally worn as an inner can
now be worn by themselves or as an outer to t-shirts. Cropped tops and see-
through shirts were also in fashion for a few years.

Fashion for Teens

Teens have always been taught to dress modestly or conservatively even

back then. They are not given much freedom in choosing what they want to
wear as they have to follow a certain decorum in school, at home, and in church.
In the 1920s, teenage girls often wore a dress with a skirt that goes below the
knee. It is usually paired with a cardigan and a beret.

During the 1940s, in the midst of World War II, teenagers were only
provided with clothing that is made from household materials like curtains,
bedsheets, and pillowcases because no household has the capacity to spare
expenses for new pieces of clothing. Because of that, by the time the war ended,
many trends in fashion for teenagers started to emerge.

After the 1950s, teenagers were allowed to purchase their own clothing.
This translates to the fact that they have now more control over what they wear
than in previous decades. Teenage girls then chose to wear oversized cardigans
– like the ones in fashion now – paired with a mid-length tweed skirt. Another
outfit of choice was a plain t-shirt with an outer covering of a baseball jacket
paired with rolled-up loose jeans. Some paired those outfits with a patterned
scarf.

From the 1960s up to the 1970s, teenagers started wearing miniskirts and
minidresses. The length of these garments usually came up to mid-thigh – a very
distinctive contrast to how long skirts meant for teens used to be. Bell-bottomed
jeans, plain t-shirts, graphic tees, overalls, jersey dresses, and baseball shirts are
the pieces that often made up outfits worn by teens.

From the 1990s up to the present, the individuality of teenagers is even

more pronounced in the way they dress. However, their personal style is largely
affected by what is popular, what is worn by a certain clique, or what they are
expected to wear by other people in their age group. More teenagers have started
to wear ripped jeans, body piercings, hoodies, and pretty much anything that
adults also wear.

Fashion for Children

Dressing children up is always such a fun task for parents. Every parent
finds it fun to doll their children up even in the early 1900s. In the 1920s, a
famous outfit for girls are rompers with lace on the sides. In later years, a white
lace collared bloomer dress was often worn by children. Older children often
wore typical schoolgirl outfits that features a plaid velveteen skirt paired with
white lacey socks and black shoes. Boys on the other hand wore a woolen jacket
similar to what adults wear but children wore shorts instead of trousers pants
and paired with knee-high white socks and black shoes as well.

By the 1960s, toddlers wore pinafore rompers over a jersey or blouse. For
young children, boys also wore the usual formal clothing items worn by older
men. Girls on the other hand wore Gingham high-waist dresses paired with
leggings or tights and chunky shoes. However, silky outfits were also mostly
worn by children at this time.

In the same decade, school boys wore wool slacks and V-necked
checkered vests with a collared shirt underneath. Girls often wore knee-length
dresses with round collars. It was also during this time that wearing creative
outfits for school and for sports activities became normal. Boys are expected to
wear shorts and shirts on a school day where there will be sports-related
activities.

Conclusion

The fashion industry will forever be one of the best, biggest, and most
innovative industries in the world. Fashion being a necessity alone will ensure
that the industry will never face a time when it will be deemed obsolete. Hence,
it will only keep on improving and revamping outdated looks to make it modern
again.

With countless people prioritizing self-expression these days, fashion will

truly never go out of style. As long as there are people to dress and stylists who
will find ways to remodel an old style, fashion will continue to evolve and grow.
The evolution of fashion will always be exciting as it is an industry full of
promise and boundless creativity.