The History Of Fabric and Fashion Worldwide

From as early as we can remember men and women have been dressing themselves with elegance and dignity. Women wore tunics that covered everything and much of their heads were covered with veils from as far back as Noah all the way through King David. This simple yet basic style lasted through centuries until the late 1500’s.  This is when it became much more ornate and detailed in its decoration. Embroidery became much more prevalent in this time period as well. This time period is also famous for the corset. The corset became classic and most women had it included as a main element in dress code. Just about the time of the French revolution trendy, high-waisted dresses, with boyish silhouettes and flattened bust lines took hold for many years to come. In the United States the style was straiter forward yet fancy. Men on the other hand, wore tight knee-breeches and ruffles shirts, and let’s not forget those powdered wigs.  It was not until the 1800’s that petticoats and full hoops were in full swing.

When it comes to more modern fashion, this took shape around the 1900’s. This was evident because of the higher hemlines.  Women’s apparel seemed to follow the trends of society at the time. Once the industrial revolution came about, we saw much change in the ladies fashion sector. Much more aggressive wearing habits, since females were given the right to vote in 1920. Hair styles changed, along with more diverse fabrics and shorter hems. There was a good reason why it was called the roaring twenties. We all know Coco Chanel played a huge part in this fad. These look are often seen when watching civil wars movies or photos.

WW2 brought changes as well. Designer Yves Saint-Laurent along with Courreges brought dressy outfits mainly pants into the fashion picture.  Women were out more but still wore a more feminine outfit for home. In factory jobs cover all were worn and more blue-collar trousers. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the younger generation began to question our fashion in society as well as political arguments.

1519: Cotton was discovered by Pizzaro and Cortez In South America.

1873: Levis Strauss gets its patent on Blue Jeans.

1942: Spandex is invented.

1946: Christian Dior reestablishes Paris as the fashion center.

1968: Calvin Klein creates simple designs favoring neutral tones.

1970: Georgio Armani creates men’s line and makes it popular for decades to come.

2004: Bamboo fabric is being manufactured in Asia.                                                

In our common world of fashion sometimes less is more desirable. We know one factor that lingers on from day to day. Fashion is not going away.