Fashion Quiz 1

Fashion is a type of clothing popular at a particular place and time

  • Reasons for wearing clothes: Physical: To keep our bodies safe from exposure and injury Psychological: To feel good Social: To get along with others and fit in
  • Style- a distinctive or unique appearance   Values- the principles or standards a person considers important   Heritage- cultural traditions passed on from previous generations

\ History of fashion intro

  • During ancient times, garments were made, by hand with whatever materials were available.
  • After people learned how to make and use tools, they taught themselves how to weave fabric & sew clothes
  • Fashions changed slowly, and people wore the same styles for generations
  • Earliest evidence of people wearing woven cloth dates back to 25000 BCE
  • Earliest fabric ever discovered by archaeologists dates from 7000 BCE

 \n

Egypt

  • Ancient Egyptians wove linen and cotton from flax and cotton plants grown in the region
  • Type of clothing worn reflected their social status   * The higher the status, the more detail in the jewelry and the more embroidered embellishments on garments

 \n

Ancient Greece

  • Ancient Greeks used wool to create fabrics since they raised goats and sheep
  • Like the Egyptians, status dictated the amount of jewelry worn and whether their fabric had colourful designs
  • Garment examples: Himation and chiton

 \n \n

Roman Empire

  • Romans conquered Greece in 146 BCE and absorbed much of the culture and society, including Greek styles of clothing
  • Colour of garment was telling   * Only the emperor wore purple
  • Garment examples: Toga and stola

 \n \n

China

  • Ancient China consisted of many different regions, each with its own clothing style
  • When the regions were unified in 221 BCE, clothing styles became similar across the country
  • Women – coats & long skirts

Men – long robes

 \n

Japan

  • The standard dress for men & women was the kimono
  • Early kimonos were made from one piece of linen but later were made using 2 silk pieces   * A wide decorative sash (obi) was added later

 \n

Africa

  • Cotton from India was introduced to Africa by 400 CE
  • By 800 CE, Africans were trading ivory, ostrich eggs, copper and gold for Indian silk   * Clothing reflected styles from India

 \n \n

Introduction

  • The Industrial Revolution brought upon technological advance which changed fashion
  • When clothing became more affordable due to technology advances and production changes, people began to vary their wardrobes
  • Increasing demand for clothing and textiles led to further innovation and encouraged production, leading to the development of the modern textile industry

 \n

French Fashion

  • The early 18th century continued to be a time of elegant fashion for the French nobility
  • Style at the this time was known as Rococo

Rococo: an excessively ornate style of European architecture and art from 1720 to 1770

  • By embracing this new style, the French royal court continued to set the style for fashionable Europeans

 \n

THE EMPIRE & VICTORIAN PERIODS

  • After the deaths of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in 1793 came the Empire period

Empire period: the years 1804 – 1815, during the reign of French Emperor Napoleon I

  • Dress styles became looser and more flowing and were later given an empire waist, with the waistline immediately below the bust
  • No pockets so began the practice of carrying a purse
  • Men’s clothing changed to the cut-away jacket that evolved into the tailcoat and eventually became the knee-length frock coat, while trousers replaced breeches
  • In the 1800s, influence on fashion shifted from French royalty to British royalty

Victorian period: the time during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 to 1901

  • Britain’s Queen Victoria fashion influence was so widespread that when she chose to wear white on her wedding day, she started a tradition that carries on today

 \n

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Age of Enlightenment: the period in Western culture from approximately 1650 – 1800, when philosophy and academic thought began to challenge tradition and faith

  • Searched for ways to make ordinary tasks easier; an age

Industrial Revolution: period from 1750-1850 when steam power and new inventions led to the building of factories and mass production, starting in Britain

  • many textile industry advancements were made
  • Since most of the first inventions that changed how textiles and clothes were made were developed in Britain, Britain became the centre of the textile industry’s mechanization
  • later spread to Western Europe and North Americ

 \n

2ND WAVE OF INNOVATION

2nd Industrial Revolution: period after the 1st Industrial Revolution, from 1860-1914, when the introduction of steel and electricity revolutionized manufacturing

  • Beginning of this period was marked by:   * A way to cheaply produce large quantities of steel was invented   * Petroleum began to be widely available, making the internal combustion engine much more practical as a power source

 \n

THE SEWING MACHINE

  • French tailor named Barthelemy Thimonnier was the first to successfully invent and manufacture a sewing machine
  • After the sewing machine was invented, workers were brought into factories so that production could be overseen   * This was the start of the garment industry
  • Since most middle-class Americans made their own clothes, the sewing machine was an essential tool in every home
  • In 1854, Ellen Demorest came up with the idea of creating patterns for dresses out of paper
  • With a pattern and sewing machine, women from any income level could make clothing that was fashionable   * Only the expense of the fabric revealed social class differences

 \n \n