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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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