From the earliest years, men and women have dressed with dignity. Women wore long “robes” that covered almost everything and covered their heads with veils from the time of Noah to King David. This basic style did not change much for centuries. In the late 1500s, fashion became much more ornate, although the basic clothing remained the same: a long dress with long sleeves and some kind of head covering. There was also a lot of embroidery and decoration. It was also around this time that the corset was introduced. It wasn’t long before it became the classic item of women’s clothing. Around the time of the French Revolution, the trend for high-waisted dresses with straight, youthful silhouettes and flat bust lines took hold. This is the style you see in Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austin. However, this fashion revolution did not last long and fashion returned to its traditional style. Here in the United States, waistlines were in their natural place and styles were chic. The men wore frilly shirts, tight knee-length pants, and powdered wigs. By the mid-1800s, skirts began to become heavily filled with hoops and crinoline petticoats. You often see this style in photographs taken during the Civil War. The bustle at the back of the dress also began around this time.
Modern fashion began to take shape around 1900. Cuffs moved above the ankle and fashion became simpler. It is interesting to note that the womenswear trends of the day follow the same pattern as the trends in society. The Industrial Revolution (around 1800) allowed women to work outside the home, which changed the way they dress. In 1920, women were given the right to vote and this is where we first saw the departure from the classic style of dress. In the roaring 1920s, you saw women with short hair wearing skirts pulled up to the knees and sleeveless bodices. Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel) was the driving force behind these drastic changes. Around the same time, designers Yves Saint-Laurent and Courreges introduced elegant trouser suits for women. During World War II, women often worked in factories. They wore pants and overalls to work, but retained their feminine style of dress for home. After the war, men returned home in middle-class white-collar suits or working-class blue-collar uniforms. Women were expected to wear makeup and pretty dresses. In the 1960s, young people began to question society and their proper formal dress. You would often see women with long hair, no makeup, and bare feet. Men also grew their hair long, grew beards, and wore blue jeans. The music also inspired new styles. In the 1970s, you often saw men’s pantsuits and women’s metallic and glitter dresses.
Below is a timeline of some interesting points in fabric history:
6000 BC C.: During a geological excavation, brindle garments and fabrics of fine and doubled thread were found dating from this period.
3300 BC C.: On the Similaun Glacier, the Iceman was found in the gear of a Neolithic traveler. The Iceman’s basic garment was an unlined fur tunic sewn from pieces of ibex, suede, and deer skin. A woven grass cloak and furry cap provided additional protection from the cold, and he wore shoes made of leather and filled with grass.
490 BC C.: Quilting was known to the ancient Persians, and by the time of the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), quilted garments were worn as armor.
1130: Skilled weavers who came to Palermo from Greece and Turkey produced elaborate cloth of silk intertwined with gold.
1519 – Pizarro and Cortez discover cotton in Central and South America.
1631-1633 (approximately) – Calico is imported from Calicut, India by the East India Company
1708-1716: William III enacts a series of laws banning the importation of printed silk textiles, making calico and silk textiles more popular than ever.
1858 – Englishman Charles Worth establishes the first haute couture fashion house in Paris.
1873 – Levi Strauss & Company receives its patent for blue jeans
1885-1889: Rayon is invented in France and shown at the 1889 Paris Exposition.
1913 – Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel opens a boutique in Deauville, France. She revolutionizes and democratizes women’s fashion with tailored suits, chain-belt jumpers and quilted bags. She is the most copied fashion designer in history.
1936 – DuPont creates nylon
1941 – The first polyester fiber called Terylene is produced.
1942 – Polyurethane (Spandex) is invented.
1947 – Christian Dior re-establishes Paris as the center of fashion. Relive haute couture with fitted waists, stiff petticoats and billowing skirts.
1948 – Textiles become the second largest industry in the United States. Per capita consumption of fibers consumes 27 pounds of cotton, 6.3 pounds of rayon, 4.9 pounds of wool.
1950 – The first commercial application of “Orlon”, an acrylic wool substitute.
1955 – Velcro is created
1958: Eastman Kodak introduces Kodel polyester.
1960 – London boutique owner Mary Quant champions the youth movement and introduces miniskirts and shorts. She also launched Twiggy as a supermodel and she becomes the most influential designer of the 1960s.
1966 – Kevlar is invented, which is 5 times stronger than steel.
1968 – Calvin Klein begins producing elegant and simple clothing, favoring neutral earth tones and luxurious fabrics. Ralph Lauren creates a line of men’s clothing and expands to women’s clothing. She prefers natural fabrics and her designs feature western or country motifs.
1970s: A growing market for organically grown foods was firmly established and the production of naturally grown fabrics soon followed suit.
1974 – Giorgio Armani creates a line of men’s clothing and popularizes Italian tailoring
1984 – Donna Karan launches a line of casual and versatile knitwear and prefers the color black.
2004 – Bamboo fabric begins to be manufactured in Asia, bamboo bedding and clothing begin to arrive in the United States. Since then its popularity has grown by leaps and bounds.
Clothing has always played a role in our lives throughout history. The history of fashion is intertwined with every major development in American life since we arrived here in the early 17th century. However, now we are seeing how fashion is recycled and reinvented. Ecological fabrics are part of this new century, with hemp, organic cotton and bamboo being the favorites. The fashion industry is looking for ways to not only improve design/style, but also to be environmentally friendly. By going back to an earlier time and trying to be more natural, the fashion industry has stopped trying to reinvent the wheel and instead given consumers what they want. It will be interesting to see what the next ninety years hold!
