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At least four times a year (sometimes more), designers come
out with new haute couture and magazines howl about
must-haves. We’re supposed to change the content of our
closet every few months, then – but why?
To understand, you need to know the history of fashion.
You might think that women in long-ago times could just wear
the same old robe every day, right? No, all-the-rage
Ancients took fashion seriously. Minoan women some 5,000
years ago used corsets. Greek girls demanded that their
peplos were personalized and Roman women exercised in
bikinis.
Medieval men had it much better than their female
counterparts: men donned lightweight tights, while women
were stuck wearing four mandatory layers of clothing. If
they looked pregnant, that was even better: the Black Plague
killed a lot of people, and babies were “prized.”
During the Renaissance, fashion started to stink.
Seriously stink, because hygiene wasn’t important to our
15th and 16th century ancestors. Furs
were de rigueur because they were thought to re-route fleas
and lice. Hair was rarely washed, baths were infrequent.
Plus, with then-trendy skirts wider than most doorways,
trying to reach the potty wasn’t pretty.
You might think them crazy, but women in the late 1700s wore
clothing that made their butts look big, on purpose.
Fashionistas on and off through the 1800s did that, too, and
they sometimes changed clothes several times a day. But
while butts were big then, shoes sported dozens of teensy
buttons to fasten, which took time and probably made lots of
women late. In the early 1800s, by the way, men wore
corsets, too.
By the early 1900s, women were happy to turn to Hollywood
for a new look. Sumptuous gowns caused undies to go smaller,
push-up bras were invented, heels went higher, and glamour
was golden. Practicality ruled the 1930s; Rosie the Riveter
needed work clothes in the ‘40s; and in the 1950s, teenagers
like you stepped into the fashion scene…
As a basic history of what we wore, The Fashion Book
is exactly perfect.
There’s just enough information in this book to get future
clothing designers started on ideas, with bios on famous
fashionistas and interviews with experts and students in
various roles in the industry. Readers learn intriguing bits
and pieces about ye olde clothing via illustrations and
lighthearted sidebars that are easy to read, then we’re
taken even further with ideas for using old-fashioned
fashions in new ways that won’t bust a girl’s budget.
There’s no reason in the world that a grown-up can’t enjoy
this book, but it’s really meant for young adults. If that’s
you and you’re looking for new ways of stylin’, The
Fashion Book will suit you well. |
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