Although prehistoric clothing didn't hold much style it did exist and became the beginning of fashion. The main purpose of prehistoric dress was to ward off insects, protect the body from the environment, and for warmth. There is evidence that a coarse type of fabric was woven. Apparel was merely squares of textiles fastened across the shoulders and at the waist.
The Egyptian style was also simple but held a great deal more beauty than earlier clothing. Most Egyptian clothing was merely wrapped and tied. The main article for men, although clothing was unisex, was the schenti, a wrapped loin cloth. Women wore kalasiris, long clinging skirts that started underneath the breast and went to the ankle. The Egyptians added beauty to their clothes with bright dyes and jewels. Their main fabric was sheer, woven flax (linen); flax was the principal crop along the Nile.
The Minoans lived around the same time as the Egyptians but had a completely different style of dress. The Minoans were one of the earliest cultures to show a more complex design of clothing. Waists were bound with wide belts that topped tiered skirts, flounced in rings . The bodices were cut so low that the breasts were completely exposed. Minoans used linen, wool, or blends of the two. They also used embroidarie techniques.
The Greek chiton (key-ton) was simply two rectangular pieces of fabric that were fastened at the shoulder with fibulae. Fibulae were the first safety pins. They were made from precious metal and often decorated with jewels. The chiton was usually belted at the waist, left one shoulder exposed, or the side hung open (see chiton picture). The Greeks took apart imported silk thread by thread and re- wove it into an even more beautiful material. They used the colors white, scarlet, purple, mustard yellow, indigo, and bright green.
Designer Mariano Fortuny, born 1871 and died 1949, designed dresses using the same style as the Greek chiton.
Today when one of Fortuny's designs surfaces at an auction, they start at $5,000. This shows the impact of past fashions on today's society.
Roman fashion resembles the Greek partly because Greece fell to Rome. Women wore a stola, almost identical to the chiton, which was belted at the waist and attached with fibulae. Men wore the toga, a large semi-circle made of wool. The toga was 18 feet long and 5 1/2 feet wide at its widest part. It was worn draped and wrapped with the right arm free. The right arm was the fighting arm. The folds hung in place with weights and each fold had a name. The toga identified the wearer by how it was draped. The toga was also a sign of Roman citizenship, and being stripped of it meant losing all of one's rights.
The Byzantine is one of the more unique styles of B.C. times. The Byzantines were of eastern origin and resembled the Japanese and Chinese. Their garments resembled coats. They wore straight tunics belted at the waist with scarves, and the sleeves extended to the wrists. Both men and women of the Byzantine culture wore pants under their tunics. Until this time, pants were considered to be for barbarians. The use of rich, heavy textiles was common, even their silks were thick.
The Roman Empire fell to barbarians around the 5th century. It wasn't until Charlemagne tried to bring back power equal to that of the Roman Empire that we see fashion escalate in changes. This period is known as the Barbarism and Carolingian. Charlemagne lived in a colder climate, and although he was royalty he preferred peasants' clothing; he often wrapped himself in sheep hides. Because of the cold temperatures, both rich and poor dressed in wool. Both men and women wore tunics. Underneath their tunics men wore leg coverings, while the women wore long sleeved dresses.
These early Christian people laced and tied much of their clothing. It is also believed that the beginnings of chain mail were in the Carolingian period.
The Middle Ages is also referred to as the Gothic Age. One of the most worn garments to this time, by both men and women, was the bliaut. The bliaut was a sleeveless pull-over that laced up the sides. The women wore bliauts over tight bodices, and the men wore theirs as armor coverings. In this period, sleeves were much wider, and capes, veils, chin straps, and head coverings were often worn. The styles of the late 1960's closely resemble the Gothic Age with the exception- of seams instead of laced and tied garments.
By the High Renaissance period, the time of the Eli2abethan Age and of Shakespeare, patterns were being experimented with and styles were changing. The waist was finally accented by boned bodices, the hips flared out, necklines dropped low, and sleeves were padded in sections all the the way down the arm. The Spanish originated farthingale was created at this time. The farthingale was thought to have been worn to hide pregnancies. Another garment that looked like a sleeveless robe was worn over dresses and formed almost a hunchback appearance because of farthingale width at the hips.
The Cavaliers, living in the 17th century, wore breeches, mid-thigh length capes, and wide-brimmed hats. This look is closely associated with the "Three Musketeers". Lace was also very popular at this time. Men wore wide lace collars, lace cuffs, and lace boot cuffs. Women also wore wide lace collars on dresses with softer looks to them than those of the High Renaissance.
The Cavalier styles were taken over by the wardrobe of King Louis XIV of France. King Louis was said to have adored fashion and was always superbly dressed. He would often change several times a day as well as ordering his court to do so. He demanded that his mistresses dress exquisitely and be adorned in jewels. Louis gave birth to petticoat breeches, his favorite style of men's wear. Petticoat breeches were
like a full skirt that was separated in between the legs. He added ruffles and ribbons to create a more elaborate look.
After Louis XIV, Louis XV set the beginning fashions of the 18th century at a softer look. Women's dresses sported the sacque look. The sacque style had tight sleeves to the elbow that were attached by large ruffled cuffs. A cape looking garment was attached to the back of the neck and hung to the ground like a train. Panniers could first be seen in the 18th century. Panniers were made of whalebone or cane and were a hoop worn around the waist to extend the hip area of the dress.
By the time of the 19th century, due to the over-emphasized width of panniers, the hoop style took over. The hoop was a much softer look. Men's pants extended to their ankles. Tails and overcoats were also born into men's fashion at this time.
Women's fashion, at the beginning of the 20th century, lost boned bodices and hoop skirts. Women's apparel became softer and loose. Dresses resembled light robes and spaghetti strap night gowns. Waist lines were either dropped or accented with wide sashes. The most notable change is the death of layers upon layers of under garments. Almost all of women's fashions from the 1910's to the 1940's were only one or two piece garments. World War I brought uniforms to nurses and postwomen. Munition workers and tram conductors wore trousers and overalls.
"Coco" Chanel's styles were first exposed in the 1920's. She was famous for her colorless jackets, sweaters, pleated skirts, long shirts, and elaborate dresses. She inspired designers like Christian Dior, who became a "fashion god" in the late 1940's.
Throughout the 10's and 20's, clothing accented slenderness. Fashions gave a peasant looking style. Many shirt designs had off-the-shoulder sleeves. The cloche, a hat that looked like an upside-down flower pot, could be seen everywhere. Women wore their hair very short and wavy.
The 30's brought a fancier look of dresses. The waist was tighter in all designs, unlike the potato sack look of the earlier decades. Most dresses had thin straps and were wrapped around the body elegantly.
Daily dress for women usually consisted of a button-up jacket, a dress shirt, and a straight knee length skirt. It was not unusual for women to wear pants at this time. Aside from wearing pants in factories, women wore them with dress shirts daily (Howell 126-170).
In the 40's fabric shortages, due to World War II, gave way to a coarse rewoven woolen fabric. Only several colors of the material were used to cut down on waste-age. The solution to this was the Utility dress. Several designs could be bought in twelve different colors to avoid plainness. After the war, men could be seen in double-breasted suit coats and straight leg suit pants (Cawethorne 40-44, 98-99).
In 1947, Dior's designs were dubbed "the New Look" and were adored by women around the world. Dior's designs included petticoats, tight bodices, "wasp waists", and soft shoulders (shoulder pads had dominated the early 40's). With the war over and the fabric available to make Dior's creations, he just kept designing. From the time that the "New Look" came out until his death in 1957, these ten years came to be known as "the Dior Revolution" (Cawethome 106-167).
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