Fashion History Report

This report delves into the history of fashion, focusing on European and Asian styles. It begins by discussing the importance of fashion magazines in capturing cultural moments and providing a platform for diverse voices. The report then provides a detailed chronological overview of European fashion from the 12th century to the 2010s, highlighting key stylistic changes and social influences. It further explores the clothing traditions of early Asian cultures, specifically focusing on ancient Chinese dress and the evolution of Japanese clothing. The impact of Western fashion on Asian styles is analyzed, examining the adoption and adaptation of Western trends in China and Japan. Finally, the report touches upon the influence of Western beauty standards on Asian women, particularly in South Korea. The report offers a comprehensive overview of fashion history across different cultures and time periods, showcasing the interplay between social, political, and economic factors in shaping fashion trends.

Table of Content
Importance of magazines in fashion 2
History of European fashion 3
History of European fashion by periods 3
Clothing of Early Asian Cultures 7
Ancient Chinese Dress 7
The Influence of Western fashion on Asian Fashion 9
Western influence on Beauty Fashion 10
References 11
1

The Importance of Magazines in Fashion
The question most people ask themselves after getting a fashion magazine or when they get a
fashion magazine and they find out that the magazine is filled with pretty photos and interesting
articles but half of the magazine content is all advertisement is “What did I actually pay for?” It
is actually a not-so-out-of-place question but then Fashion magazine serves its own unique
mission in the world irrespective of the unreserved manner most magazines are filled with
advertisement on their pages.
The capturing of cultural moments through the study of fashion pieces is what fashion magazines
are all about and Zeitgeist representations are important because they show us the essentials of
the issues happening at the moment. The power of fashion images lies in their qualities of being
bold and beautiful. It is that quality of boldness that leaves an imprint like no other in the minds
of people. It is also not out of place to remind ourselves in the hectic modern lives we live in of
the power of beauty.
Fashion magazines are also a platform for the voices from unrepresented people to be heard.
Take for instance, in a very popular magazine, Vogue May issue, an interview with transgender
model Andreja Pejic was featured where she talked about her challenges and the several issues
she faces regarding her sexuality. Most people are not yet familiar with transgender models or
androgynous models. The article is a voice from the LGBT (Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender) people. It brings readers into touching stories on Andreja’s discovery of true self
and finding her unique place in the fashion world. Fashion is the true venue for self-exploration
and self-expression, so also will fashion magazines forever hold its special place in this world as
a space to express unique voices on gender issue, feminist issues LGBT, etc. Fashion magazines
incorporate something only beautiful as artworks and also as powerful as news articles.
Fashion magazine today have however evolved and these days they tackle serious events and the
social issues of the day just as newspaper and other public readable pieces. Fashion has become
increasingly accessible and has broadened its vision beyond the basic stuffs we’ve been used to.
It has become a genre that celebrates "street style," and being "basic." Fast fashion has
democratized fashion in making the pricey threads featured in the pages of fashion magazines
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more affordable compared to years ago. Although fast fashion is controversial for its practice of
reproducing carbon copies of designer duds at a fraction of the cost by using essentially
indentured labour in developing countries.
It is an undeniable fact that fashion magazines have also had to compete against the Internet just
like every other print magazine. But they’ve extended their power beyond the showing off of
clothes to a source for verified news and a place to air views on societal issues and problems
such as feminism and politics (a subject that has been tiptoed around in this realm but has been a
welcome, however limited, aspect of recent issues from the industry leaders).
History of European Fashion
The western fashion has evolved in a number of ways over the years from the way the men have
dressed to the way women have dressed as well. This fashion evolution has effected changes in
Europe and several other countries who are in one way or the other under the influence of the
western world. This fashion evolution dates as far back as the 12th century till present.
History of European fashion by periods
1100-1200
Costume during this period was simple and was different from that of centuries before only in
details. Tunics were very much in vogue then and men wore knee-length tunics for most of the
activities they indulged in while those who were higher in social standing wore long tunics with
hose and cloaks. Women wore long tunics or gowns; clothes that fit closely to the body with long
flaring sleeves and full skirts were the trendy as far as fashion was concerned for the men and
women of the upper class.
1200-1300
In the thirteenth century, dressing was very simple for both men and women. Male clothing
hardly changed from what was obtainable three or four centuries earlier.
One notable development at that time however was how much progress was made in dyeing and
working of wool which was the major material used in making fabrics at the time. The upper
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class people took colors important and the introduction of the Blue Color was widely accepted.
Even the king of France made blue their heraldic colour.
In the 14th century, different forms of clothing were experimented and by the middle of the
century, recognizable fashion emerged in the history of clothing. Clothes form centuries before
(draped garments and straight seams) were replaced with carried seams. This signaled the start of
proper tailoring which gave way to making fitted wears and buttons were introduced to make
clothes more fitting.
In the 15th century, Europe had begun to develop the more, people started wearing more complex
clothes and it was at this time trend set in. people could be defined by the type of clothes they
had on either out of date or trendy, clothing became a thing of social concern and justification.
By the 16th century clothing had become something used to show off. New designs came up in
the introduction of slashes embroidery and addition of surface ornaments to fabric. Women
wears had wide skirts and sleeves and these got carried into the 17th century. During this period,
the most common garment was ruff which at first was a ruffle that was attached to the neckband
of a shirt and later transited into a separate garment of fine linen, trimmed with lace or
embroidery and shaped into precise crisp folds with starch and hot iron.
The 18th century brought about a widening silhouette for both men and women. Highly placed
men in the society wore often white, sometimes natural hair was powdered to create that
fashionable look.
It was during this period that a clear distinction was made between wears for formal occasion
and every day, daytime wears.
The start of the 19th century brought about a transition of fashionable women’s clothing style
from the classically influenced “Europe/Regency” styles to the readoption of elements that had
been characteristics of most of the 18th century which eventually made up the remainder of the
19th century such as clearly visible corseting of the natural waist and full skirts.
The silhouette of men’s fashion also changed in similar ways. Coats were designed with broad
shoulder and puffed sleeves, full skirts and a narrow waist. Trousers were designed to be smart
on the body while the use of breeches was continued in court and country fashion.
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The fashion evolution in Europe at the start of the 20th century was that of elegant dressing.
Men’s wears had tall, stiff collars as well as women’s broad hats and their full Gibson Girl
hairstyles. At this period, corset got abandoned as an indispensable garment amongst fashionable
women. Then few years later, men’s trousers were worn cuffed to ankle-length and creased.
Women’s skirts lengths were well above the ankle and they began to bod their hair. By the
1920’s, fashion had begun to enter modern era. Women began wearing more comfortable clothes
like short skirts or trousers. Men also started wearing athletic clothes.
By 1950, there came innovations in textile technology and this brought about the introduction of
new fabrics such as spandex and easy care fabric finishes that fitted the subur ban lifestyle of that
period. For the first time, teenagers became a force to reckon in fashion.
In 1960, a lot of fashion traditions were broken. This was the period the bikini came into fashion
precisely in 1963 after being featured in the musical beach party.
The miniskirt got popularized by Mary Quart. All through the decade, fake eyelashes were
popular and in wide use and there were a varieties of lengths and styles of hairstyles. Clothing
styles of women was influenced by the hippie movement later in the decade including batik, tie-
dye, bell-bottom jeans and paisley pants. All this time, designers were producing more suitable
clothing for young adults and this led to an increase in sales and interest.
The 1980s brought with it expensive fashion items and accessories. Clothes were designed to be
very bright and women expressed wealth and success through flashy and shiny costume jewelries
such as gold earrings, pearl necklaces and clothes covered with sequins and diamonds. Everyday
fashion in this period consisted of light-colored lips, thick eyelashes, pink or light blue blush.
In Europe, fashion in the 1990s brought about the adoption of tattoos and body piercings. Several
late fashion styles remained in vogue and the popularity of alternative rock music brought the
unkempt grunge look into limelight. This approach of fashion led to the popularization of T-
shirts, hoodies, trainers and jeans which still continued into the 2000s. the increased usage of the
internet made fashion and being fashionable to be a more globalized concept.
The fashion trends of the 2000s were described as a “mash-up”, were a mixture of previous
global and ethnic clothing styles. The hip-hop culture was trending at the time so fashion style
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inspired by hip-hop was generally the most popular among young people. Globalization was also
a factor that influenced the decade’s clothing trends with the incorporation of Asian dress into
mainstream European fashion. Recycled fashion and fake fur were eco friendly and ethical
clothing was prominent.
Many mid and late 1990s fashions still remained in vogue up till the early 2000s while newer
trends got introduced. The 2000s didn’t leave one particular style. Clothes from the 1960s, 1970s
and 1980s were revived. Fashion designers then included Alexander McQueen, Vera Wang and
Christian Louboutin.
Fashion in the 2010s in Europe and other western nations were mainly the ones brought from the
mid and late 2000s especially the indie pop look which was mainly influenced by elements of
1970s garage rock and the 1960s counterculture and contemporary alternative culture. Popular
fashion brands include Forever 21, Marks and Spencer, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Abercranbie and
Fitch.
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Clothing of Early Asian Cultures
Not until recently, many people in the western world had limited knowledge about the kinds of
clothing worn in Asia. The Asian clothing relied on stereotypes of Japanese people who wear
kimono or long robes with wide sleeves and the Chinese people wearing Mao Suits, the cut, dull-
colored outfits favored by the communist party. The clothing tradition of Asian people varied
based on the extent of their wealth and as that of the culture of the west. Thus, the understanding
of Asian clothing has rather remained limited for a number of reasons. These limits can however
be related to the difficulty involved in understanding the language and culture of Asian people as
this has made the studying of the Asian culture really difficult for many western historians.
During the 20th and 21st century periods, China has been closed to western historians for political
reasons, however because of the nation’s poverty; she has been unable to devote a large amount
of money to its own archeological research. However, due to the wealth of the nation, the
Japanese costumes gained much recognition. The history of fashion was considered unimportant
and didn’t attract the attention of capable scholars in the late 21st century. As a result of the
growth in research and traditions of Asian works, the basic of the clothing traditions of the two
major Asian cultures – China and Japan – became very easy to understand.
Ancient Chinese Dress
As early as 5000 B.C.E, organized societies sprung up in China. It was about the same time
organize societies emerged in other ancient nations like the modern-day Iraq. By about 1875,
these societies grew complex enough to organize large areas of land and people into the first o
the Chinese dynasties.
These societies were ruled by members of a particular family. Although there were lots of
interruptions, but these dynasties controlled China until 1911 C.E. some of the basic forms of
Chinese dress began with the earliest Xia dynasty (1875-1550 BCE); most of the people wore a
simple outfit consisting of a tunic or jacket called “san” and loose trousers called “ku”. The
tunic is time dependent as it could be short, ending at the waist or much longer reaching just
above the ankle.
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The rich in ancient China at that time which included the emperor and his family, a wide range
of officials and court of nobles wore the robe which was a long-sleeved, loose fitting garment
with a fastener in the front. Over the course of Chinese history, the exact cut and style of these
robes changed significantly. At times the sleeves were loose and billowing, at the other times the
sleeves were quite narrow. Sometimes, the robes were belted while they hung loose around the
waist at other times.
The robes were fastened either across the right side of the chest or down the middle of the left. In
most cases, these robes were made of silk but some emperors wore robes made of other materials
just to show off their frugality or make a political statement. By the time of the reign of the Cling
dynasty (1644-1911 C.E), the highly ornamented dragon robe had become the popular garment
of the people of the ruling class.
In the earliest years of China, poorer people used hemp to make their clothing. Hemp was a
fabric similar to linen which was made from a tall Asian herb. Hemp was replaced by cotton a
the primary material used for the garments of the common people. It was easier to dye cotton and
grown more easily. The garments didn’t really change from season to season but padding was
added to clothes for cold seasons. The rich people preferred garments made of silk. Silk was
spun by silk worms that lived in mulberry trees.
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The Influence of Western fashion on Asian Fashion
China
For an unusually long time China maintained its fashion traditions up to the twentieth century. In
the beginning of 1911, the fashion trends in china changed unexpectedly. A revolution led by
Sun Yat-Sen overthrew and disposed the emperor, Pu Yi and this led to the allowance of western
fashion into China. Western dress had been forbidden prior to that time. Many Chinese people
instantly adopted western fashions. For example, the Cheongsam dress for women was a mash-
up of western and Chinese styles and it became very popular. A violent civil war broke out in
1949 which brought a communist government to China. Communist is a system of government
in which the stat controls the economy and all property and wealth are shared equally by the
people. With the introduction of a communist government, the rules made western dress shunned
again.
This is the type of government which controls China till date favored a basic garment called Man
Suit named after communist Mao Tse-tung. The suit has plain trousers and a tunic with a
mandarin collar and two pockets on the chest.
The Mao suit was worn by people of all classes and this uniformly showed the world that there
were no class differences amongst the people of China. With modernization in the last twenty
years, some western dresses got introduced but some still retained the Mao suit for daily wear.
Japan
The first real knowledge about the Japanese culture comes around the 6th century C.E, the period
when the influences of China began to be felt. People lived on the islands that make up the
nation of Japan form as early as 13,000 B.C.E. Japan borrowed many Chinese customs which
include wearing of robes for the wealthy while the poor wore simple tunics and trousers.
However, the Japanese began to create different versions of clothing’s during the Heian period
(794-1185 CE). People lower in the social ladder continued to wear fairly simple clothing which
was made up of loose trousers and a simple linen shirt for men and loose skirts for women.
Basic Japanese garments were the Kosode, a short-sleeved shirt that opened in the front and the
hakama or long trousers. Eventually, the kosede evolved into garment the Japanese were mostly
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associated with. The kimono which translates into “thing to wear” is the Japanese equivalent of
the Chinese robe. It is a long garment tied at the waist with a sash and it has different variations
according to the circumstances in which it is worn. Other dresses which form part of the
traditional Japanese include the ho, the haori, and the kinu. The careful attentions to details in
the fabrics are the common characteristics that the Japanese dresses have.
Another very important influence on Japanese fashion came from the Samurai. The samurai were
a class of elite warriors who helped secures the power of the rulers of Japan’s various states. The
samurai, developed traditions and rules for complex clothing which were linked to ceremonial
occasions.
Japanese exposure to western fashion came in 1542 when Portuguese and British traders visited
the nation but it was not until the late 19th century that western dresses got fully embraced. By
the 20th century, Japanese people adopted western fashion. The men wore suits while the women
wore skirts and blouses for their everyday wear. Traditional dresses however remained an
important part of their culture and were worn for occasions like weddings and funerals.
Western influence on Beauty Fashion
Women from South Korea have become obsessed with western celebrity culture and they now
get involved in different forms of surgery. For example, the double eyelid surgery which creates
the Caucasian crease many Asian women don’t have naturally. Brazil which is the home of
plastic surgery in the world has been overtaken as South Korea now has the highest number of
surgeries performed per capita. One in five South Korean women has undergone some kind of
cosmetic procedure because they want to have the distinctive looks of westerners.
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REFERENCES
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