Saturday, March 12, 2011

A Lesson Of Clothing Such As Women Clothing And Fashions And Style

By Tami Oren


Clothing such as women clothing has long marked the social class of individuals throughout history. An individual could tell the income and social status of women simply by the way she dressed. This fact has not changed but the designs of apparel have changed drastically.

Since the 1600s women were known according to the number of changes she had in her armoire. Commoners were less likely to have more than two changes while nobility were known to have many different changes. This prevented nobility and merchants wives from being seen in public in the same clothing in a short period of time by someone of the same stature.

The 18th Century introduced muslin dresses as well as plumes, ruffles and large hats. The well dressed woman of the time wore layers of clothing including pantaloons, petticoats and the overdress. These were accessorized by large hats with plumes that were sometimes dyed to match the dress and inserted into the band of a large hat.

The later decades of the 18th Century had women trying to rebel against low necklines, tight corsets and skirts that seemingly cleaned the street when they walked. These subjects became very touchy with men designers rebutting women's cries for change. They continued designing clothing that was revealing and gave much more shape to women.

By the time the 19th Century came around, women began to consider shortening the skirts, removing the corsets and incorporating the bustle into their skirts and design higher necklines. Pressure from male designers, however restricted the removal of corsets and bustles and were still used for many of the formal attire. As time went on, dresses began to shorten even more and the bustle was removed in an effort to show the natural shape of women.

During this time women started to rebel and began dressing more masculine. They saw fewer frills in their dresses and more straight line clothing designs. Sewing machines took center stage as a mode of creating more practical clothing for women to be able to perform their daily duties.

In the first part of the next century, skirts took on a shorter look revealing the ankles of many of the ladies of the time. Designers began playing with the lengths of many of the skirts and removed corsets and bustles. Women's apparel took on a more practical design and became straight line but still included a short train.

A new era in the second decade brought pants and shorts to women's apparel. These were considered the most revealing articles of clothing ever made. They were most popular with those women who could rely on servants to do their daily work for them.

Once WWII began, the focus turned towards more practical and drab fashions. The rationing of material and fasteners such as buttons required women to use more belts and sashes. The later decades of the 20th Century brought a vast array of fashions from miniskirts, halter tops, bikini bathing suits and short-shorts. Much of the clothing such as women clothing, has changed drastically over the centuries in an effort to liberate women from the once constricting and restricting fashions of our ancestors.




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