Have you ever thought, or wondered, What were clothes like in the nineteen hundreds compared to now? Did people back then wear what I wear today? Were there fashion trends back then? Well today I will be answering all of those questions! But personally what I question the most is, how has women’s fashion evolved? And I used this question as my main inquiry question. I have sub questions that will relate to my main inquiry question, to answer my main question.
The first sub question is, how have the designs and styles changed from then, to now? From around the nineteen hundreds to the nineteen sixties the ladies were always dressed very fancy, Just to go to the grocery store. They would wear fancy dresses, high heels, do their hair, and makeup, and after getting all dolled up they would leave for the store. And as fashion has changed over time, the more different the styles became. For example to go to things like the grocery store nowadays, some women choose to do simple errands by wearing more comfortable clothing, rather than fancy. For example people will wear, sweat pants, a hoodie, hair in a messy bun, or down, sneakers, and sometimes makeup. The reason this has changed over time is because people started to change, and ladies started not to care as much about their looks. Even though the looks are very different nowadays there are still similarities for everyday looks. For example women still wear dresses, bags/purses, jackets, makeup, and sometimes high heels, also people really love to accessorize with jewelry. More specifically what they wore then was skirts, skirts went from to the floor, to just above the knees. For hair women would bob their hair, and furry coats were super popular, and sometimes furry dresses. A few of the most popular pieces of clothing were bell bottoms, and blouses were definitely one of the most popular, and trendy types of clothing. There are so, so many more styles of clothes. For example but there are way too many more to say, or explain. But the style now is like, ripped jeans, sweat pants, hoodies, t-shirts, and lots of hair styles. There are many more answers to why the designs and styles have changed, but that is one of the many answers.
The next sub question is, how have the materials/fabrics changed from then to now. From the nineteen thirties, to the nineteen ninety people used a huge variety of materials, used for clothing. Some of the most popular materials, and fabrics they used were, rayon wool, silk, cotton, wool, rayon, denim, linen, cashmere, devor velvets, lycra, fleece, plaid, and stone wash. Those material, and fabrics were usually used for all types of clothes. Nineteen ninety and above, the materials, and fabrics people use to make clothes haven’t changed to much. They use flax, ramie, leather, fur, polyester. The materials and fabrics that are still commonly used are, wool, cotton, silk, denim, and linen. Although the materials, and fabrics haven’t changed to much over the years, the styles have definitely changed!
The third sub question is, how have the prices of clothes changed from then to now? As you would probably expect, the prices of clothes were a lot cheaper than, but another thing you have to ask yourself before you say yes or no, is that are the clothes your buying in better shape then they were than? Or is the clothing people bought then, and the clothing people buy today, worth the money you pay for them? There is no right or wrong answer. Technically this is opinionated. But the prices were definitely cheaper then, then they are today. For example back then the average price of a winter coat was, sixteen dollars. Today the average price of a winter coat is, eighty dollars. That is a sixty four dollar difference, and that is a lot of money, just for a winter coat.
The next sub question is what were some major trends from certain time periods? In the nineteen thirties people loved to stand, and pop out. There was a certain trend that people called, camp. Camp isn’t like a day camp or anything like that… Camp means something crazy, and something that pops out. So from the early nineteen twenties to just around the early nineteen sixties people always dressed camp. Camp outfits were usually, sparkley, or maybe poofy, and some were even made of the craziest things you could think of. For example people made dresses out of coins! Another trend that went on for a very long time were when women wore blouses, with a skirt. One of the favorites that still goes on today are bell bottom pants. I asked Pam Hochstin a fashion, store owner, “What is your favorite fashion trend that has been going on for a very long time, and is still trendy?” Her response to this question was, “Oh, Yes! Bell bottoms have been going around for as long as I can remember, and they still look pretty trendy.”
The final sub question is, has the process of making clothes changed from then, to now? A lot of women back in the day hand sewed their clothes. All they would need to do that is, fabrics, something to measure everything, something to cut the fabrics, a needle, and a thread. Hand sewing is very hard. It is very hard because you need to be sure that if you can see the thread through the fabric that it looks neet, and all the stitches are just about the same length apart. But hand sewing also takes a lot of skill, and practice. After people discovered hand sewing, they discovered knitting. Knitting was founded in the nineteenth century, unlike sewing which was founded over one thousand five hundred years ago! Knitting also requires skill, and practice. Knitting is very different then sewing. But they are both similar in a way. They both require needles. It’s just that knitting needles are much bigger, and wider then sewing needles. Sewing needles are small, and thin. Also knitting needles are usually made out of, wood, plastic, meddle, or a bamboo. The most preferred needles are the ones made from plastic, or wood. Plus you need two needles instead of one. And knitting you make whatever your making, for example a scarf, on the needles. Sewing machines were later founded in eighteen eighty nine. Sewing machines are hard to work sometimes. This is because it’s a lot of steps just to put the thread into the machine, you have to get it through the needle, and all of these complicated things. But then once you have all of the threads, and needles, and everything set up, you place your fabric under the needle and then you step on a button and the machine sews the fabrics together.
I learned that fashion can sometimes describe you as a person, and there are many, many different styles of fashion to choose from. And when you think about it, fashion is still similar from back then, to now, and it is also different in a lot of ways.
