Mark Twain said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
The earliest record of the color purple was 1900 B.C. According to Dr. Richard M. Podhajny, purple “was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye.”
What about the common folk? The rich color of dye in blue jeans effects the cost attributing to the “social standing” of the wearer. The current hype in the jean world are brands like Rock Star and True Religion, which are stand out brands that show status. A pair of women’s Faded Glory Straight Legged Jeans from Walmart cost $12, while a pair of women’s Rock Star Skinny Jeans costs $209.
People can hide their true economic standing by merely wearing more expensive brands. This shows the importance of the world’s opinion on the wealth of a person. Should wearing expensive clothes matter if the world is an economic recession? It all comes down to power. Darwinism talks about the survival of the fittest which now could be termed the survival of the richest. Wealth equals power. That means that by wearing more expensive clothing, a person could be considered weak in today’s society and economy. This is a trend that can be seen throughout history as well.
Fluctuations in the economy are greatly reflected in fashion. Take the period of fashion known as the Crinoline, around 1830 – 1850. Picture Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, her iconic white dress with the colossal skirt. “The crinoline was a petticoat, corded and lined with horsehair and finished with braided straw at the hem…. Worn over five or six petticoats... the crinoline is apparent in the silhouette of extreme fullness.”
The Civil War in 1861 changed the entire economy of the America, changing fashion right along with it. Post-Civil War in the South was full of ruin, plantation owners losing their workforce, and money. The crinoline was a symbol of past wealth and quickly grew out of popularity. Most women didn’t have the wealth for new gowns, so they reused their old dresses. What did they do with all that fabric? They reconstructed it into a bustle, gathering all the excess fabric that they couldn’t afford to waste into the back. While the American South was in Reconstruction, fashion itself was going through its own reconstruction.
“The corset is attributed to Catherine de Médicis, wife of King Henri II of France. She enforced a ban on thick waists at court attendance during the 1550s. For nearly 350 years, women's primary means of support was the corset, with laces and stays made of whalebone or metal.”
How do you build two battle ships out of corsets? Just before World War I, most women wore a corset as their everyday attire. With the onset of the war, metal became a shortage. “…In 1917, the U.S. War Industries Board asked women to stop buying corsets to free up metal for war production. This step liberated some 28,000 tons of metal, enough to build two battleships.”
How did this effect fashion? The development of rubberized elastic materials in 1911 helped the girdle replace the corset. It was more for support than for shape. The fashion of the 1920’s with its long, straight, boxy silhouettes with dropped waists and loose, flowing fabrics and shorter hemlines. The liberation of women from corsets also reflected the role women had post-World War I. No longer were girls remaining at home until they were married off around age 18. They were seeking education, rights, and suffrage. The age that women got married moved into their twenties. The Roaring Twenties gave women the power and drive to achieve more. In the United States, women gained the right to vote in 1920. Women’s dresses became more decorated and liberated. The Age of Jazz, Flappers, Chicago – all became iconic statements of the economy and fashion.
With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, clothing became more conventional. Hemlines lengthened. The waistline hiked back up to the natural waist. The economy was being more conservative and so was fashion. The color pallet was more natural reflecting the somber and humbling attitude following the Great Depression. During this time period developments in fashion were made that are still used today. Zippers were introduced to fashion in 1930 in children’s clothes. It was to make children more self-reliable. Manmade fibers in the 1930’s and 1940’s were also revolutionized to include rayon, viscose, and synthetic nylon.
During World War II, silk was in a shortage because the United States imported most of its silk from Japan and China. Silk was needed for the production of parachutes. Silk in the United States became a status of wealth even though no one really could obtain it. Women’s stockings (nylons) at the time were made mainly from silk. Cotton stockings were the cheap alternative. They were “not as sheer or attractive as silk…. Women made up for the stocking shortage by applying ‘a tan coloring agent’ to their legs. Some ‘even drew a line up the back of their legs to make it really look like stockings."
Another adaptation made during World War II was popular magazines giving women instructions on how to convert men’s suits into suitable clothing for themselves. Women began working in factories that were once only run by men. The iconic Rosie the Riveter with her hair tied up in a scarf, sleeves rolled up, flexing to show the strength of women inspired them to take up the work left behind. They built ships, planes, and other war machines. This kept the economy going while men were being shipped off to war. Women in the workforce reached 20 million by 1944. Women joined the military, first as nurses but then formed into units such as Women’s Naval Reserve and the Marine Corps Women’s reserve.
Women’s fashions reflect men’s fashion. Suit coats like ones that their husbands wore became an iconic fashion. The fashion became bolder. Tailored women’s trousers even became popular for some women. All this became a likeness of women furthering their independence in society and the economy at the time.
When history books are written about the 2000’s, what will they comment on? September 11, President Obama, War on Freedom, the economic recession, etc. How will fashion today reflect our economy, social standing, and wealth?
Current trends in fashion today: skinny jeans, leggings, scarves, bohemian, plaid, holey jeans, vintage jewelry, structured mini dresses, etc. Fashion has become uniquely diverse and more as a statement of what you do instead of who you are. Indie Rock artists dress differently from RMB stars. New words are used to describe new parts of fashion such as bling-bling, jeggings, and stunna shades. Magazines are filled with movie stars wearing one-of-a-kind gowns by big name designers like Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, and Prada. Even our president dresses in top of the line suits. What do these say about the people living now?
Take the trend of boys wearing girl pants. Is that a reflection of the de-masculinization of men in today’s society? Women are gaining more equality with men. Men are no longer, in most cases, the sole supporter of their families. Reverse discrimination is causing men, especially white men, to lose jobs over minorities; namely African Americans, women, and the disabled. Other evidence showing this trend includes the color palette of men’s clothes. Colors like pink and pastels with fabrics with floral patterns, silk, and softer fibers also attribute to the decline in the males status as the masculine figure in society.
Economy, society, and wealth all seem to be in a different category then fashion but in reality they all go hand in hand. Fashion is a key example of how economic trends actually affect the people. Looking throughout history, you can see changes in wealth, society, and economy in the clothes people were wearing. Referring back to Mark Twain’s quote, “Clothes make the man,” it can be said that clothes make the society.
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