Where did fashion begin
• Have you ever thought about how fashion began and where Costume and Fashion comes from? When the models are strutting their stuff down the runway wearing designer garments, the question to ask is "Where did Fashion all begin?
Costume throughout the greater part of its history has followed two separate lines of development, resulting in two contrasting types of garments.
The Psychology of design of clothes. The Greeks and Romans wore tunics, that is to say, skirts Mountain people like the Scots and the modern Greeks wear what are, in effect, skirts. Far Eastern and Near Eastern women have worn trousers, and many continue to do so. The sex division turns out not to be a true division at all.It is possible to contrast "fitted and draped clothes, most modern clothes falling into the first category and Ancient Greek clothes, for example, into the other.
History has shown many variations in this respect, and it is possible to find intermediate types perhaps the most useful distinction is that drawn by the anthropologists between "tropical and Arctic dress"
The great ancient civilizations arose in the fertile valleys of the Euphrates, the Nile and the Indus: all tropical areas, where protection from the cold cannot have been dominant motive for wearing clothes. Many such motives have been adduced ranging from the naive idea based in the story in Genesis, that clothes were worn for reasons of modesty, to the sophisticated notion that they were worn for reason of display and protective magic.
The psychology of clothes however has been adequately dealt with elsewhere. To concentrate on the two questions of form and material. Primitive methods bark fibres can be used for true weaving. The simplest method of using cloth for what is significantly termed "clothing" was to wrap a small rectangle of it round the waist, thus making a sarong, the primitive form of the skirt. Later, another square of cloth was draped over the shoulders and kept in place by fibulae.Clothing of this nature was used by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Greeks and the Romans. In fact draped clothes were the rank of civilization. Tailored clothes were regarded as "Barbarian" and the Romans at one time went so far to decree the death penalty for wearing them (Oh now imagine if the Romans, Greeks- Assyrians and the Egyptians experienced the 1980's - 1990 Style)
Draped clothes plainly required a considerable development in the art of weaving in order to produce rectangles of cloth large enough for the purpose.Once women and high dignitaries continued to wear garments of this kind of tunic with sleeves it is thought that sleeves were due to the influence of mountain people round about, as were also closed boots.
The hairstyles in the Roman period, in public it was usual for the head to be veiled, hairdressing gradually grew more elaborate. Blonde hair was fashionable and, as we learn, those who were naturally dark-haired resorted to being bleached .There was much use of false hair and even of entire wigs.( Just as it is still done today.)All this was part of an increasing luxury. Jewellery of all kinds was increasingly worn. Simple headbands were re placed by Gold and Silver tiaras encrusted with precious stones and cameos. Rings were worn by both sexes, the women added bracelets, anklets, necklaces and earrings.
Decoration even spread to footwear, although this had originally been extremely simple; A sandal made of a single piece of untanned hide, over lapping the outline of the foot and kept in place by leather thongs.
This was known as the carbatina, and in it's slightly more sophisticated form as the Calceus, and was worn by the majority of Roman citizens.From the beginning the Egyptians, Greek and Romans, the Renaissance and the sixteenth century, rationed fashion to pluralistic style of the Second World War through to today the Millennia fashion designers such names as Gucci, Reville and Rossiter, British couture house, Dior, their fashion, style and design has been influenced and is formed by history.
For every model that walks down the runway wearing a designers garment, whether one knows it or not it all began from the Ancient Civilizations the Greeks the Romans and the Egyptians.
