I really hate social studies... but this is awesome.

I was looking through files on my computer and I ran across this essay that I wrote in the sixth grade. 

Fashion Throughout History

            World events have always changed our society’s general moods and feelings. Fashion is a direct reflection of these changes. Fashion throughout history has always been an indicator of the sign of he times. For example, Levi Strauss made the first pair of denim jeans in the late 1800s. It was designed for men who were farmers, or for those who were traveling to the Wild West in search of a new life.

            In the 1920s, women were granted the right to vote. Before this, women were socially required to wear corsets and long, full skirts. With this freedom, women began to wear shorter skirts and dresses. The 20s are considered the Jazz Age. The general feeling of this period was about freedom, liveliness, music, and fun.

            During the ‘Roaring Twenties’, as this period was known, Coco Chanel was among the first women to cut her hair short. She influenced women to cut their hair in a time where women were socially required to wear their hair very long. In the late Twenties, flapper fashion embraced all things modern. The construction of the Flapper Dress was less complicated than earlier fashions, and women were able to sew their own, which was essentially a straight shift dress with embellishment.

            World War II was underway in the 1930s. The carefree, gay feeling of the 1920s had ended, and the Great Depression had begun. People were anxious, depressed, and a general feeling of being poor existed. Food rationing with the norm, and instead of purchasing something new, people would repair their shoes and clothes to make them last longer. Thriftiness became a sign of the times. Skirt lengths were longer, and the waistline returned to fashion to show a more traditional approach.

            Hollywood Cinema influenced fashion in the 1930s and 1940s as much as the famous designers from Paris like Sciaparelli and Jean Patou did. People wanted to escape the turmoil of the day, and going to the movies became a favorite pastime. People copied the fashion their favorite movies stars like Lana Turner, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Fred Astaire. Advances in manufacturing during the 30s and 40s showed widespread use of innovative synthetic fabrics, zippers, nylon stockings, and viscose.

            The 1950s was a time of family. Men were home from the war, and the traditional family was celebrated. Women were expected to stay home and care for their husband and children. Women wore high heels, full skirts with crinolines, curled hair, and sweaters. Accessories were popular, and were considered the appropriate everyday dress standard. The most popular accessories were gloves of all lengths, frame purses, and scarves that were worn in hair and as belts.

            Teenagers became the voice of fashion in the Fifties. Young teenage girls would wear poodle skirts and saddle shoes. The young ‘rebel’ teenage boys would wear their hair slicked back with pomade, leather jackets, and rolled up jeans to impress the girls.

            Our nations first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, largely influenced the beginning of the 1960s. Women copied her style and wore pumps, simple shift dresses, and hatboxes. Fashion in the Sixties was known for using great fabrics such as silk, wool, and linen. The Age of Aquarius had begun in the late 1960s. People started to wear things such as mod jackets and women began to rebel and expressed their freedom by wearing miniskirts. The Vietnam War began, and people started wearing jeans and loose fabrics as a sign of rebellious political and social views.

            The events in the 1960s, like the Vietnam War and social changes, continued into the 1970s. The miniskirt trend continued to grow. People also wore flared jeans earlier in the Seventies, but this style gradually changed to disco, with shiny, body hugging fabrics from designers like Halston. With the end of the Vietnam War, a new style emerged from the people of Great Britain called punk rock. People began to wear their hair in punk styles such as Mohawks and other spiky styles to rebel against society.

            The 1980s were shaped by women’s prominence in the work place. American designers like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karen, and Calvin Klein became prominent and started to build their large lifestyle empires. Power dressing became essential for work place clothing. Men wore power suits, and women’s clothing was inspired by menswear. Women wore large shoulder pads and men’s styled suit jackets with straight skirts.

            The Eighties was also influenced by New Wave, and artists like Boy George and Devo. For girls, the person with the most influence in fashion was Madonna. Girls everywhere wore skirts over leggings, multiple necklaces and rubber bracelets, fishnet gloves, and lace. Other trends in the Eighties included dancewear from the movies “Flashdance”, Valley Girl, and Miami Vice. Fashion in the late 1980s was influenced by Rap and Heavy Metal music.

            The 1990s was all about dressing down and minimalism. People began dressing down because there was so many new opportunities in the 90’s, so people lost interest in fashion. Men and women wore their hair long and tight short jackets. Women usually chose to wear halter tops and miniskirts with high heels. Men would wear punk rock clothes. They would die their hair and wear trendy t-shirts. The main colors of this time were black, gray, cream, and other dull colors.

            Throughout history, the fashion of the era changed depending on what event was going on. As you can see, fashion has changed so much throughout each of the decades. The millennium has seen a return to styles popular in each decade. We are seeing that often times, history repeats itself. The trend of consumerism in the early and mid 2000’s has led us to our current place in history. People are not buying as much due to the recession. We’re back to being thrifty, just like the 1930s.