Fashion Quotes part I

Fashion Police (TV series)

Fashion Police is an American television program airing on E! Entertainment Television. The program, which debuted on September 10, 2010,[1] features co-hosts Joan Rivers, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos commenting on celebrity fashions. Guest hosts have included Khloe Kardashian-Odom, Jay Manuel, Nicki Minaj, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Mel B, Tori Spelling, Chelsea Kane and Joan's daughter Melissa Rivers (who is also executive producer).

In 2010, the series returned to E! hosting the program running the day after events rather than airing live from the red carpet. The series became a weekly program on September 10, 2010 where they continue to discuss the do's and don'ts of celebrity fashion.

Regular segments include:

Rack Report, where a celebrity is guessed based solely on the amount of cleavage revealed by their outfit.

Bitch Stole My Look, where two or more stars are shown to have worn the same outfit on different occasions. Joan and the panelists discuss the stars in question and declare which person looked best in the outfit. Both the loser and the winner may be subject to ridicule, with the winner being chosen as the lesser of two evils.

Starlet or Streetwalker, in which a photograph of a person with their face obscured is presented, often the person in question will sport revealing or disheveled clothing. Joan and each of the guests has a paddle with 'Starlet' written on one side and 'Street walker' written on the other. The persons outfit is generally ridiculed, before Joan and each of the guests holds up their paddle to declare whether they think the person in question is a starlet or a street walker before the mystery persons identity is revealed. If they turn out to be a starlet they are ridiculed further. Any of the guests who guess incorrectly will be mocked. This segment has recently come under fire for its use of pictures of commercially sexually exploited women, and potentially underage girls, as a punch line for wealthy celebrities' fashion choices. The organization Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) has started a petition to end this segment and to call on Joan Rivers and the producers of Fashion Police to educate themselves on the realities of the sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry. Rachel Lloyd, Founder and Executive Director of GEMS, wrote an an article on HuffingtonPost.com to explain how harmful and stigmatizing these kinds of segments are.

Guess Me From Behind, where a celebrity is guessed based solely from their behind.

Fashion police

Fashion police jokingly refers to individuals belonging to an imaginary police force that ensures whether people dress according to good taste or to fashion. It may imply a narrow, rigid or uncreative sense of style or propriety. The term may have been coined in mid-1980s at a “Crimes of Fashion” charity event in Ohio.

Iza Olak in Elle Finland November 2011 by Johnny Kanasniemi

Scarlett Johansson photographed by Mario Sorrenti for Vanity Fair December 2011

The whole outfit.

Alana Zimmer photographed by Mark Seliger for Vogue Spain October 2010

Models on the catwalk

Runway (fashion)

Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show[1] In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.

Runway terms
Exclusive

When a model scores an exclusive for a fashion label it means that she has been picked Model MVP to walk for that particular designer only. This immediately launches her career and elevates her status in the fashion industry, guaranteeing them spots on the world's best catwalks.[2]

Landing a Prada catwalk exclusive is widely considered to be the "holy grail" of runway bookings, turning an unknown face into one to watch in an instant (ex. Irina Kulikova, Sasha Pivovarova and Lindsey Wixson). Followed by Balenciaga's brilliant casting rivaling Prada's.

Documentary

Catwalk, a documentary covering life on the fashion runways, was filmed in 1993 by director Robert Leacock and premiered in 1996. The film followed models Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon, Kate Moss, and Carla Bruni as they jetted around London, Milan, Paris, and New York during Spring Fashion Week, including behind-the-scenes footage. The film was shot in black and white and color, and featured many top designers at work, like a young John Galliano, Justin Thomas, Karl Lagerfeld, and Gianni Versace four years before his death.

List of fashion designers

Argentina
Gustavo Cadile
Alan Faena
Paco Jamandreu

Aruba
Percy Irausquin

Australia
Prue Acton
Rosemary Armstrong
Zara Bate
Linda Britten
Susien Chong
Christopher Chronis
Collette Dinnigan
Leona Edmiston
Christopher Essex
Enid Gilchrist
Joshua Goot
Juli Grbac
Alannah Hill
Lisa Ho
Linda Jackson
Peter Jackson
Jenny Kee
Toni Matičevski
Peter Morrissey
Charlene O'Brien
Jonathan Pampling
Alex Perry
Joe Saba
Richard Tyler
Carla Zampatti

Austria
Helmut Lang

Bahrain
Kubra Al Qaseer

Bangladesh
Bibi Russell

Belgium
Walter Van Beirendonck
Dirk Bikkembergs
Veronique Branquinho
Ann Demeulemeester
Diane von Fürstenberg
Martin Margiela
Bruno Pieters
Elvis Pompilio
Raf Simons
Olivier Strelli
Olivier Theyskens
Kris Van Assche
Dries van Noten

etc

Sustainable fashion

Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility. Sustainable fashion is part of the larger trend of sustainable design where a product is created and produced with consideration to the environmental and social impact it may have throughout its total life span, including its "carbon footprint". According to the May 2007 Vogue appears not to be a short-term trend but one could last multiple seasons.[1] While environmentalism used manifest itself in the fashion world through a donation of percentage of sales of a product to a charitable cause, fashion designers are now re-introducing eco-conscious methods at the source through the use of environmentally friendly materials and socially responsible methods of production.

There are some organizations working to increase opportunities for sustainable designers. The National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers is one of those organizations. Its purpose is to assist entrepreneurs with growing fashion related businesses that create social change and respect the environment. Sustainable Designers provides specialized triple bottom line education, training, and access to tools and industry resources that advance creative, innovative and high impact businesses. The organization’s mission is to create social change through design and fashion related businesses by providing education, training and programs that are transformative to the industry and to cultivate collaboration, sustainability and economic growth.

According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization (NPO) committed to promoting and supporting sustainable development, "At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. This causes irreversible damage to people and the environment, and still two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint will occur after it is purchased."

Fashion Net

Fashion Net is a fashion-specific search engine and guide aimed at style conscious consumers. It was founded by Stig Harder in 1994 in Paris, France. Now headquartered in New York, the site is available in English, Spanish and Japanese. Launched in January 1995[1], Fashion Net was Internet's first fashion site and as such helped motivate the fashion industry to go online.

Jewellery

Jewellery or jewelry[1] (play /ˈdʒuːəlᵊri/) is a form of personal adornment - such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

With some exception such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to look appealing, but humans have been producing and wearing it for a long time - with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery.[2]

Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials, but gemstones, precious metals, beads and shells have been widely used. Depending on the culture and times jewellery may be appreciated as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings.

The word jewellery itself is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicized from the Old French "jouel",[3] and beyond that, to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything.

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies. The amount and type of clothing worn depends on functional considerations (such as a need for warmth or protection from the elements) and social considerations. In some situations the minimum amount of clothing (such as covering of a person's genitals) may be socially acceptable, while in others much more clothing is expected.

Clothing can serve as protection from the elements. Clothes can also enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hiking and cooking, by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Further, clothes can provide a hygienic barrier, keeping toxins away from the body and limiting the transmission of germs.

Clothing performs a range of social and cultural functions, such as individual, occupational and sexual differentiation, and social status.[1] A uniform, for example, may identify civil authority figures, such as police and military personnel, or it may identify team, group or political affiliations.

In many societies, norms about clothing reflect standards of modesty, religion, gender, and social status. Clothing may also function as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style.

Clothing can and has in history been made from a very wide variety of materials. Materials have ranged from leather and furs, to woven materials, to elaborate and exotic natural and synthetic fabrics.

Not all body coverings are regarded as clothing. Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses), worn on a single part of the body and easily removed (scarves), worn purely for adornment (jewelry), or those that serve a function other than protection (eyeglasses), are normally considered accessories rather than clothing,[citation needed] as are footwear and hats. However, if functional due to local and weather condition and benefits your well being, footwear can be considered clothing.

Functions

It can be said that there are four primary factors in clothing comfort, identifiable as the '4 Fs of Comfort' (1) fashion; (2) feel; (3) fit; and (4) function.[2] In hot climates, clothing provides protection from sunburn or wind damage, while in cold climates its thermal insulation properties are generally more important. Shelter usually reduces the functional need for clothing. For example, coats, hats, gloves, shoes, socks, and other superficial layers are normally removed when entering a warm home, particularly if one is residing or sleeping there. Similarly, clothing has seasonal and regional aspects, so that thinner materials and fewer layers of clothing are generally worn in warmer seasons and regions than in colder ones.

Clothing protects people against many things that might injure the uncovered human body. Clothes act as protection from the elements, including rain, snow and wind and other weather conditions, as well as from the sun. However, if clothing is too sheer, thin, small, tight, etc., the protection effect is minimized. Clothes also reduce the level of risk during activity, such as work or sport. Clothing at times is worn as protection from specific environmental hazards, such as insects, noxious chemicals, weapons, and contact with abrasive substances. Conversely, clothing may protect the environment from the clothing wearer, as with doctors wearing medical scrubs.

Humans have shown extreme inventiveness in devising clothing solutions to environmental hazards. Some examples include: space suits, air conditioned clothing, armor, diving suits, swimsuits, bee-keeper gear, motorcycle leathers, high-visibility clothing, and other pieces of protective clothing. Meanwhile, the distinction between clothing and protective equipment is not always clear-cut, since clothes designed to be fashionable often have protective value and clothes designed for function often consider fashion in their design.

Fashion accessory

Fashion accessories are decorative items that supplement and complement clothes, such as jewelery, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, wigs, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow ties, leg warmers, leggings, neckties, suspenders, and tights.

Accessories can add color, style and class to an outfit, and create a certain look, but they can also have a practical function: handbags can be used to carry small items such as cash, hats protect the face in bad weather, and gloves keep hands warm.

Many accessories are produced by clothing design companies. However, there has been an increase in individuals creating their own brand name by designing and making their own label of accessories. Following the internet boom, individuals have been able to sell their own accessories online to anyone across the globe. Handmade unique accessories are in high demand today.

Accessories can be visual symbols of religious affiliation: Crucifixes, Jewish stars, Islamic headscarves, skullcaps and turbans are common examples. Designer labels on accessories are perceived by some as an indicator of social status.

Over the centuries fashion accessories have changed and evolved. In the 19th century, English fashion accessories included items such as The Muff, The Tippet, and Tulle shawls. During this time hats and turbans were also considered fashionable.[citation needed]

The beginning of the 20th century saw radical changes in the way women began to dress. Dress became more practical and meant that accessories didn’t play such a big part in fashion during this time.[citation needed]

In the 1950s fashion accessories become more popular in the western world, with accessories such as fruit corsages to adorn sweaters or hats. Also in the 1950s eyewear began to be used as fashion accessories. The 1950s also saw the rise of the stiletto.

Intellectual property

Within the fashion industry, intellectual property is not enforced as it is within the film industry and music industry. To "take inspiration" from others' designs contributes to the fashion industry's ability to establish clothing trends. For the past few years, WGSN has been a dominant source of fashion news and forecasts in steering fashion brands worldwide to be "inspired" by one another. Enticing consumers to buy clothing by establishing new trends is, some have argued, a key component of the industry's success. Intellectual property rules that interfere with the process of trend-making would, on this view, be counter-productive. In contrast, it is often argued that the blatant theft of new ideas, unique designs, and design details by larger companies is what often contributes to the failure of many smaller or independent design companies.

In 2005, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held a conference calling for stricter intellectual property enforcement within the fashion industry to better protect small and medium businesses and promote competitiveness within the textile and clothing industries.

Media

An important part of fashion is fashion journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines and commentary can be found in magazines, newspapers, on television, fashion websites, social networks and in fashion blogs.

At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs of various fashion designs and became even more influential on people than in the past. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after and had a profound effect on public clothing taste. Talented illustrators drew exquisite fashion plates for the publications which covered the most recent developments in fashion and beauty. Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La Gazette du Bon Ton which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and regularly published until 1925 (with the exception of the war years).

Vogue, founded in the US in 1892, has been the longest-lasting and most successful of the hundreds of fashion magazines that have come and gone. Increasing affluence after World War II and, most importantly, the advent of cheap colour printing in the 1960s led to a huge boost in its sales, and heavy coverage of fashion in mainstream women's magazines—followed by men's magazines from the 1990s. Haute couture designers followed the trend by starting the ready-to-wear and perfume lines, heavily advertised in the magazines, that now dwarf their original couture businesses. Television coverage began in the 1950s with small fashion features. In the 1960s and 1970s, fashion segments on various entertainment shows became more frequent, and by the 1980s, dedicated fashion shows like Fashion-television started to appear. Despite television and increasing internet coverage, including fashion blogs, press coverage remains the most important form of publicity in the eyes of the fashion industry.

However, over the past several years, fashion websites have developed that merge traditional editorial writing with user-generated content. Online magazines like iFashion Network, and Runway magazine, led by Nole Marin from America's Next Top Model, have begun to dominate the market with digital copies for computers, iPhones and iPads. Example platforms include Apple and Android for such applications.

A few days after the 2010 Fall Fashion Week in New York City came to a close, The New Islander's Fashion Editor, Genevieve Tax, criticized the fashion industry for running on a seasonal schedule of its own, largely at the expense of real-world consumers. "Because designers release their fall collections in the spring and their spring collections in the fall, fashion magazines such as Vogue always and only look forward to the upcoming season, promoting parkas come September while issuing reviews on shorts in January," she writes. "Savvy shoppers, consequently, have been conditioned to be extremely, perhaps impractically, farsighted with their buying."[14]

Ethnic Fashion is defined as the Fashion of Multicultural groups such as African-American, Hispanics, Asians, etc. Examples of Ethnic Designer are FUBU, BabyPhat, FatFarm, Sean John, Etc. It is estimated that Ethnic Fashion has contributed over 20 Billion dollars in revenues.

Fashion industry

The fashion industry is a product of the modern age. Prior to the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom made. It was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century—with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine, the rise of global capitalism and the development of the factory system of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as department stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in standard sizes and sold at fixed prices. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, today it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold world-wide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets internationally. The fashion industry has long been one of the largest employers in the United States, and it remains so in the 21st century. However, employment declined considerably as production increasingly moved overseas, especially to China. Because data on the fashion industry typically are reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industry’s many separate sectors, aggregate figures for world production of textiles and clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure, the industry accounts for a significant share of world economic output.

The fashion industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials, principally fibres and textiles but also leather and fur; the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail sales; and various forms of advertising and promotion. These levels consist of many separate but interdependent sectors, all of which are devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit.

Albrecht Dürer's drawing contrasts a well turned out bourgeoise from Nuremberg (left) with her counterpart from Venice. The Venetian lady's high chopines make her taller

Marie Antoinette was a fashion icon

Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna (or Maria Antonia Josephina Johanna[1]); 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I.

In April 1770, on the day of her marriage to Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, she subsequently became Dauphine of France. Marie Antoinette assumed the title of Queen of France and of Navarre when her husband, Louis XVI of France, ascended the throne upon the death of Louis XV in May 1774. After seven years of marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the first of four children.

Initially charmed by her personality and beauty, the French people generally came to dislike her, accusing "the Austrian" of being profligate and promiscuous,[2] and of harboring sympathies for France's enemies, particularly Austria, since Marie Antoinette was, after all, Austrian.[3]

At the height of the French Revolution, Louis XVI was deposed and the monarchy abolished on 10 August 1792; the royal family was subsequently imprisoned at the Temple Prison. Nine months after her husband's execution, Marie Antoinette was herself tried, convicted of treason, and executed by guillotine on 16 October 1793.

Even after her death, Marie Antoinette is often considered to be a part of popular culture and a major historical figure,[4] being the subject of several books, films and other forms of media. Some academics and scholars have deemed her frivolous and superficial, and have attributed the start of the French Revolution to her; however, others have claimed that she was treated unjustly and that views of her ought be more sympathetic

Early life
Maria Antonia of Austria was born on 2 November 1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria; on the next day, she was baptised Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna (also known as Maria Antonia Josephina Johanna[1]). She was the youngest daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and ruler of the Habsburg dominions; her godparents were the King of Portugal and his wife.[8] In her family, she was simply called Antonia. Described at her birth as "a small, but completely healthy Archduchess",[9] she was also known at the Austrian court as Antonia, but more often as Madame Antoine, since French was commonly spoken in the Hofburg.[10] After all, Viennese society itself was multilingual, with many able to speak German, French, Italian and/or Spanish.

The relaxed ambience of court life in the Hofburg, where it was possible to often deviate from protocol,[11] was compounded by the private life which was developed by the Habsburgs even before Maria Antonia was born. In their private life, the family dressed in bourgeois attire, played games with non-royal children (they were, in fact, encouraged to play with such 'common' children by their parents), and were treated to gardens and menageries. She later attempted to recreate this atmosphere through her renovation of the Petit Trianon in France.

Maria Antonia had a simple and carefree childhood, especially in comparison to that of Louis XVI.[10] She was never lonely, since she never had the chance to be alone.[10] This was particularly evident in her relationship with her older sister, Maria Carolina: they were the two youngest girls, and shared the same governesses, first Countess Brandeis, then Countess Lerchenfeld, until 1767; Carolina once described her sister as someone she "loved extraordinarily".[12]

The Imperial family was one that thoroughly enjoyed music. Antonia herself learned to play the harpsichord, spinet and clavichord, as well as the harp, taught by Gluck.[10] During the family's musical evenings, she would sing French songs and Italian arias.[13] She also excelled at dancing – an accomplishment often remarked by those who saw her, whether friendly or hostile, having been carefully trained in it since her early youth.[14] She had an "exquisite" poise and a famously graceful deportment;[14] Horace Walpole once quoted Virgil as to her gait, saying, "vera incessu patuit dea" (she was in truth revealed to be a goddess by her step). She also loved dolls as a young girl, as captured by a family portrait in which seven-year-old Antonia excitedly held up a fancy doll.[14] Numerous dolls arrived at the Hofburg as soon as Marie Antoinette turned 13, wearing miniature versions of the ball gowns, afternoon dresses, and gold-trimmed gowns proposed for her.[14]

Antonia's education was poor, or at least it lacked the rigorous in training as Louis XVI's; her handwriting, for instance, was sprawling and careless in form.[10] It was not so much the teachers themselves, though, that made her education sub-par, but rather her lack of willingness to contribute intellectually to her lessons. Often, her tutors would finish the work themselves, out of fear of losing their positions. Under the guidance of Gluck, she excelled to some extent in her musical endeavors. She drew often; at ten, for example, she had drawn a good chalk likeness of her father.[10] She learned Italian, from Metastasio, on top of the necessary French and German, as well as Austrian history and French history, though from an Austrian perspective.[10] But while she flourished in her learning of Italian, her other languages proved to be a weak point. Conversations with her were stilted, and her ability to read and write German and French (the 'universal' language of Europe at this point in time) was undeniably poor.[15]

By many accounts, her childhood was somewhat complex. On the one hand, her parents had instituted several innovations in court life which made Austria one of the most progressive courts in Europe. While certain court functions remained formal by necessity, the Emperor and Empress nevertheless presided over many basic changes in court life. This included allowing relaxations in the type of people who could come to court (a change which allowed people of merit, as well as birth, to rise rapidly in the hierarchy of imperial favor at court),[citation needed] relatively lax dress etiquette, and the abolition of certain antiquated court rituals, including one in which dozens of courtiers could be present in the Empress' bedchamber while she gave birth. The Empress disliked the ritual, and would eject courtiers from her rooms when she went into labor.[16]

While she had an idyllic "private" life, her initial role in the political arena – and in her mother's main aim of alliance through marriage – was relatively small. Because there were so many other children who could be married off, Maria Antonia was sometimes neglected by her mother. As a result, she later described her relationship with her mother as one of awe-inspired fear.[17] She also developed a mistrust of intelligent older women as a result of her mother's close relationship with the Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen, Marie Antoinette's older sister.

2008 Ed Hardy runway show

Clothing fashions

For detailed historical articles by period, see History of Western fashion.

Early Western travelers, whether to Persia, Turkey or China frequently remark on the absence of changes in fashion there, and observers from these other cultures comment on the unseemly pace of Western fashion, which many felt suggested an instability and lack of order in Western culture. The Japanese Shogun's secretary boasted (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years.[2] However in Ming China, for example, there is considerable evidence for rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing.[3] Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change (such as in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate), but then a long period without major changes followed. This occurred in Moorish Spain during the 8th century, when the famous musician Ziryab introduced sophisticated clothing-styles based on seasonal and daily timings from his native Baghdad and his own inspiration to Córdoba in Al-Andalus.[4][5] Similar changes in fashion occurred in the Middle East from the 11th century, following the arrival of the Turks, who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East.[6]

The beginnings of the habit in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated to the middle of the 14th century, to which historians including James Laver and Fernand Braudel date the start of Western fashion in clothing.[7][8] The most dramatic manifestation was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment, from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing on the chest to look bigger. This created the distinctive Western male outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers.

The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and men's fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex and changing. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion in dating images with increasing confidence and precision, often within five years in the case of 15th century images. Initially changes in fashion led to a fragmentation of what had previously been very similar styles of dressing across the upper classes of Europe, and the development of distinctive national styles. These remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from Ancien Régime France.[9] Though the rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance sometimes uncomfortably close for the elites—a factor Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashion.

Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen may show ten entirely different hats, and at this period national differences were at their most pronounced, as Albrecht Dürer recorded in his actual or composite contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions at the close of the 15th century (illustration, right). The "Spanish style" of the end of the century began the move back to synchronicity among upper-class Europeans, and after a struggle in the mid 17th century, French styles decisively took over leadership, a process completed in the 18th century.[11]

Though colors and patterns of textiles changed from year to year,[12] the cut of a gentleman's coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut changed more slowly. Men's fashions largely derived from military models, and changes in a European male silhouette are galvanized in theatres of European war, where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of foreign styles: an example is the "Steinkirk" cravat or necktie.

The pace of change picked up in the 1780s with the increased publication of French engravings that showed the latest Paris styles; though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France as patterns since the 16th century, and Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion from the 1620s. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were): local variation became first a sign of provincial culture, and then a badge of the conservative peasant.[13]

Although tailors and dressmakers were no doubt responsible for many innovations before, and the textile industry certainly led many trends, the history of fashion design is normally taken[by whom?] to date from 1858, when the English-born Charles Frederick Worth opened the first true[weasel words] haute couture house in Paris. Since then the professional designer has become a progressively more dominant figure, despite the origins of many fashions in street fashion. For women the flapper styles of the 1920s marked the most major alteration in styles for several centuries, with a drastic shortening of skirt lengths, and much looser-fitting clothes; with occasional revivals of long skirts forms of the shorter length have remained dominant ever since. The four major current fashion capitals are acknowledged to be Milan, New York City, Paris, and London. Fashion weeks are held in these cities, where designers exhibit their new clothing collections to audiences, and which are all headquarters to the greatest fashion companies and are renowned for their major influence on global fashion.

Modern Westerners have a wide choice available in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect that person's personality or likes. When people who have cultural status start to wear new or different clothes a fashion trend may start. People who like or respect them may start to wear clothes of a similar style.

Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, and geography as well as over time. If, for example, an older person dresses according to the fashion of young people, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both young and older people. The terms fashionista and fashion victim refer to someone who slavishly follows current fashions.

One can regard the system of sporting various fashions as a fashion language incorporating various fashion statements using a grammar of fashion. (Compare some of the work of Roland Barthes.)

Fashion

Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person. The more technical term, costume, has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion" that the more general term "costume" has in popular use mostly been relegated to special senses like fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the term "fashion" means clothing generally, and the study of it. For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer to the entries for clothing, costume, and fabrics. The remainder of this article deals with clothing fashions in the Western world.