Understanding Styles and Change

I have read and read and read this forum (and tomorrow I have a bra fitting because of it) but I am curious about styles.

As an example of my query - Why is it that big and boxy was once "in" and, while "in," we thought it was a good look. What happened? Why is big and boxy no longer a good look? I don't mean to say I prefer it to a more tailored look, but am just wondering why.

Were those looks hideous back then (like some of the "in" things I see today and cringe at) but we just ignored it and called it fashion?

Skirts are another thing - I actually think midis are flattering even when they hit at the widest part of a calf. Why are they considered dowdy? In my mother's day they were very popular.

If my teen-aged girls had it their way, they'd be wearing long Jane Austen gowns (yes, my teen girls are out of the ordinary......).

Another example might be a certain color. In home decor (and maybe clothing) avocado green was in several decades ago. People liked it. Then it suddenly became hideous. Why? What happened to the color?

My questions are rhetorical, but I am interested in knowing why fashion is what it is and who makes the decisions that things are appealing or unappealing.

I hope this isn't too heavy of a topic........

14 years ago

yellowgirl

Active Member

Oh, my goodness - I can't tell you how many times I've thought the very same thing! You put it into words very well.

What's crazy to me is that when a particular trend is going OUT of fashion, all you hear are the negatives about it. But when it's coming back into fashion, those negatives seem to have disappeared. An example that comes to mind is tapered legs on pants. I distinctly remember when they fell out of grace years ago. The talk was that they were so unflattering b/c they made your rear end look huge in comparison to such tiny ankles. Well, now tapered pants seem to be making a comeback. Granted, there are some differences, but I still can't get this out of my head. Do they not make our rear ends look huge in proportion anymore? Are the slight changes in how we wear them now making up for all the negatives years ago when we couldn't stand them anymore?

I, too, am fascinated by this and am hoping someone has some insights into this phenomenon!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

It really IS a mystery, isn't it?

I think, partly, we crave variety. Our eyes and our souls get tired of the same old thing. It is fun to play with different proportions, different colour mixes, different fabrications. And fashion trends often reflect changes in society or the economy as well; they say longer skirt lengths signal tougher economic times, and following WWII, skirts became voluminous because suddenly fabric wasn't rationed.

A more cynical person might say that it also fuels the capitalist economy; if fashions never changed, we wouldn't have to buy so much STUFF!

But I still believe that some of this is about expression and the search for beauty and meaning. Or at minimum, pleasure.

And while fashion may change, style is eternal. Ever notice how some people manage to look fantastic no matter WHAT the latest trend is? I think most of us here at YLF would love to be one of those people!

Aziraphale

Suz, your comment is spot-on. I agree that people tend to seek novelty, and that is probably the biggest force behind changing fashions, although the fact that we keep buying new stuff to keep up with the changing trends is a big factor too.

Kafe, my answer to your question of whether or not any particular style is objectively hideous is that it all depends on who's wearing it. Garments of a certain length, shape or cut only appear dowdy to the mainstream eye if the main people wearing those garments are, well, dowdy. It's like trends in naming. We tend to choose names for our babies that sound fresh to our ears, and usually fresh-sounding names are not the ones our aging parents or elderly grandparents bear -- although if a name is old enough that it's not borne by many living people, it may well come back into fashion. For example, no one names their kid Shirley anymore, because it's a 'grandma' name now, but back when Shirley Temple was a wee ringleted girl, it was fresh and new and a very popular baby name choice (Shirley Temple herself was a product of the trend, not the trend-setter). Middle-aged and older women clinging to trends that have passed, while younger women latch onto the new trends, cause the same thing to happen: we associate the trend-gone-by with the aging and less stylish people, and thus that trend starts to look unappealing, or even 'hideous'. (BIG NOTE: I am not saying that aging women are not be stylish! Many are! But those stylish older women do keep up with the fashions, even though they tend not to be slaves to them).

Did that sort of make sense?

It's also true that certain shapes or cuts suit certain figures better, but stylish women are good at editing the latest trends so that they wear stuff that flatters them, or wear iffy trends in a way that flatters their figure. For example, a stylish pear-shaped gal with a generous caboose and delicate ankles will probably understand that she hasn't got the ideal shape for superskinny jeans, but may wear them anyway with knee-high boots to balance out the proportions.

chewyspaghetti

Fashion styles are so wrapped up in so many other things that it's hard to even break it down. The economy, agriculture, and politics all influence fashion, as well as societal ideas about bodies and modesty. If you look at fashion historically, it used to take about 100 years for a big change of styles or silhouettes in fashion to occur. Because of the ease in which we can replace clothing now and the rapid rate that information can be received, it only takes 10 years (or less) now. You might enjoy doing some research on historical fashion to see how the influences changed things. It's pretty interesting.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Great comments.

Big and boxy now is different to big and boxy in the '80s. Each time we reincarnate a fashion look, it's generally improved and refined. It's never exactly the same. Even if you purchase authentic vintage pieces, you wear them with very current pieces in order NOT to look dated.

Midis in the '50s and '60s were the height of elegance. They became dowdy in the '90s. The midis were different in silhouette, and worn in different ways. The devil is ALWAYS in the detail

Kafe

Thanks for the comments - I enjoyed reading them and found them enlightening. It's quite an interesting topic and would actually be a fun thing to research.

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