Western Civilization

“Fashion as we know it in the West, is not and never was a universal condition of dress. It is a European product and is not nearly as old as European Civilization.”
----Quentin Bell (1910-1996)

The Bible says that when Adam and Eve sinned, they were forced to cover their nakedness. The clothed body certainly became an essential part of the human condition. What people did with their clothing, however, was derived from diverse motivations. Geography, climate, and a growing list of social impulses triggered basic decisions about garments. The ancient Egyptians learned that fine unbleached linen wore well in their desert environment while the indigenous people of the upper North American continent relied on animal skins for necessary protection against the elements. Class distinctions sprang up in all early societies, regardless of their geographical location, further dictating who would wear what.

Since our educational system in the twentieth and twenty-first century remains largely based on Western civilization, I feel compelled to look there first. This doesn’t mean that non-Western cultures haven’t contributed greatly to clothing and adornment. With my theme of fashion as a social force in mind, I’m going to first review dress across the centuries (with an emphasis on Western dress, and some selective diversions) and what was important about the way people wore their clothes. After this review, a new path for investigation will emerge…

It’s useful to know what I always discuss with my Costume and Fashion History classes: the correct subject headings for searching Library holdings are Costume and Clothing and Dress. Fashion is a workable heading, but Fashion Design will garner fewer results than you might expect.

Ah, the new year! What lies ahead for us? 2008 produced many surprises on the economic front, a youthful, energized President-elect, and a world-weary sense that we need to learn from our mistakes. The past half-dozen years have been one long shopping frenzy, but now the coins have left our collective pockets, along with our 401[k]s. While the flames smolder and smoke from our bank statements and credit cards, it’s time to review how we got to this point. As always, fashion as a social force can be blamed in part. We were led to believe that everything was ours for the asking—or so our society seemed to promise.

Why does fashion, that ever powerful force, play so great a role in our lives? The answer isn’t as straightforward as we’d like. While there’s still much to learn from the adage everything old is new again, the stories of when, how, and why we made changes in our mode of dressing are also part of the history of humanity. Even colors play a role. In the Middle Ages, prostitutes wore red gowns and pious men swathed themselves in black. Nowadays, red is the color of allure and power, while black has acquired a multiplicity of meanings. When we look back at the reasons for these developments, they take on an even richer context when fashion as a social force is factored in.

This means that I’ll be leaving the 1920s and 1930s and taking us anywhere and everywhere for a while, with meaningful stories from the history of clothing—and fashion—as a theme for my post musings. At some points, I may seem like Don Quixote tilting at the windmills. But never fear! Like so many storytellers, I’m taking us somewhere in the end. As one American Indian author recently said when writing about Native life today, “our stories are all we have.” Well, I think that statement goes for the human condition as well…