How socks changed, who was the first to wear sunglasses and other entertaining facts from the history of fashion

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Clothing performs many functions in a person's life: it protects from the cold or from the sun, allows you to participate in rituals and attract attention, becomes a confirmation of the status and nationality of a person. Therefore, at all times, clothes have been given such great importance. And few people think that the wardrobe items familiar today appeared a very long time ago and have an interesting history.

1. Pants

What could be better after a long day at work than taking off your trousers that restrict movement. The question immediately arises: why wear something that gets in the way. But it so happened historically that trousers became popular men's clothing - after all, it was much more convenient to ride horses in trousers than in robes and togas.

The first documented use of trousers was in the 6th century BC. - Greek geographers saw them on Asian and Persian horsemen. They mocked these early trousers, saying that only barbarians could wear such clothes. Like the Greeks, the Romans also rejected trousers at first, but ultimately appreciated their effectiveness and practicality.

Eventually, throughout Europe, knights and noble elites began to wear this "innovation." Trousers in Europe during the 15th century became more and more richly decorated and elaborate. Fortunately, this style gradually disappeared as the working class preferred more practical clothing. Finally, in the 19th century, trousers took on a more or less modern look thanks to Queen Victoria's eldest son, Edward VII.

READ ALSO: Chausses, culottes, breeches, or How men's fashion has changed over the centuries >>

2. Socks

Socks have been around for quite some time. Most scientists believe that the first socks were made from animal skins in the Stone Age to protect feet. There is also evidence of the existence of socks made from animal hair in the 8th century BC. The Romans in the 2nd century AD used pieces of leather that were wrapped around the feet and ankles. However, they soon developed so-called udones that were tailored to the foot of a particular person.

The oldest socks that exist as a museum piece today come from ancient Egypt and date back to the 3rd-6th centuries AD. Oddly enough, these socks were meant to be worn with sandals (So that's where this crazy fashion comes from!).

3. Sunglasses

Sunglasses today are both a vital item and a status accessory on the other. It is believed that the Inuit used flattened bone lenses in prehistoric times to protect their eyes from the sun. The next documented use of sunglasses dates back to Roman times, when Emperor Nero watched gladiator battles through emerald green gems.

Sunglasses were also used by Chinese judges in the 12th century. Smoky quartz glasses did not help vision, but served to hide the expression on the face, so that nothing would interfere with an impartial judgment. Sunglasses began to appear all over the world in the 12th century, and in painting they first appeared in one of Tommaso de Modena's paintings in 1352.

In the early 1920s, movie stars began to wear glasses to protect themselves from the glare of cameras on set and from annoying reporters on the street. It's also worth remembering that sunglasses had a huge impact on World War II when Ray Ban used lenses from a new Polaroid camera to create polarized anti-reflective eyewear for pilots.

4. Baseball cap

Although initially considered an American phenomenon, baseball caps have spread throughout the world and across all classes of society. They can be worn as a fashion accessory, in order to identify the love for a sports team, to protect the eyes from the light of the sun and to prevent hair from falling on the face while working. But it all started with baseball. In 1849, the New York Knickerbockers baseball team unveiled their uniform, which included a special straw hat. Other baseball teams followed suit and started using their own versions of the headgear too.

It wasn't until 1954, when the New Era Company created the modern baseball cap (this model is still used today by MLB players). Off the baseball field, wearing a baseball cap was considered bad form until the 1970s. Once again, celebrities have led to a previously niche type of clothing being used in everyday life. This is the case when Tom Selleck donned a Detroit Tigers baseball cap on the TV show Magnum PI.

5. Business suit

The predecessor to this symbol of corporate bondage, which was originally called the "jacket suit", actually appeared in the 1600s at the royal court of Charles II. After the outbreak of the plague, Charles II ordered the nobles to start dressing in more practical tunics and breeches in more neutral and dark colors. This garment eventually evolved into a "morning suit" or tuxedo, which was actually considered the least formal of the "socially acceptable" attire.

As for the development of the business suit, its origins remain a mystery, but it is known that it began to appear in the mid-19th century as casual wear for the elite and sophisticated attire for the working class. Since the costumes were easy to wear and stylish, the popularity of the costumes began to grow every year among people from all walks of life.

6. Sweatshirt

While thick jersey hooded sweatshirts have been around throughout history, Champion Products claims to have created the modern hoody in the 1930s. Originally designed for workers and athletes working in harsh environments, the hoodies eventually came to be used as casual clothing as athletes in American colleges began giving hoodies to their girlfriends.

In the mid-1970s, the sweatshirt began to become popular on the streets with robbers and graffiti artists trying to hide their identity. Since then, these clothes have been adopted by other groups such as skateboarders, punks, rappers and street artists. And then everyone (mainly young people) appreciated the advantages of sweatshirts for everyday use.

7. Bra

The forerunners of bras first appeared in ancient Greece, but then looked like a strip of fabric that women wrapped around their breasts. In the 1500s, corsets became a common accessory among upper and middle class women who wanted to meet beauty standards.

Despite the fact that doctors blamed corsets for many health risks, it took a whole world war to end their popularity. Since corset frames were usually made of metal, in 1917, women in the United States were advised to refrain from buying corsets in order to use metal for military purposes. This opened up a niche for the bra, which was first patented in 1914 by Caresse Crosby.

The first bras were made of stretch material and were disposable, but during the 1930s many developments, including elastic bands and padded cups in different sizes, helped make bras more wearable.

eight. Boxer Briefs & Briefs

Most likely, every man wondered which panties to choose - boxers or "ordinary". However, many may be surprised to learn that this question did not arise until the early 20th century, when these two items were first invented. Boxers were invented in 1925 when Everlast founder Jacob Golomb replaced the original leather straps worn by boxing athletes with an elastic waistband. Then, in 1934, Arthur Kneibler invented the tight bikini briefs, inspired by a bikini-style swimsuit. Boxers and briefs gained real popularity in the 1970s and 1980s when designers like Calvin Klein began showing lingerie on the runways.

9. T-shirt

With their sleeveless design and thin material, T-shirts are optimal clothing for hot environments. In any country with a warm climate, you can see many men and women wearing these clothes. The origin of T-shirts is associated with the growing freedoms of women in the early 1900s. In 1912, at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, a new type of competition was added - women's swimming. Twenty-seven women wore swimwear with tops that looked almost exactly like modern tank tops.

T-shirts became popular in the public eye when men started wearing them in films. Interestingly, these clothes were usually associated with movie villains. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that T-shirts became a common garment, and their evolution reached global proportions in the 1980s when the German army began selling surplus tank uniforms (which included T-shirts).

10. T-shirt

Perhaps the most popular form of clothing today, the T-shirt was once very modest. It was created by workers who modified their long jeans by cutting them in two so they could be worn in warmer weather. The top half was modified by the Cooper Underwear Company in 1904 to create the "bachelor undershirt" (so called because it had no buttons or buttons and didn’t have to sew on for single men).

The T-shirt, which was worn as underwear, was soon adopted as part of the US Navy uniform. The reason was the same - many young bachelors came to the army who knew nothing about sewing. The first known mention of the T-shirt can be found in Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel This Side of Paradise, where the protagonist wore it to school. As with many other garments, T-shirts have become popular thanks to sports and movies.

BONUS

And in continuation of the theme - the history of garters - the most exciting accessory in a lady's wardrobe.