Fashion Facts You Did Not Know
You either love or hate fashion. Styles have come and gone, and many of them return into our clothing stores after a few years. Some people just cannot be bothered to keep up with recent trends, while others can’t get enough of the latest styles. You can love it or you can hate it, but here is some interesting fashion facts you will enjoy.
Second-hand clothing was pretty much normal among the wealthy people.
In 1870s, chemical dyes were introduced for underwear, offering the full variety of colours.
Until 19th century, men’s shirts were considered to be underwear.
Réard declared that a real bikini could be “pulled through a wedding ring.”
Louis Réard, the inventor of modern bikini, named it after the Bikini Atoll where the U.S. did extensive nuclear testing.
Nightclothes were first fashioned in 16th century. Until then, people would sleep in day clothes or naked.
Most of French fashion traditions were lost in the Revolution. Napoleon eventually brought the glamour of fashion back in 1804.
“Bra” emerged as a cool new slang word among young women in 1930s.
On the subject of bras, the famous author Mark Twain (who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) was the inventor of the bra clasp.
In the U.S., slave girls used grape vines to make their own crinoline hoops for their Sunday dresses.
The bustle, introduced in early 1900s, made sitting down for women difficult, if not impossible.
Hobble skirts were so narrow under the knees that walking in one was not an easy task.
Historically, purple clothes were only worn by magistrates, emperors and other aristocracy in Rome, Italy.
In the 1960s, Rudi Gernreich came up with monokini, a swimsuit of one piece with a completely exposed top.
In 1907, a woman was arrested on a beach in Boston for wearing a one-piece swimsuit.
Barbie’s first outfit was a black-and-white striped one-piece swimsuit.
Star Wars princess Leia’s bikini is thought to be the most famous bikini in the world.
New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia popularised the modern thong. He introduced it in 1939, ordering NYC’s nude dancers to cover up a little bit.
Levi’s jeans are one of the most popular brands of jeans. Although you might pay a hefty price for a pair now, the first pair sold for $6 worth of gold dust back in 1853.
High heels are nothing new to the world. In the 18th century, they were fashionable even for children.
Ralph Lauren’s real name was Ralph Lifshitz.
In the Middle Ages, poorer people would wear mittens, while the richer would wore gloves to show off their wealth.
Doc Martens come in all different colors and sizes now, but the first pair was created using old tires.
Technically, items are only “vintage” if they were made more than sixty but less than a hundred years ago.
During the Renaissance period, it was fashionable to shave off the eyebrows.
Up until the 17th century, men didn’t wear underwear at all.
Although there are more female fashion magazines in circulation today, France’s first fashion magazine was aimed at men in 1678.