Introduction
The Qing dynasty prospered in arts and culture. Traditional forms of arts flourished: including the delicate and exquisite ceramics and Chinese porcelain.
On a smaller scale, however, the most symbolic feature traveled through to the present from the Qing dynasty would be women’s fashion in the imperial palace. Women’s fashion not only depicted their status, but also reflected their beliefs and culture. As an enthusiast of the Qing dynasty, I often spot both accurate and inaccurate traces of Qing’s fashion from televisions and runways.
The Qing dynasty changed China’s history, and influenced China’s fashion everlastingly. But what is it about these clothing designs that is so alluring? Why is it that costume and fashion designers
…show more content…
Stringent and elaborate rules were made for women in the palace to follow. Yellow was reserved for the queen and emperor, other bright colours are only available for higher class empresses and faded shades were available for concubines of lower class(please refer to the colour chart in the appendix for further information). Yellow also is the dominant colour of Buddhism, thus it represents freedom from worldly cares. Red is used for celebration of events such as births, weddings and holidays. In general, darker colours were favoured over lighter ones in traditional Chinese clothing because they seemed more formal and expensive. Women from social groups like peasants or slaves wore lighter colored clothing more frequently as they were not royal.
However, when the Qing Dynasty began approaching its end, the concept of beauty was influenced by foreign cultures. The imperial family bought imported materials and invited foreign designers whenever the family, especially the women, needed new sets of clothing. Rich colours no longer dominated the mindset of designers. Foreign designers added accents to the empresses’ clothing and altered the standards of
The Empire’s New Clothes: A History of the Russian Fashion History Christine Ruane, the author of The Empire’s New Clothes: a history of the Russian fashion industry, it implies the history of Russian fashion is directly linked to capitalism, industrial production, and new forms of communication. Ruane is implying that an economic and political system was created once it began in the 1700’s. This historical event had continued all the way through the 1900’s and has still created an impact to this day in fashion industries around the world. It has shown many citizens how to shape their own identity, especially through their attire. Ruane composes this book to provide new ideas and aspects about Russia’s fashion industry’s transition into a Westernized look.
To begin with, I will look at each of the two subjects. Fashion is an extremely large subject with many sub-categories and can mean many different things, however in this essay I will take fashion to mean the popular clothing style. I will put emphasis on looking at high fashion as these are the leaders of their field. Fashion itself though, is not to be confused with clothing. Clothing is a part of fashion, but it is predominantly purely functional, for protection from different aspects of the environment. Fashion however, is primarily for image. It is a way to present individuality and personality. A physical mouldable form of expression. Designers wish to create works of art that can be worn, and this is wear clothing becomes an art form.
In the 19th century play, FASHION, Anna Mowatt develops the character plot as a contrast and comparison between being “natural” and “artificial in a world becoming preoccupied with fashion, and being fashionable. In the head notes, it was stated that Daniel Havens said FASHION is “the ugly image of the American Dream gone sour.” (Watt and Richardson) Fashion has a complex definition. The word ‘fashion’ can mean anything from the type of clothes you wear, how you communicate with others, the place you live, how you present yourself, or who you associate yourself with. In FASHION, Mowatt took a comical yet sober look at the definitions of “fashion,” applied it to real life in 1845, and through her characters, provides a mirror with which an audience/reader can evaluate themselves. I do not believe updating this play would be difficult because America has continued down the fast and destructive path in an effort to keep up with the “fashions” of the day.
Fashion exists all around world ever since mankind started living on the Earth. The ways people live have changed as well as fashion changed drastically through out the human history and people are looking for fashionable and also comfortable garments that can be wear at any occasion. Simplicity and silhouette that allows the body to be comfortable while being active has also became one of the leading fashion trends in 1900s. Because of the relationship between sportswear and American lifestyle, its evolution drastically changed the fashion industry during 1900s.
Peacock, John. The Chronicle of Western Fashion: From Ancient times to the Present Day. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991. Print.
...who have no connection or access to the fashion industry directly, and people who are not interested in fashion even the people from upper class who consider it trivial. Secondly, it can be seen that in ancient China, it was mainly caused by social structure (traditional four classes), conservative cultural atmosphere (specific division of gender’s work) and economic situation (natural economic and agrarian society), trickle-down theory works in a limited range within imperial family indeed. In contemporary China, trickle-down theory works in an untypical way which means trend from the ‘powerful class’ to the ‘weak class’ in China. Thirdly, it was due to historical and sociological problems, that Chinese fashion is basically feminine, even in contemporary fashion. Lastly, the western fashion force is still a dominant power which impacts the Chinese fashion industry.
The early nineteenth century was the beginning of the Qing Dynasty’s downfall. During this century multiple issues, including economic pressures, corruption, domestic rebellions and foreign wars, challenged ...
In the early 1800s, France was the sole fashion capital of the world; everyone who was anyone looked towards Paris for inspiration (DeJean, 35). French fashion authority was not disputed until the late twentieth century when Italy emerged as a major fashion hub (DeJean, 80). During the nineteenth century, mass produced clothing was beginning to be marketed and the appearance of department stores was on the rise (Stearns, 211). High fashion looks were being adapted and sold into “midlevel stores” so that the greater public could have what was once only available to the social elite (DeJean, 38). People were obsessed with expensive fashions; wealthy parents were advised not the let their children run around in expensive clothing. People would wait for children dressed in expensive clothing to walk by and then they would kidnap them and steal their clothes to sell for money (DeJean, 39). Accessories were another obsession of France‘s fashion; they felt no outfit was complete without something like jewelry or a shrug to finish off the look and make it all around polished (DeJean, 61). As designers put lines together, marketing began to become important to fashion in the nineteenth century; fashion plates came into use as a way to show off fashion l...
Every culture and religion has its own style of fashion that sets them apart. Fashion plays a remarkable role in, not only culture and religion, but also identifying personalities, beliefs and thoughts. A leading country that is well-known for its fashion design would be France. “The French were the first to make an industry out of fashion since the 17th century.” There are many French designers from the fashion leading capital, Paris. Those designers would be Chanel, Pierre Cardin, Céline, Chloe, Dior, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermès, Lanvin, Marcel Rochas, Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.
Lawson, David "History Of Renaissance Clothing - How Today's Fashion Is Affected." 6 Jul. 2011 EzineArticles.com. 16 Nov. 2011
Fashion in the 21th century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3).
middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.
Clothing has been around for thousands of years; almost as long as the modern human has. At first, it served the practical purpose of protection from the elements; but, as life for early humans stopped being a constant struggle to survive, they started noticing how they looked and the concept of fashion began to take shape. These first few garments were typically dyed draped cloth that was pinned at the shoulder and/or waist. This was seen in many ancient civilizations around the world, Greek and Roman the most notable. Over time, clothing began to get more and more complex and formed to the body’s shape, eventually leading up to the tailored style we now have today. However, the sophisticated world of Haute Couture; or high fashion, can distinctly trace its roots to Paris during the mid-19th century. Clothing from there was thought to be superior to those from anywhere else, and women began to come from all over Europe just to buy dresses. This was probably due in part to one notable dressm...
From a historic point of view, Western travelers had remarked on the slow pace of lifestyle and fashion change in Turkey and Persia. On the other hand, many people were of the opinion that the western culture is getting out of hand in terms of dressing fashion (Cumming 234). In most cases, change of fashion and dressing style took place hand in hand with economic and social changes. In the developing world, changes in fashion began with the coming of the whites in Middle East. Changes began in the 11th century when the Turks came to central Asia and Far East. In Europe, continuous change in clothing fashion is believed to have started in middle 14th century. It started by a sudden introduction of shortening and tightening of male garments, it further brought the introduction of trousers and leggings that were worn by men (Cumming 235). After the advent of change in men fashion, it was followed by changes in female c...
...s with famous models . Besides, Louis Vuitton pushes its items with Chinese stars Zhang Ziyi to draws in Chinese market.