Introduction:
Fashion is an integral part of everyone’s life, from ancient cavemen to modern humans. Clothing has a deep relationship with weather and culture. People of different climates have chosen fashion according to their weather and culture at different times. As a result, there is a difference in fashion from age to age. In this article I will discuss fashion of the early era and current era.
The difference between the fashion of the early era and the current era:
Fashion of the early era:
Primitive people usually wore tree bark or animal skin to protect themselves from the effects of the environment, such as cold or heat. But these wearables rot very easily, which is why no fossils or specimens of these objects have been found so far.
Most of the garments of the early period were minimal clothing useful for protection from embarrassment and protection from the harshness of different weather including winter and summer. That is why there was not much difference between the clothes of men and women at that time and there were no different clothes like the people of this age. As a result, at that time, fashion meant only the necessary clothes.
Yet early – the middle ages saw a lot of fashion. These are:
Early-medieval fashions had the obvious feature of long dresses for women, covering the whole body, and married women hiding their hair under handkerchiefs.
Both men and women in Bangladesh wore only one garment – saree or dhoti. While elite men wore dhoti below the knee, ordinary men wore extremely short dhoti. Women used to wear sari hanging up to the wrists. Elite women sometimes wore veils at festivals and other occasions.
The fashionable attire of the followers and soldiers of the early princes included knitted shirts, long cloaks, belts, turbans, handkerchiefs, and fringed skirts. Gradually fashion began to spread from them all around.
Girls’ clothing also covered the body and extended to the shoulders and head. During the Sen period, rich women used various cosmetics. The women wore young palm earrings on their ears and gold strings around their waists. Which became fashionable at that time. Among the fashions of their hair were conical bangs, ordinary bangs.
In ancient Bengali society there was no custom of wearing shoes. Although there is mention of panai and paduka, there is no mention of wearing leather shoes in medieval Bengal in any literature of that period. As a result, shoes were lagging behind in terms of fashion at that time.
The fashion of the present age:
At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a change in the fashion of dress for both men and women. As a result, fashion evolved a lot and men and women became interested in modern fashion.
At present, salwar kameez has become a popular fashion among all ages from teenagers to old women. Women’s clothing and fashion change every year, but the position of the sari as a cultural feature of Bangladesh is intact. Most of the women wear traditional loom sari because it is cheap and durable. Upper and middle class women wear jamdani and expensive Banarasi silk saris at weddings and festivals. The women wear fine woven saris at home.
Blouses in current fashion are expensive fabrics and varied designs, such as velvet, satin and lace, with western-style swollen sleeves or tight-fitting sleeves up to the wrist; Like European clothing, the neck is sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, and has carnage ribbons, lace trim, and various ornate fringes.
In the age of globalization, western clothing is now strongly influencing the clothing of both men and women. Currently the most popular fashionable clothing among men is shirt-pants, t-shirt and vest. The fashion of wearing suit-blazer starting from Punjabi-pajamas is also prevalent among Bengali men in various festivals or occasions.
In addition to salwar kameez, women have now adopted western clothing such as tops, frocks, jeans, etc. as a popular fashion. Nowadays fashion is seen in women’s shoes. Many women prefer heel shoes. Among the heels, pencil heels once became a very popular fashion. Currently young women are showing interest in box heels and slippers. Because now comfort is more important.
Boys are always a bit more indifferent than girls when it comes to clothing but in some cases they are always conscious. Such as wristwatch, belt, shoes etc. Loafers, boots, sneakers are now popular as fashionable shoes for boys. Shoes as well as socks are being worn everywhere now.
Conclusion:
Although there is a gap between the fashion of the early era and the spread of fashion in the present world, the fashion of the ancient times has evolved and captured the present time. As a result, the old fashion comes to the fore in a new way. In the same way, after some time, the current fashion became extinct, but in the course of time, it may return as a new fashion. In other words, fashion will come and fashion will go away. This is the rule of the world.
References:
- https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/6213/enduring-fashion
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_in_the_ancient_world
- https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/alphabetical-index-fashion-clothing-history/ancient-world-history-dress
- https://www.slideshare.net/mswilsonri/fashion-in-ancient-civilizations
- https://hashtaglegend.com/magazine/womens-fashion-past-present-future/
Author of this Article:
Nazifa Tabassum
B.Sc. in Clothing and Textile
Govt. College of Applied Human Science, Dhaka
Email: nazifa.099@gmail.com
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