I know I'm half a year late but... Does anyone know whether her point is specific to European/Western cultures, or if fashion was seen the same in other cultures as well? (of course the fashion would be different, but it's role and the reasons to abide to it) Also she's talking pretty recent history. Anyone has insights on older periods?
Thank you for your videos. I have greatly enjoyed learning so much!! Not only are you so informative, but you deliver the information in such a relatable, personable clear style. Thank you!!
I don't know about the uptight person wanting to be fashionable. Reading Anne of Green Gables, it was very clear that the sensible uptight Marila was very much against puffy sleeves, and teenage Anne would kill for one fashionable puffy sleeved dress.
Then: rich people make laws so that poor people cant dress in our clothes. Now:Greetings poor people, Im rich all I wear everyday forever is this gray tshirt, here, buy my china-sweatshop-made fast fashion.
I think that sounds bit like being "fashionable" in Japan nowadays; people really can't choose what to wear without completely ignoring "society's eyes".
You should make a video about women’s fashion in the Middle East. I know a lot of them follow strict dress code, but I figure there must be some way that they alter their outfits to follow a specific trend. It’d be interesting to learn about and see a video on
actually, fashion is still regional, I experienced it firsthand, as I lived in the US and then returned home in a developing country. I raised eyebrows on both sides upon arrival and gradually blended in as my clothes were getting old/tight and replaced from what was offered at the place I was living. Also, I still love some brands I used to buy in the US, but buying them is a hassle, takes a long time, and also I can afford to go to a tailor now, so my wardrobe is different again - even as I don't care about blending in now. Basically to be fashionably cosmopolitan, one has to be able to regulary visit the places that dictate the modern fashion. Shopping online and following street fashion online won't give you the feeling of what is the real fashion for real people. That means you have to have money and time to do that - and this is a marker of a certain social class.
You were right when you spoke about the late sixties. I'm pleased to say that I partook in the new trends coming from Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. It was very exciting. Many parents/adults questioned these trends but, I'm pleased to say many enjoyed and embraced them as well. Vicariously, yes, but still showed an interest in the new fashions and trends. I believe that no matter what time one lived in there were individuals that appreciated taken the extra time to grooming themselves. Even if it was to just add an extra button.
I loved this video so much, I think this is really important to talk about! Would you happen to still have the resources you used for this (if you had any specific ones), and might you be willing to share them? I'm currently doing my bachelor's thesis on the relationship of clothing and social identity in our current times, and I've been searching for good references in history to reflect upon. I'm concentrating on European fashion/dress history, so if anyone in the comments also has any recommendations I'd happily hear them! :)
A few years ago I took my mom out shopping because my grandmother was more in style than she was. I got her to buy a few things that looked great on her and was appropriate for her age not her mom's.
It would be interesting to compare the respective mentalities behind the timescales of fashion changes. The new, boundary-pushing mentality toward fashion had a shorter timescale. But did the older, conformist mentality remain linked to the longer timescales characteristic of past fashion?
Granny gowns in the 1970s. The USA's first lady Hillary Clinton wore a granny gown for her wedding. weddedwonderland.com/hillary-clintons-wedding-photos/ I don't know if you had that where you are, but we all had at least one granny gown dress.
In the Victorian Era, rules were important. Rule-following was important. What the majority thought and cared about was important. Dressing in fashion was an overt way of showing that you knew what the rules and expectations were, not just in dress, but in life. A well-dressed woman didn't just select the approved silhouette-- she picked the approved colors, the right fabrics and embellishments for her "station" and age, the right everything, and by so doing she signaled that she was a safe person to bring into your social circles, because she knew her place.
When she says "What was fashionable in one country doesn't mean it's fashionable in another" (Bad at paraphrasing) Did anyone else think of Henry the 8th poor Germanic wife. Or how Queen Elizabeth 1 made a law that every 'unfashionable (poor)' person must wear a wool hat on sundays...No I am the only one with Tudor's on the brain ok sorry lol.
Re: wearing vintage clothes. The other reason that it wasn't common in the past was because of the habit of doing over dresses, and having a valid way to sell your clothes on. Therefore there weren't a lot of vintage clothes sitting around waiting to be bought and worn.
"No matter what women do, there would always be someone criticizing it" ^ Oh look, things that seem to stay the same forever... Love Karolina's look for this video though! You've Got It Meme Mom!
Having grown up in the 90s, I kind of disagree with the idea that people nowadays dress "historically accurate" clothes from the recent decades. I can't speak for other decades, but *I cringe* when I see kids these days saying they are dressing "grunge style" while wearing torn skinny pants and a fitted top underneath a flannel shirt. In the 90s everybody wore baggy clothes: baggy jeans, lose-fitting shirts, baggy shorts, etc. I know because I was there. I hung out with a lot of punk and skateboarding crowd, and I can tell you, there was nothing thight fitting about that fashion. Everything was big and baggy!
I was one of those 1970s vintage loving freaks. My grandmother was appalled, esp with my choice of black - the color of old age and mourning. You are a Bomblette. Warmest regards Jennie
I just never try to be fashionable. I realised my favourite outfit is a singlet with a waistcoat. Is it fashionable? No. I look like a circus employee but I love it.
The novel that you talk about "The Age of Innocence", was adapted to film by Martin Scorsese. I know nothing about historical accuracy, but the movie is beautifully done. If you haven't seen it, I truly recommend it.
The beginning of the video would be very accurate for languages too. The high status people had to learn Greek and Latin, meanwhile the rest could stick to their maternal language, there was hella lot of linguistic variety in Europe back then but from the 19th century on it became more apparent that a nation should opt for one language only. And thus we lost all of the basic pillars of language, architecture, fashion, art... Pretty much the entire culture. Sorry for interrupting tho.
Powiedziałaś, że szczególnie w XIXw. istotne było przestrzeganie etykiety. Czy to znaczy, ze wcześniej nie aż tak? Przy okazji- czy sa jakieś interesujące lektury poruszające ten temat?
I'm going to share my little knowledge about this. I'm from a small kingdom part of Spanish kingdom. Until some decades ago, what people could were was ruled by Petrucios (old people of the village). It's a very populated area, with loads of water, so there are small villages all around. Until the war (Spanish civil war 1936-1939) only burguesy and nobles wore 'á la mode' fashion, villagers and peasants wore the same thing that kind of people wore in XVI century, only with very small details changing like some accesories. In fact, their earrings were the same style as they were in medieval times, and some even older to that. It's somehow the same silhouette and paesant fashion as in all Europe (skirts tied to the waist to help the weight and to occult the pregnancy, linen and hemp shirts, wool panties, some form of stays) what make the difference was the upper graments (on my parts they used to wear a capelette crossed in the front, on top of the 'justillo', while in other parts of Europe they wore a more 'external' vest on top of the vest).
and here we are in COVID times when there is no use for fashion at all, and the last video I watched was literally titled "I put on pants today la la la" (credit to Julie Nolke). Oh and God forbid we blend in, that would spread pandemic (what was that about the tiniest speck ruining someone's life?)
Regional fashions and trends have always been fascinating and the idea of keeping regional fashion seems to be making a resurgence like the rise in “street” fashion becoming more and more trendy
My fashion style is me. A melange of so many different styles. Some days I feel goth. Some days, bohemian. Some days, chic. Other days, girl next door. And sometimes sporty. Classique. All labels labels labels. Which have no use since I don't plan to put myself in a box.
Biba brought a deco revival in the 70s with 30s and sometimes 20 and 40s clothes and Pamela Des barres and music groupies were doing vintage styles inn the 60s because they were more feminine and luxurious and delicate than the styles of the time but they also maintained a modern siliuette
Regarding wearing old stuff: it was a general trend, that whatever had been fashionable for the elite had BECOME fashionable for the commons about a generation later. For example, take the traditional clothing of the ULTRA-orthodox Jews for the past 350~400 years (or so) - ORIGINALLY, it was the dressing of the Polish nobility, the Szlachta, in around 1,600 (or so?) I think - and, a few decades afterwards, once they had already pretty much abandoned it, perhaps? (not so sure about it...), the Jews at Poland-Lithuania took it and made it their own style.
The dean of the uni I went was an historian and made obligatory for all degrees to have two semesters of history, one for world history and one for the history of the degree a person is specializing in. This video just reminds me of him lol
"suddenly the teenagers were fashionable and everyone else felt left behind because they didn't belong to the secret fashion club" ... *painful memories Karolina?"*
Back then the drive to update your wardrobe and adhere to current fashion trends was mainly rooted in the desire to conform to civil society and secure your place in it. In those days your appearance suggested a great deal about your character and certainly played a role in where you'd end up in the world, especially as a female. We still see these cultural attitudes echoed in modern society today.
"No matter what women did, there would be someone criticising them." Everyone felt that. Shoutout to the boys who would go "does she think she's going on a fashion show?" when I dressed nice and the boys who would chastise me like "why do you always wear so short?" when I dressed like a slob. They're the sort of people whom if I found fallen into a ditch, I would not help them up 😌
This is super helpful for me as an author/illustrator! I definitely didn’t understand the different meaning of fashion and wrote inaccurate character choices based on that. Thanks for explaining this clearly!
I think the basic imperatives of fashion are still the same. It seems to me that the biggest modern difference is that clothes are so much cheaper to make, so there are just so many options. People used to have very few sets of clothes, so they had to select very conservatively. Now it’s like, whatever dude.
@Countries To Go I agree that we should pay the people who make our clothes a livable wage and decent working hours. But I think that there are huge amounts of automation for much of the construction of clothes. Almost no one is planting, picking, cleaning, dyeing, spinning, weaving, or embroidering cotton by hand. Processing of other natural fibers is similarly automated, and synthetic fibers are even easier. Much cutting is now done automatically, and some sewing. Certainly very little sewing is done by hand - it's all done with sewing machines. Same for knitting, although it's a hobby for some. Women used to spend much or their time on many of these tasks everywhere, and produce much less.
"I love fashion history!" - me laying on my couch in leggings and a giant sweatshirt knowing that I have worn "public" clothing less than 15 times since March. Thanks COVID.
I like that Karolina is a Fashionable Historian as well as a Fashion Historian. I like that these videos ask us to think critically about the past and remove our assumptions
4:00 Karolina talking about how poor people could be fashionable AND not spend money doing so by fixing and adjusting their old dresses is one of the many reasons why I don't like the new Little Women movie. The book has entire PASSAGES about them fixing their old dresses, about Meg adjusting her plain dress to wear it for parties she would go to but noooo let's get them a new dress for every day of the week no one will notice
I am a woman. I guess I don’t really wear vintage. Or do I? Since I wear men’s vintage clothing and it’s modern for women to wear masculine clothing? I’m a bit confused lmao.
And finally here's me after the vid: yeah I'm a fool, fascinating stuff as always. There's plenty of places where you can feel the echoes of that mentality though, the corporate culture of looking sameish to everyone else but not outdated comes to mind.
