Fashion

By the 1860s, Victorian fashions reigned supreme. Men wore tailored suits with waistcoats, ties, hats, and boots or shoes. Women's dress was far more ornate. Skirts reached their maximum width in the 1860s, and collars were high-necked and often frilled. Because of the numerous matching underskirts and petticoats, a dress could easily exceed 10 pounds in weight. Bonnets were replaced by small, hand-embroidered hats. Appearances were kept up for all occasions.

In the 1870s, thin cravats, bow ties, narrower-tailored sack suits and flat, oiled hair became popular among men. Small women's jackets became popular – a stark contrast to the large sleeves and skirts. This tighter-fitting look was shortly followed by the bodice, a long, boned jacket. The bodice material matched the underskirt fabric, while the sleeves of the dress often matched the outer skirt.

Women became more involved in sports in the 1890s, and bicycle bloomers and swimsuits became common. The "Gibson Girl" look, named after magazine illustrator Charles Gibson, became a hot style, including tailored shirtwaists and boater straw hats. Men wore batswing ties and were usually clean-shaven, except for the occasional waxed and turned-up mustache.

By the 1910s, women's fashion was a far cry from the heavy and restrictive Victorian era garb. Gabrielle Chanel, a young designer in the midst of WWI, made loose-fitting dresses with belts and pleated plaid wool skirts. France and America was taken by storm with by her designs. These styles, along with a revival of embroidery patterns in a "peasant style," paved the way for the wilder fashions of the 1920s.

Dress styles became less conservative and more fun in the 1920s. High society gatherings made the image of the "flapper girl" trendy for young women. Short hair, short skirts, and makeup – all traditionally considered improper for women – became popular.

In the 1940s, war rationing restricted the amount of fabric that could be used to make clothing. The Zoot Suit, originally the most popular attire among young men, became harder to find. Women wore convertible suits, and, as silk stockings were not available, often used eyeliner to draw a seam on the backs of their legs. Slacks became more acceptable for women who had taken over men's jobs. After the war, the "New Look," designed by Christian Dior, became the desired fashion statement – dresses with long skirts and tight waists, high-heeled shoes, and make-up.

Teenagers defined fashion in the 1950s, and styles became more glamorous. Pencil skirts and full skirts became fashionable among young women, and the greaser style was popular among men: tight pants, leather jackets, and T-shirts, with long hair styled into pompadours.

At the beginning of the 1960s, men wore their hair short and dressed in casual button-down shirts, and it was still considered inappropriate in some places for women to wear skirts shorter than knee-length. By the mid-60s, however, the mod look from Britain had taken over, and mini skirts, hot pants, chunky shoes, and leather go-go boots became fashionable for women.

Men's styles included Paisley shirts, double-breasted sport jackets, polyester pant suits, turtlenecks, and velvet pants. Both men and women wore their hair long and dressed in bright, psychedelic colors. Bell bottom jeans, love beads, and embellished t-shirts became a unisex fashion statement.

Fashions of the 1970s were a hodgepodge of the new, the old, the designer, and the found. Flared bellbottom pants were popular in a variety of colors and materials. Big sunglasses were all the rage, as were wide sleeves and colorful patterns. Women wore wide flowing pants, floor-length skirts and dresses in earthy tones, and disco-style polyester miniskirts. Men wore vests, t-shirts, big-collared button-downs, leisure suits, jeans, and sneakers.

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