We have all seen dresses on dogs and chinos on chimps, but over the millennia, clothing has been a uniquely human adaptation, evolving from animal skins worn by hairy cave dwellers to... well, animal skins worn by hipster café dwellers.
Change has been the one constant over the intervening years. Just think of the various styles and materials that have come in and out of vogue. Look back over the years and it is obvious that clothing is like Karma: what goes around comes around.
Don’t throw it out, it will become stylish again!
For example: flat soles to platforms and back again; floor-length skirts to minis so tiny there is scant material between hem and waist; wasp waists with large cinch belts to accentuate the positive; and then Hippy looseness along with the mandatory long straight hair and beads. 

The Hippy sixties, the roaring twenties - with Flappers dancing the Charleston, and the Depression years - when most people wore hand-me-downs are most memorable. There were dance marathons during the Depression, with the girls in flared skirts, where often-hungry young people danced until they dropped from fatigue, all for a small prize.

Clothing styles over the years have been poles apart. Today, when boobs are busting out all over, is a far cry from the era of the Second World War when it was stylish for young women to “bind” their chests so they would present a slim silhouette.

Not only upper garments, but hats and shoes also change with the times - tams to turbans, cloches to wide-brimmed hats with flowers and the pillbox to baseball caps. Matching high heels shoes to clothes, whether feet hurt or not, caused many foot problems in later years. Strapless shoes, shoes with straps right up the leg; toeless shoes and heelless shoes; platforms and flats; high heels and low heels; French heels and square heels were all worn at some point but perhaps the shoes worn during the Depression with big holes in the soles were most unforgettable. They were stuffed with cardboard - a fine substitute for insoles, except in the rain when they became mushy and oozed their way out onto the sidewalk. There was no way to be discreet with half a wet sole sticking out the bottom of a shoe.

In the l930s, movie magazines featured Shirley Temple or Deanna Durbin or Joan Blundell or some other “star” on the cover. The advertisements within those pages caused readers to drool over Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie and Coco Chanel’s designs. Edith Head was THE costume designer in Hollywood, and the Westmores were THE makeup artists for the stars. It was always a dream to hope to dress like them. Early in the Second World War, Marlene Dietrich was the first to blatantly wear a pantsuit and, of course, that style took off! Look at Hilary Clinton’s wardrobe today.

Many clothing styles underwent changes influenced by the state of the world: the hippy era was a revolution in which fashion was the antithesis of the suffocating clothing at the turn of the century; in the 20s, full-bodied bathing suits with their wide shoulder straps actually lost their front skirts - how daring! And from those clinging dark blue suits with the yellow piping around the bottom, the neck, and the armholes, gradually swimwear progressed to one-piece; and then latex one-piece in a variety of colours; and then a two-piece top and bottom; to today’s itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka-dot bikinis.

Jeans, stylish since the fifties, are still in but at one point girls weren’t allowed to wear jeans to school. But they were allowed to wear crinolines under shirt-waist dresses - sometimes as many as three - scratchy, and stiff with starch, which hurt the back of the legs. And not to be thought prudish, Slim Jims became stylish with tapered legs worn with ankle-high desert boots, always in beige coloured suede with laces. And about that same time, the popular white suede “Bucks” appeared on the market, complete with a little sack of white powder for a quick, cheap clean.
 
Before the advent of synthetics - like nylon, polyester, latex and more - cotton, wool, and linen were king. Postwar, synthetics offered more variety and decreased prices, but in many respects, brought down quality as well.
 
While fashion is mainly discussed in relation to women’s clothes, men too have had to adapt and change their wardrobes, though not as radically nor as often. A 90-year-old relative remembers as a youngster wearing stovepipe pant legs and plus fours with the distinctive diamond-shaped-pattern argyle sweaters and socks (they are making a comeback). And staying on top of the ride, he recalled wide to narrow lapels and back again. Suits were first fashioned with waistcoats but latterly without, while one-, two-, three- and four-buttoned jackets have all moved in and out of menswear. Similarly, sports jackets in various cuts and fabrics have been paired with a wide variety of patterned and coloured pants. 

Advertising, the climate, and finances seem to have been the three determining factors in what is worn. Clothing manufacturers can’t profit if styles don’t change frequently. The number of clothing and footwear retail stores has escalated because of increased demand and prosperity, and mushroomed in response to clever advertisements. Children plague their parents (and grandparents) to buy at name brand specialty stores because that is where their friends shop.

But before retail chain outlets, there were many singular styles, which fleetingly came and went. Harking back to the ‘50s and ‘60s again, remember poodle skirts made of one large circle of felt with a felt appliquéd poodle adhered to them and accordion pleated skirts and peasant blouses; huge padded shoulders and, hallelujah, remember the freedom from garter belts that held up thigh-high silk stockings? Stockings were scarce during the Second World War and developed runs, which were stopped with natural nail polish. Crepe stockings with the black seam up the back didn’t run and looked great, they just developed holes, which could be managed and then someone invented pantyhose, yippee! If a person couldn’t afford stockings, she painted her legs!

There were styles popular and unpopular. Possibly throwing out garter belts and wearing comfortable shoes were the two best innovations. Depending on budget and slavery to style, many fashions have been worn and walked in: long and short, tight or loose, comfortable and uncomfortable, but thankfully, unlike the Emperor who had no clothes, there’s always something to wear.

OCTOBER 2011 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER ISLAND
OCTOBER 2011 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND