We all assume that the clothes we wear are the norm – or almost! So hopefully some interesting facts gleaned from the web follow.
Some people just cannot be bothered to keep up with recent trends, while others can’t get enough of the latest styles.
Whether you love it or hate it, you’ll enjoy these 100 interesting fashion facts.
- In the United States, each person owns an average of seven pairs of blue jeans. That’s one for every day of the week!
- Men have been wearing shorts for decades, but women were only allowed to wear them in public after World War II. One of the main reasons for this was because less fabric was available during the war, so shorts were more cost-effective than pants or skirts.
- The T-shirt is one of the most popular items of clothing in the world, and around two billion of them are sold every single year.
- Historically, purple clothes were only worn by magistrates, emperors and other aristocracy in Rome, Italy.
- The loincloth is the oldest item of clothing, but the second oldest is the skirt – an item which is still very popular today.
- Thousands of fashion magazines are sold every year, but the first ever fashion magazine was sold in Germany in 1586.
- While lots of things are increasing in price, clothing is actually decreasing. Since 1992, the price of clothes has gone down by 8.5%.
- In 1907, a woman was arrested on a beach in Boston for wearing a one-piece swimsuit.
- Bras have been through different styles over the years, but you can now purchase a bra that can also be used as a gas mask.
- On the subject of bras, the famous author Mark Twain (who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) was the inventor of the bra clasp.
- In the Middle Ages, poorer people would wear mittens, while the richer would wore gloves to show off their wealth.
- You can’t go out these days without seeing a shopping center, thanks to the ancient Romans who built the very first one.
- An unlikely person to be associated with the fashion world, Napoleon invented the buttons for sleeves after his soldiers kept wiping their noses on their button-free clothes. Ew!
- Doc Martens come in all different colors and sizes now, but the first pair was created using old tires.
- Genoan sailors were known colloquially as “Genes” and wore cotton pants, which is where we get the word “jeans” from.
- The word “gymnos” means “naked” in Greek, which gives us our word “gym” or “gymnasium,” due to the fact that Ancient Greeks used to exercise naked.
- W. Griffith, producer of silent movies in Hollywood, thought that actresses’ eyes could look a little better. He went ahead and created the first fake eyelashes.
- Elizabeth I was a big fan of hats, and as a result, females who did not wear them on Sundays and public holidays were given a large fine during her reign.
- Up until the 17th century, men didn’t wear underwear at all.
- Men wore high heels to ride horses up until 1740. It was thought that the heels helped them to ride better.
- Baggy pants were first worn inside a Los Angeles prison, since the inmates weren’t allowed to wear belts.
- The Ancient Romans wore yellow clothing on their wedding days.
- The European women in medieval times used to wear green, which was thought to aid and/or symbolize fertility.
- Blue is the color of loyalty, which explains why U.S. police officers wear blue uniforms.
- Lipstick is one of the most common items you’ll find in a makeup store, but did you know that one of the main ingredients is fish scales?
- The mini skirt was named after the Mini Cooper, the favorite car of its designer, Mary Quant.
- The long, fluffy wigs which are commonly seen worn by judges today derived from the days of King Louis XIII. The French monarch suffered quite badly with bald patches, and wore a massive wig to appear macho and powerful.
- Coco Chanel was an orphan at the age of 12, but that didn’t stop her becoming one of the greatest fashion designers the world has ever seen. As well as the little black dress, she also created costume jewelry.
- Louis XIV of France outlawed anybody from wearing red high heels except for himself and his royal court.
- And as Garaeth’s son pointed out ‘what is the point of shoes/socks having left and right printed on them when your feet do not’!
- Left and right shoes were not produced until the early C19th.