Sexual Enhancement:

Corsets were first used in the 16th century and remained a part of fashionable dress until the French Revolution until 1789. A woman wore a corset to make it appear that her waist was very small. The corset also would flatten the woman's breasts which would then push them up. The corset was very tight and showed every curve in a woman's figure. This would extenuate the female body which was seen as a sexual enhancing piece of clothing. As time went on the corset was then fit into the dresses of women. The women would wear dresses that were gathered in the back and would fit very snug on their waist and push their breasts up.

Ceremonialism:

The traditional Hindu wedding has many rituals. Starting with the engagement and the arrival of the groom at the bride's residence often in a formal procession. "A Hindu wedding ceremony at it's core is essentially a Vedic yajna ( a fire-scarifice), in which the Aryan deities are invoked in the Indo-Aryan style". This also is a deep bond of friendship and alliance. Here is a Hindu woman wearing her wedding dress. The dress is designed by Saree, famous for her bridal gown designs. Notice the elaborate work, lace, beading and the beautiful jewelry.

Group Membership:

Jaxleigh is a company that offers t-shirt designs which are based on current events and the individuals who care about them. Jaxleigh was started by Greg Schwartzenberger when he was a freshman in college. "Jaxleigh bespeaks a likeable lifestyle vibe through its colors, original artwork, and photography oriented depictions". Their designs this season are based on controversial issues such as the, "GM Bankruptcy and Wall St. vs Main St". Jaxleigh believes in stating what you believe in and why not have a shirt that you can wear that states what you believe in and how you feel about a current issue. Each piece of clothing is hand printed. (Jaxleigh 2009)

Gender Differentiation

Pierre Cardin started his fashion career working for Christian Dior. He then opened his own fashion house in 1950. He designed beautiful women's and men's clothing. During the 1960's the men's dress and women's dress were very distinctive as to your gender. The men wore suits and pants and the Women wore short dress and stockings. This was the way for women to dress feminine and the men to dress masculine. You did not see many women during these times wearing slacks.

Decoration:

Tribal decoration and certain types of face painting and head decorations are part of the decoration of dress. " Natural Tribal Fashion decoration", is known to the people of Osmo Valley in Ethiopia. They have developed a great sense of this body decoration and face painting from in which the place they live and nature. In this region the rivers run dry through an array of flowers, plants and papyrus trees. Having all these flowers and the beautiful colors allows the people of the tribe to have inspiration for the face decoration and elaborate head pieces. (Natural Tribal Fashion Decoration).

Environmental:

Eskimos wear certain types of clothing such as furs and leathers to keep them warm from the outside elements. Based on their geographical area and weather climates they would wear and need certain types of clothing to protect them from the elements such as the very cold climate and harsh weather. Here you will see a Eskimo family dressed in typical Eskimo attire. Furs and animal skins.

This blog will visit many different eras of Fashion and all the different styles of fashion through these years. A source book is a compilation of images, articles and other resources gathered to show you all of the amazing and beautiful styles and eras we have been through all relating to fashion. My blog will take you through the 20th century of fashion and the arts, to give you a better understanding of the fashion and style during the specific time. This also will allow me to get a better sense of the fashion world as well.

My image: The front cover of the 25th Anniversary of Vanity Fair (October 2008) featuring Marilyn Monroe. Not only is Vanity Fair celebrating 25 years but, also featuring a fashion icon who has touched so many lives with her laugh, her looks and her style.

Fashion is about the changing times and what is in now and what was in then. Fun to go back and revisit the styles of the past and see how much we have evolved within the world of fashion.