Issac Singer developed the foot treadle for the sewing machine which left the hands free to guide the fabric. An early use for sewing machines was to make Civil War uniforms. In , fabric intended for tents and wagon covers was used to make long wearing pants with pockets for tools by a young boy Levi Strauss. Later these became popular and were called denims.
This was the beginning of clothes specially made for labourers. This is the only apparel that has remained same for the last nearly years! Women started wearing separate skirts and blouses in 1880s. This was a step towards manufacture of ready-to-wear clothes for women.
Lengths and waistlines could be easily adjusted and this made it possible for the working class to add variety to their wardrobe simply by mixing separates. By th century affordable fashions were made available to the general public through fairs and bazaars . The travelling merchants brought clothes to these markets, and both buyers and sellers usually bargained. As large number of people settled in towns, general stores were established to cater to their demands.
With the growing demand for a variety of goods, retail stores grew in cities. Prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) clothing lines were the first radical alternative to couture pieces when they hit boutiques in the 1960s. The term describes factory-made clothing that is sold in finished condition and in standardised sizes (as distinct from bespoke, made-to-measure haute couture). Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) is credited as being the first French haute couturier to come out with a full prêt-à-porter line.
FASHION EVOLUTION Fashion cycle — Fashion moves in a cycle. The way in which fashion changes is described as a fashion cycle. The stages of fashion cycle include introduction, rise, culmination and then decline in acceptance of a style. It is represented by a bell shaped curve of time and sales.
Introductory phase Acceptance phase Rejection phase Decline Peak A Fashion Cycle Introduction Rise (increase in sales) ACCEPTANCE (MEASURED IN SALES VOLUME) Stages of Fashion Cycle Fig. . : Stages of fashion cycle Introduction of a Style —