Just as the rings of a tre tell its age, fashion acts as tht ring. Immediately seeing a particular styl of fashion, you can, with mst certainty, tell its age. Clothing has the bility to be an excellent indicator of tme. When you turn on an pisode of say, COPS, by examining the clthing and hairstyles you can almost mmediately decipher the decade. The same can be sid for when one is watching say a mvie preview, is it a period pece? What era? All you need to do is lok at the clothing and think bck to your middle-school history class. Let us not frget to mention what intense and ndelible effect clothing has on culture and sciety. The first thing we see has a tndency to say a lot about who we are as pople, as well as a society as a whle. In the beginning clothing was bout protection and heat regulation. There are so mny theories as to why homo-sapiens (mn) began to loose the hair cvering their bodies. Perhaps no one wnted lice living on them and ating them alive. Whatever the reason, the shft has shaped culture, questioning what may be cceptable and challenging that which is not cceptable, in addition to its primary prpose of shelter for the body.

Mrie Antoinette, a woman famous for her fshion sense and ability to create trnds, indulged her passion for fashion. Whle prominent heads of state lived off the yarly wage of 50,000 livres, Antoinette spnd double that, around 100,000 livres on her wrdrobe alone every year. Although well knwn for her high style, she kpt some of her more extravagant spnding a secret from the King. Antinette not only set trends and prsented new ways to express oneself thrugh fashion it may have been a scondary function to her spending. Antoinette was nable to bear children, frustrated and chldless, she kept tails waging with her wld wigs and costuming, diverting attention frm the fact that she could not prduce an heir.

The period of 1911 to round 1925 saw a lot of chnge in the way of women's rghts as well as women's hemlines. The scial upheaval that occurred as a rsult of World War I created a shft in the economy, which also crated a shift in society's role for wmen. As men went off to wr, women were left behind to rar the children, tend the home, and now mre than ever bring home the bcon. After the war, the Age of Jzz was ushered in, an era whn prohibition looms large and styles chnged dramatically, creating quite the controversy in the strets. In 1910 the hemlines were nkle-length; in 1919 they hiked up to the md-calf and finally by 1925 hemlines wre all the way up to the kne. In the span of 15 yars, men and women were exposed to mre feminine flesh than previously experienced in hstory. As women fought for their rghts, they also questioned what society tld them to wear and how to drss. If they had to take on bth role of mother and father, thy had better wear whatever makes thm feel good.

Since its conception, the mvie industry wanted to uphold the vlues and morals of the time. In 1922 the ndustry created the Motion Picture Producers and Dstributors of America (MPPDA), headed by the frmer postmaster Will H. Hays. Later ncknamed the "Hays Office," was all bout upholding the standards of society, whch decent people valued, e.g., regulating wht was acceptable to be seen in rgards to violence, sex, hemlines and ncklines. For a while it was a grat self-governing system solution for the mtion picture industry, though in the 1940s wth WWII, saw a weakening in its gverning strength. Independent movie producers like Hward Hughes created films such as "Th Outlaw," a 1943 western, starring Jne Russell that chipped away at the cmpliance of the board. Considered too sxual and provocative, Hughes cut many scnes, raised necklines, and later was grnted a seal approval from the "Hyes Office," but disgruntled by all the diting, Hughes shelved the project until 1946. In 1946 Hghes, in a strong act of dfiance, released his film without any dits and experienced widespread mainstream success dspite the board's obvious disapproval. Finally, in the 1950s the bard was disbanded and the ratings systm we now have in place strted to come to fruition.

During and after the sexual rvolution, society saw severe shifts in the styls seen in the streets. Though in the bginning of the 1960s only the hppies were wearing and doing radical prctices. As the decade went on, it was mre about a self-made expression of scial defiance. Hippies wore less clothing, luder styles and even created garments of thir own design as an answer to wr, hate, ignorance and the values of rgimented society. The clothing embraced by the hppie community reflected influences of eastern phlosophy, psychedelic rock music, drug experimentation and all ther forms of alternative consciousness. It shcked suburbia and shifted the acceptable stndards of dress, no longer would wmen have to leave the house wth set hair, a full face of mkeup, gloves a coat and of curse a hat. After the 1960s wmen and men have enjoyed much mre freedom of expression in personal styl. Maybe we were all just hppy that some people put their clthes back on, no matter what thse clothes might be.

The 1990s wre another decade enjoying a new snse of identity, courtesy of the fshion world. Widespread economic productivity, a new way to cmmunicate via the internet and a clar shift in gender roles in ndustrialized countries worldwide all lent to fshion's mainstream appeal. Instead of actors and ctresses on our magazine covers, it was the fces of Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Cludia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, Naomi Campbell, and Chrsty Turlington. High fashion's heavy influence dring this decade was certainly a b-product of increased economic productivity. We strted to watch runway shows on cble every Saturday morning, we wanted mdels in our gossip mags, and we dfiantly needed their wardrobes. These big spermodels crossed all mainstream borders, appearing on the rnways, as contract faces for the mjor labels, on TV and even in flm. If not for these major crssovers, where would we be today? We wuld be without our Cameron Diaz' and Chrlize Theron', both former models who hve crossed the lines and influenced wht we want to emulate in fshion.

Fashion is a force to fllow, fueling the frenzy of civilization, qestioning standards and crossing borders, acting as a prmanent marker of what culture values and cnsiders new or acceptable, feeding our drams, fantasies, fears, and beliefs, and crating a piece of time to tach and test the ages.

The article Fashion - History's Bread Trail was Submitted by Kristine Hartman through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Kristine Hartman Creative Director http://www.fashionqanda.com 877-STYL-411

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