The purpose of this research is to examine the history of Western fashion from its beginnings in the twelfth century in Europe to the present day. The plan of the research will be to set forth the historical and social context of fashion change in Western tradition and then to discuss reasons and mechanisms of changes in Western dress in the past and present, with a view toward forecasting possible lines of future fashion development.
To say that Western wardrobe fashion, which has cut across multiple cultural styles and eras since the twelfth century, appears to have shown a tremendous resiliency and adaptability as opposed to clothing associated with individual ethnic, national, or tribal cultures, is to make a statement about the West as an encasing culture and an encasing history. Western dress in its most general form has changed in ways that non-Western dress or the dress of Western subcultures has not. To the degree Western dress can be interpreted as a social construction, the role of the elites cannot be overestimated: Shakespeare has Henry V explain that monarchy "cannot be confined within the weak list of a country's fashion: we are the makers of manners, Kate; and the liberty that follows our places stops the mouth of all find-faults" (Henry V, V.ii).
Until the fourteenth century, European elites retained many attributes of ancient dress, notably loose-fitting robes, and cloaks, although sleeves had appeared by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. The "complex and cumbersome" robes designating elite status, had the long-term effect of creating preference for simpler, more tailored and close-fitting clothing for men. Two important practical advantages for Western clothing occurred in the fourteenth century: knitting and the button, both of which fostered change in weatherproofing and a decline in infant mortality. By the sixteenth century, stockings and hose had evolved toward knee breeches, while a tailored tuni...