It was around 650,000 years ago when our ancestors covered their bodies with animal fur and skin as well as barks and leaves of trees. The main purpose was simply to protect the fragile human body against the rain, the sun, wind, and the cold.
These primitive clothes were either tied up or wrapped around the bodies as people went foraging for food.
Needles and threads
Some 19,000 years ago, evidence of needles made of bones and ivory were found. Around 6,000 years ago, woven textiles (linen) were found in Egypt as well as evidence of silk culture in China 5,000 years ago.
This marked the early beginning of dress-making.
Silk road
This was the series of ancient trade routes between China and countries in Asia Minor. The trading between them played a significant role in the development of civilization in China, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, including Rome.
Classic clothes
In Greece, clothes were simple lengths of wool or linen secured at the shoulders with sashes used as belts. Peplos was a loose ankle-length robe worn by women while chlamys was knee-length robes worn by the men. Both were covered with a loose cloak called himation.
The toga in Rome was an unsewn length of cloth draped on the body over a simple tunic.
This tunic is held together at the shoulders and at the sides.
Medieval Europe
By this time, there had been improvements on the quality of clothes. The Byzantines dressed themselves with richly patterned, embroidered cloths draped over a tunica, the replacement of the toga.
Early medieval Europeans either took to the short tunics with leggings of the invading population (Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Visigoths) or to the longer Roman tunics.
Cotton and silk as well as dyed linen were popular alongside the old wool.
Later Middle Ages
Cultural historians agree that the 14th century signaled the beginnings of European fashion. People now used lacings and buttons. Expensive silk and woven brocades were imported from Italy.
It was also the time for the beginning of tailoring. Straight and draped garments were now replaced by curved seams that followed the contours of the human body.
The Renaissance
More people wore complex clothes following the fashion lead of the elites. Variations in the form and design of clothes adapted in various countries were now showing their differences.
Modern Europe
The early part of the 16th century had the influence of the formal Spanish dress. The century also saw the rise of the ruff (ruffles) and the popularity of needle lace.
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution mechanized the manufacturing processes using steam power. The sewing machine was invented in the 19th century, while the synthetic fiber, rayon, was discovered in the 20th. They were all part of the long Industrial Revolution.
In this era, textiles were not only manufactured in factories, they were exported to unlikely places. The transportation system was revolutionized and had progressed immensely. Goods became cheaper.
Fashion and the future
After World War II, there was no stopping the dress-makers all over the fashion capitals of the world (Paris, Rome, New York, and London) from flourishing in their industry.
Fashion trends become media events and followers of fashion lapped them up. Models became superstars. Whatever Kate, Naomi, Cindy, and Linda wore, everybody wanted to wear them, too.
Nowadays, the manufacture of the other pieces of the modern apparel is taken over by the dress-makers. Shoes and bags, kerchiefs and purses, perfume and jewelry and other beauty-related products are now merchandised aggressively.
