THE HISTORY OF MENS FASHION

Hot English Magazine 16 page 40 - www.hotenglishmagazine.com

Many people have the idea that British men are not the most fashionable in the world. But of course its not true. And just to prove it, heres a look at some of the major fashions they have invented over the last hundred years. Next month, well be looking at the history of womens fashion. Dont miss it! 1920s In the 1920s, gentlemen changed their clothes more than once during the day. They wore plain suits with a pale coloured shirt, a silk tie and a black bowler hat. In the evening men wore a full tailcoat with a white shirt, top hat and black patent leather shoes (known as top hat and tails, this style is still worn today at formal events such as weddings). For casual wear men wore knickerbockers*, also known as knickers (see glossary), which are trousers ending below the knee. There were many different types including plus-fours, plus-sixes and plus-eights (the plus referred to the number of inches of material below the knee). The knickers were worn with a sweater and two-tone shoes* in white and tan or white and black. Men always wore a tie, even when playing golf. Its hard to believe today, but at the time, knickers were considered radical and rebellious. Oxford University in England banned students from wearing knickers in the classroom. To hide their knickers, students started wearing baggy trousers over the top of them. These baggy trousers were known as Oxford Bags, and soon became fashionable in both the UK and the USA, where they stayed in fashion for 30 years. 1930s The Wall Street Crash in 1929 was the start of a major economic depression. As a result, people couldnt afford to spend much money on clothes, and the fashion for changing clothes various times a day ended. In the 1930s, the double-breasted* suit was popular. Gangsters wore these suits in bright colours with wide trousers, complete with a panama hat*. In the summer men wore blazers. Blazers are similar to the jackets worn by English university student sports teams during the late nineteenth century. The name is thought to come from the blazing (bright) colours the original jackets were made in. Blazers had metal buttons, and they were worn with cotton or linen trousers.

1940s Before the war, men wore their suits with a waistcoat. But during the Second World War rationing was introduced, so suits had only a jacket and trousers. Suits also became narrower in style as this used less material. There was one exception to this: the zoot suit. This fashion started in the early 1930s in the jazz clubs in Harlem in New York. The zoot suit consisted of an oversized jacket, wide lapels and baggy trousers with a high waistband that were narrow at the end. The zoot suit remained in fashion throughout the 1940s.

1950s In the 1950s, men continued to wear suits to work. The fashion was for narrow trousers with single-breasted jackets, often with a velvet collar, and a bowler hat.

The 1950s also saw one of the most extreme changes in mens fashion: the adoption of casual clothing for leisurewear. For the first time in history it was a common sight to see men wearing a shirt without a tie or jacket. Jeans and T-shirts also became popular. 1960s Mens suits became tighter fitting in the 1960s, with single-breasted jackets, trousers with very narrow legs and winkle picker shoes. During the hippy movement, bright colours became popular, and shirts had paisley or flower patterns. Velvet trousers were very fashionable. Men also started to wear their hair long and they had sideburns .

1970s Fashion at the start of the 1970s was inspired by disco and glam rock. Men wore bell-bottoms*, shirts with wide collars, and six-inch platform shoes*. The favourite fabrics were nylon, acrylic and polyester. The end of the decade saw the explosion of punk rock. Punks wore drainpipe jeans and ripped T-shirts, held together with safety pins. Hair was dyed black or red or green and worn in a mohican style. 1980s The 1980s was the decade of power dressing. For work, men wore expensive designer suits. In the evening, the trendy bars and restaurants were full of men with pastel coloured T-shirts under loose-fitting* jackets, with loafers* and no socks. This is known as the Don Johnson look from the popular television series Miami Vice. The popular street-fashion was the New Romantic look. 1990s The fashion in the 1990s was for casual loose-fitting clothes. Men wore khakis or combat trousers with baggy shirts or T-shirts and trainers. It was important to be seen in the right brand and style of trainers. Up until the 1990s, men generally wore shorts only on the beach. Now, shorts became standard summer wear in the city as well. In the 1990s, the underground fashions of the hip-hop music scene became mainstream. Men wore baggy trousers with sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up, and gold jewellery.

2000s So far this decade, no new fashion has emerged so well have to wait and see what happens.

GLOSSARY a bowler hat n a tailcoat n a top hat n patent leather n knickers n tan adj baggy adj a blazer n a waistcoat n

a round hat a coat with a long piece of material at the back a tall hat shiny leather clothing worn by women under trousers or a skirt a brown colour loose and wide a loose, sports jacket that is usually a different colour from the trousers a coat without arms that is worn under a jacket

rationing n a waistband n singlebreasted adj a winkle picker n paisley n velvet n a sideburn n a collar n drainpipe jeans n a ripped T-shirt n trendy adj trainers n brand n a sweatshirt n a hood n

a system which limited how much food and goods people could buy the area around your stomach a suit with two thin sections of material at the front which do not cross over shoes with narrow, pointed toes a fabric with curved, coloured patterns a soft, shiny fabric hair grown on the side of a mans face the part of a shirt that goes around your neck very tight jeans with narrow legs a T-shirt that is broken in some places fashionable sports shoes the name of a manufactured product a thick, sports jacket the part of a jacket that covers your head