The art of dressing up

Fashion/Style is a term that is very pleasing and overwhelming. Almost all of us want to look fashionable and sleek. What exactly is fashion? Technically it can be defined as a widespread practice or particularly in clothing, accessories, footwear, body, makeup or furniture”. It simply means anything that is in trend. People often mistake fashion with “costume”. Fashion is the day to day styles that we practice while costume gives the meaning of a fancy dress or a masquerade. Fashion could vary depending on the culture. What’s known as “fashion” in USA could be prohibited in a country like Pakistan whereas fashion in Pakistan could be seen as a nuisance in the US. Therefore it is highly subjective depending on the culture and social values in one’s country.
In the early years fashion was mostly for the privileged and the aristocracy. The start of the Western fashion can be traced down to the 14th century where the dressing of clothing and the hair arrangements became quite complex. Both men and women seemed to have the interest of being “overdressed”. By the 15th century, although it was rich who led fashion even the peasants seemed to have trends and styles in their clothing. By the 16th century national differences could be seen all over Europe where Italian and German men wore different varieties of hats and different types and styles of dresses. By the 17th century, the French took over the lead in fashion as the first fashion house was established in Paris in 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth. Another major influence on fashion was made by Marie Antoinette the wife of the famous French emperor Louise the XIV.
Unisex dressing on the other hand first came into use in the 1960s with stretch jersey tunics and leggings that were introduced by Pierre Cardin who is known to be an iconic figure in the world of fashion. After the 1970s the field of fashion was converted to be an industry and the four major capitals of fashion are still known to be Paris, Milan, New York and London. Today the fashion industry has flourished to great heights and there are a wide range of fashion chains and brands spread throughout the world such as Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Chanel, Yves Saint-Lauren, Gucci, and Boss etc.
Fashion however is very much subjective. No matter what is in trend if that does not suit one’s body type and figure it will not look best on the person. On the other hand, fashion is what makes you feel comfortable. No matter how expensive a clothing could be and how much it is in trend, if you aren’t really comfortable with what you where, it could hardly be described as fashion.

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