Fashion

From The Fashion Dictionary

Fashion is a term that best describes clothing, style, and custom during any given time in history. It is used mainly to define the appearance of clothing and style on any person, place or time, but the term can be widely used on many other similar subject areas. In history, fashion does not have an exact beginning, or a known one for that matter. It does back as far as Roman times and beyond, so an actual date has not been established. What is important to remember about fashion is that it changes faster than its actual culture and it is always thriving.

When talking about fashion, it is imperative to know that the terms "fashionable" and "unfashionable" are used quite often when describing the current state of style at a given time. For example, someone that is considered "fashionable" would wear all the latest designs in popular culture, while someone "unfashionable" would be considered either "outdated" or not in sync with the latest styles. The term fashion is mostly used in a positive way to convey beauty, glamor and style. Terms associated with fashion in a negative way such as "fashion disaster" would be used to characterize a bad sense of style and fashion. Things such as fads and trends are also words used to describe fashion in both a negative and positive way.

Fashion in the World

Throughout centuries, fashion has spread pretty much all over the world, but there are a handful of dominant fashion cities that pave the way for the latest trends in fashion. These cities are:

• Paris
• New York
• Milan
• London
• Tokyo
• Barcelona
• Sydney
• Hong Kong
• Vienna
• New Delhi
• Moscow
• Madrid
• Montreal
• Amsterdam
• San Juan
• Los Angeles
• Dubai
• Stockholm
• Rome
• Miami

There are also many other cities that put themselves on the fashion map by holding annual fashion shows.

Clothing in Fashion

The frequent changing of the style of clothing worn, is now almost worldwide in urban populations and is generally seen by historians to be a Western one. As early as Ancient Rome, people have been changing their styles according to their economic or social status and the same goes for today.

In the 8th century, a famous musician by the name of Cordoba, Spain, Ziryab and a Baghdad native, is said to have introduced clothing styles and fashion that were based on seasonal and daily timings.

In Europe, the changing of clothing and style began in the middle of the 14th century which eventually kick started the Western fashion that we know of today.

Changes in Fashion

Fashion changes more rapidly than a culture itself. This allows people to diversify their styles and also encourages the fashion economy. The fast change in fashion also has a negative effect on culture since it results in waste and encourages people to buy unnecessary things.