Style over substance: Paris as the capital of fashion from the Renaissance to the present - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The evolution of the world has been accompanied by various changes. These changes have not only been felt in the world of science and technology, but also fashion. The development fashion in the French society is well documented. A sharp transition is discernable starting with the renaissance period until the current era. Undoubtedly, this proves that fashion trend is particularly dynamic, more so because of the trending globalization.
During the renaissance period, Aston (34) observes that French men wore four pieces of clothing that were considered essential. The first piece of clothing was the shirt or Camicia. This was won as an undergarment. The men belonging to the upper social class would wear camicia made of soft linens or silk while those in the lower class wore camicia made up of heavy and coarse linen. A gusset would be inserted under the camicia to make the garment stronger and comfortable. In the initial stages, the camicia did not have any embroidery on them. The embroidery only came in the later fashion developments. The camicia would be worn with cuffs and the embroidery consisted of the black and white strips. More often than not, the camicia would not be worn alone and if it did, it meant one was at work. The camicia would be covered with the doublet. The doublet was a close fitting jacket. Some of the doublets had sleeves while other lacked the sleeves. Doublets with long sizes would be complemented by small skirts.
Another common piece of clothing was the hose. The hose would be won as an attachment to the doublet, which was the seamed with the crotch. In the initial stages, the hose was only worn by the laborers....
Yet the sleeves were worn for the purpose of decoration. Some jackets were also designed with non-functional hanging sleeves. In some occasions, such as during the cold weather conditions, it was common for people to wear fur jackets over the jacket, in the same way that robes were worn during ceremonies. Considering the tight and stiff fashion that was worn by the men during the early phases of the renaissance periods, their movement was particularly mechanical and restrictive. In the later stage phases of renaissance, in the mid 16th century, various adjustments were made, including the removal of the padding from the jackets to make the movement relatively natural. The renaissance fashion did also not exclude the footwear and this was particularly crucial for men. In the early phases of the renaissance period, men would wear shoes that were long and sharply pointed. Even so, these would be worn for the indoor use alone. Leather clogs, made with wooden soles, would be worn in the outdoor weather conditions. As the fashion progressed, changes were made on the shoes, making them round. Most of them were made in calf length size and would be lanced on the sides. In the subsequent century, the shoes were made broader and billed with ribbons that would be tied across the foot top. Additionally, in the later periods of fashion development, the trend also changed to include slipper-like shoes. The shoe makers also went ahead to make shoe with pricking and slashing appearance to improve it’s fitting (Bucknell 34). The last piece of fashion was the hair style and the related accessories. In the early phases of renaissance, young men ...Download file to see next pagesRead More