Fashion Yesterday and Today

We live in a world surrounded by numerous things related to technology, the latest gadgets, or the latest fashion. Fashion today has made its significance felt in almost all sectors of life. The technique can be divided into two groups: One group follows fashion trends and adopts them, and the other group creates fashion and style statements for the others to follow. It can also be extended to another set of people who rarely have anything to do with fashion trends but follow their style to create their unique personality, adding one more style to the fashion world.

Fashion Yesterday

Fashion is not just about cosmetics and makeup or the hair-do. It is a sense of creating the charisma of looking good in anything you wear, and this magic is created with the right kind of accessories going along with the footwear and the clothes, making up a pleasant picture to view. People who cannot afford to buy expensive garments often look their best in their casual wear by presenting themselves in that manner of sophistication and creating an aura around them with the confidence of looking good.

There are myriad forms of fashion, and trends keep changing with the seasons. From the early 60s and 70s to the present millennium, there has been an immense change in the forms, looks, and thoughts about fashion trends.

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In India, much of fashion has been influenced by the Hindi Film Industry, popularly called Bollywood. The trends that have changed through time can be fairly seen in the movies made during the ’60s and ’70s and how they have evolved in various forms, bringing a style that the general public can follow. People have aped the west from very early times, which was no exception. The clothes made in the ’60s and ’70s were very much influenced by Western countries and given a traditional touch. The Bell Bottoms, scarves, and hairstyles were prevalent in those days as style icons. Later, in the 80s and 90s, the Fashion world sizzled like never before. There was a craving by the people to look different, stylish, and modern, and this could be seen in their outlook towards their outfits, new styles of hair, makeup, accessories like purses, earrings, necklaces, matching footwear, etc.

People were conscious about every new thing that was marketed, and they copied the styles from their Bollywood idols. Bollywood started as a platform for theatre artists and became a commercial entry for the youth and aspirants for a career in the film and fashion industry. This gave the youth of today an emphasis on the fashion world. Art and music have become inseparable things of the past, so they are deeply rooted in the present with modern features and facilities.

Today, fashion, art, music, designers, dance, etc., all have a place in the industry, and people can choose to take up anything related to this industry as their profession. Art and music have long been implemented in the school’s co-curricular activities, and the higher colleges are now offering various courses for better professionalism in these areas. There are also different acting schools, and the small screen, i.e., the television, has opened up avenues for bringing out the talent in young minds through numerous platforms of music and dance. This is the innovation of the millennium in creating jobs and work in the fashion industry. The trends we see are brought about by the fashion houses with regular seasons to showcase their invention, many popularized in FTV, Zee Trendz, and TLC channels. We can also get a glimpse of the stylish outfits that the models present through these shows. Today, Modelling is also one of the platforms for entry into the fashion world.

In the yesteryears, fashion was constrained only to the actors or those bold enough to carry themselves in public that they were considered fashionable. Others just wooed them behind closed doors. Slowly, when times began changing, we could see the women showing off their styles in the traditional saree with an embroidered blouse and a different neck style. Then, we saw the saree draped in various styles, such as Bengali or Gujarati. The women were liberating their choice of freedom, and it could be seen in their appearances with high-heeled slippers, the handbags they carried, or the way they held their saree or the hair and the market they wore. All these changes brought about the invention of churidars and then the salwar kameez, and finally, the fashion of dresses was out in the open. Women accepted that there was nothing wrong with looking good, and the men, of course, loved to see the attractive side of women and fantasized about the idea over their spouses.

The fashionistas very well took this change in the public’s attitude, and a huge market was created to meet the demands of the public. Today, fashion creates a new look with a distinct style for a particular person and keeps oneself updated with the latest trends seen in the market. This industry is popular for its glamor and the mixture of Indian tradition and culture put into the designer wear that the models showcase.

People love experimenting with different textures of materials used in outfits, so the designers give them a wide collection of dresses using all kinds of clothes. The traditional Khadi and silk combination creates waves in men’s and women’s wear. Then we have the embroidery work in zardozi, Swarovski studded tops and lehengas, and multi-stoned work in bridal collection sarees. Then, iconoclastic designs and styles used the most sought-after materials like cotton, polyester, chiffon, and crush materials.

There is always hope for the designers that the youth want a change in fashion and are glad to keep up the trend with a fusion of Indian and Western mix of fashionable wear. Also, today’s youth are very practical in styling for a particular occasion. Be it a party ma, marriage, or a casual look, they want the best and believe in looking the best. To achieve this, people go one step ahead in ensuring they have everything in their wardrobe for any occasion.

Apart from the popular, stylish clothes and fashion, people want to try something that goes along with their outlook. So the market started towards the very own friend of a woman- The Hand Bag or the Purse. The Fresh look of a purse with magnificent colors and its stylish features like the chain handle or the jazzy zips with numerous pockets in different shapes attracted the public like never before. With the increasing demand for the prices of branded purses, it became a must for every woman to complete her shopping. So, did the other accessories line up by creating a place for themselves in the market? Just a few to quote: the earrings and necklaces, the various Belts, hand bracelets and brooch, the stiletto, its wonderful embroidered party wear slippers, its brotherly high rugged shoes giving a perfect cowboy look, etc.

Fashion has always been a fascinating topic for all women, and now the trend has even challenged men to compete for a more appealing look for a remarkable future in the world of Fashion to make it a full-fledged acceptable thing for all genres of people.

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Alcohol scholar. Bacon fan. Internetaholic. Beer geek. Thinker. Coffee advocate. Reader. Have a strong interest in consulting about teddy bears in Nigeria. Spent 2001-2004 promoting glue in Pensacola, FL. My current pet project is testing the market for salsa in Las Vegas, NV. In 2008 I was getting to know birdhouses worldwide. Spent 2002-2008 buying and selling easy-bake-ovens in Bethesda, MD. Spent 2002-2009 marketing country music in the financial sector.