Fashion is an artistic expression, in a given context and time and at a given place, of apparel, footwear, clothing, accessories, cosmetics, hair styling, and physical body proportions. In its broader usage, the word means a style defined by the fashion industry at what is currently the prevailing fashion trend. A few common defining features of fashion include individuality, differentiation, exaggeration, innovation, and motivation. Fashion can be viewed as the representation of what is popular at a given point of time or current popular culture. It is represented through the visual arts in literature, theater, music, film, and other mediums.
Fashion has several meanings, however, in colloquial and everyday speech, it usually means the following: a trend in dress over time, a dress popularly worn by members of a group, the dress favored by an individual for its suitability, or a style in which an entire population seems to follow. In the etymology, fashion is derived from the French meaning “a dress designed for the purpose of wearing.” From this root, the word goes on to mean “the study of dress,” “the study of fashionable dressing,” or “a dress style characterized by custom, ornamentation, and uniformity.” From here, the fashion term moves on to denote “a style in which dress codes vary.”
The noun definition continues with the emphasis on personal preference and individuality: “dressing styles are individual preferences that may be influenced by cultural norms or by societal restrictions.” The spelling is also influenced by the etymology: “fashioned” is spelled as “fad” or “ford.” The trend is supported by two things: first, the prevalence of celebrity fashions and second, the prevalence of multi-platform advertising. Celebrities are often the face of a new fashion, or the face of a new trend. Advertisers use celebrities to sell their products, whereas fashion brands use celebrities to promote themselves through movies, music videos, or other media. When combined, these factors provide a unique opportunity to examine the impact of fashion on public opinion.
The fashion term was introduced during the First World War, to describe a way of dress that had been prevalent before the war that was now being associated with a specific social class. Dress that was deemed fashionable for one group was considered to be stylish for another. The term has since become a part of general dictionaries and the majority of encyclopedias. It describes the prevailing style or trend of a given time and place. It may be used to identify a trend that has been prominent in a society and/or culture over a period of time or over a wide area of time.
The French Revolution marked the birth of modern fashion. The ruling classes began wearing new fashions that were influenced by France’s fashion. These fashions included suits, cuffs and ribbons, tailcoats, cravat dresses, girdles, corseted corsets, girdles with petticoats, sleeves, cuffs with cuffs, hats, shoes and other articles of clothing. This was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in France.
Fashion is a verb which means to dress. There are various types of dresses which are considered fashionable depending on the culture and era in which they are worn. There are different types of people who typically wear particular types of dress. A particular type of dress is referred to as a “costume” when it is designed for a particular occasion. There are several terms that are commonly used in modern day terminology to refer to the fashion of a garment, including “chiffon,” “nubuck,” and “quinine.”