## Step 2 - Reading

#### The history of fashion

You are going to read a text about the history of fashion.

- Read the text and do exercise 1.
- Read the text again and do exercise 2.

#### Exercise 1

Download the worksheet and fill in the grid (on your own) and discuss the answers in your group.

Worksheet: 16.2 Talking about fashion - Reading
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History of fashion [1]________________ Early western travellers, whether to Persia, Turkey, or China frequently remark on the absence of changes in fashion there. On the other hand, people of these cultures believe that there is an instability and lack of order in western culture. Japanese always boast that clothing in their culture has not changed over a thousand years. Of course there is considerable evidence for rapidly changing fashions in all parts of the world. Changes in costume often take place at times of economic or social change, but then a long period without major changes follows. [2]________________ The beginning of fashion in Europe can be dated to the middle of 14th century. The most dramatic change was a sudden shortening and tightening of the male over garment, sometimes with stuffing on the chest to look bigger. The pace of change accelerated in the following century, and women and men's fashion became complex and changing. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion in dating images with increasing confidence and precision. [3]________________ Although tailors and dressmakers were no doubt responsible for many innovations before, the textile industry certainly has been very influential. The four major fashion capitals are known to be Milan, New York City, Paris, and London. Fashion weeks are held in these cities where designers exhibit their new collections, and which are all headquarters to the greatest fashion companies in the world. [4]________________ Modern westerners have a wide choice available in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect that person's personality or likes. When people who have cultural status start to wear new or different clothes, a fashion trend may start. People who like them may start to wear clothes of a similar style. [5]________________ Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation and geography as well as over time. If, for example, an older person dresses according to the fashion of young people, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both young and older people. The terms "fashionista" and "fashion victim” refer to someone who slavishly follows current fashions. [6]________________ The fashion industry is a product of the modern age. Prior to the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom-made. It was hand-made for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, today it is an international industry, with clothing often designed in one country, produced in another, and sold worldwide. [7]________________ At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs of various fashion designs and became more influential on people than in the past. These magazines had many effects on public clothing taste. “Vogue" founded in the US in 1892 has been one of the most successful of these magazines. [8]________________ Though colors and patterns of textiles changed from year to year, the cut of a gentleman’s coat or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut changed more slowly. Men's fashions largely derived from military models. Women's fashions mainly derived from geographical and regional customs.