Men’s fashion past, present, and future
There has been much dialog in recent times regarding men’s fashion, copious questions pondered; questions like, ”is there is such a thing as men’s fashion, or should we even take men’s fashion seriously”? If you think about it, on the one hand, these are outrageous questions, simply because, men are a huge portion of our civilization, and fashion is a multi-billion dollar industry, and they must also dress. On the other hand, from the past, to present; fashion not ordinarily associated with men. The suit; introduced circa; early 1800. Has taken a more practical and military dimension, generally leaving little or no latitude, for men to use fashion in its implied manner as a form of self-expression. The properly dressed man wears a suit, which from time to time, you see slight and subtle changes in details are made, to the traditional silhouette. We can see, therefore, how it’s possible that we could be having these discussions, and such infamous questions asked, regarding men’s fashion.
Men’s fashion past
Indeed, we can say with complete certainty that men’s fashion sports a vibrant history. From the avant-garde, antiquity, to the roaring 20’s top hats, long evening jackets, creased trousers, and priced accessories. The epochal 40’s showed us zoot suits: suspenders: Nehru jackets and knickerbockers. We launched into the 50’s with blue jeans, leather jackets, and white cotton t-shirts. Then landing into the cultural revolution of the 60’s, embracing ethnic cultures, Native American, African, Indian and Asian influence took hold of the men’s fashion scene. Dashiki shirts, maxi skirts, colorful pastel, suits, trousers, and shirts. The 70’s blossomed giving us plaids, bell bottom pants, skin-tight open front shirts, with long, broad collars. The 80’s marked an extreme dichotomy, with the double-breasted three-piece power suit, on the one hand, and the punk rocker/biker trend, with leather and studs. The 90’s chilled out with the sweat suits, overalls and a general sense of casualness, establishing the start of the streetwear sensation, and it was also the birth of the jeans generation and branding.
Men’s fashion present
The 2000’s has brought us to the present in men’s fashion, so far we have seen a constant ebb and flow in men’s fashion trends, for the first time we are seeing more developments and liberal expression with men’s apparel. The early 2000’s streetwear, rapper wear, crept in all areas of men’s clothing. The baggy look, which at one moment took to an unfortunate extreme, where men wear pants that seem to have been falling off. Did we mention them oversized suits? Which was very unlike the snazzy zoot suits of the 40’s? The 2000’s biggie trend has, in my humble opinion, rendered the whole period in men’s fashion history, along with this bent is the workout shorts, and the list goes on. I must say however that amidst the doldrums, transitions are happening; designers are taking bold and exciting steps toward styling up men’s fashion. There will be questionable moments, but the changes will be good. In conclusion, the future of men’s fashion is looking quite favorable.
Men’s fashion future
In the future men’s fashion has a vibrant and authentic place in our society, you will no longer hear questions, like the ones presented earlier, men will have a range of available fashion choices. We will see a somewhat blurred line between gender vogue. The concepts of wearable technology will be implemented more, in men’s attire. Smart fabrics will contribute to fantastic wearable designs, more than any other time, the word of men’s fashion aims to explode in ways never imagined. All in tune to embrace the future new age.
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