Life in a modern community is far more controlled by fashion than many people realize; fashion is big business, invented by original designers and controlled and promoted by business magnates for profit. Moreover, it affects not only clothing, but almost every aspect of daily life from the kind of house we live in, to the kind of book we read. And what is this mysterious thing called 'fashion' ? The best definition is that it is the material expression of a new trend of thought -- the outward expression of a new idea, and new ideas are the life blood of business, if they 'catch on' !
When most people think of 'fashion', they think of clothing a women's clothes in particular, and it is true that the 'world of fashion' implies the latest 'model' from Paris, New York or London. Curiously enough, it was man in the old days who, like the male bird, dressed himself in 'fine feathers' -- not so much woman. In Britain, for instance, the 18th century 'gallant' in his velvet coat lace ruffs and powdered wig was splendid to behold. But since about 1820, fashion decreed that to look 'male' meant to look somber, and men's clothes have never recovered from the change, or indeed altered very much since then. Women, however, have more than made up for them. Today, event he most remote and primitive of them try to obtain Western clothing, shoes, etc ... while the wealthier ladies of more developed countries spend annually millions of pounds sterling or US dollars on the latest 'model'. These are first produced in the famous fashion houses of Paris, New York, London and Rome. "haute Couture' draws the rich to the annual shows in these salons for the purpose of buying exclusive clothes. The prominent designers produce them according through their own ideas, and in doing so create new fashion trends which may or may not be popular. Stage two is the commercialization of successful