Step 4: Understanding Fashion

Some say that in ancient times, comfort was the priority and fashion didn’t count. They might be right … but I think that fashion did count. When the first salvage lady added a colorful stone on her beautiful goat skin dress to show her privileged status in the tribe, the fashion concept came to life. And for a long time fashion was available only for the upper class.

The first great revolution in fashion was when people replaced skin clothes with fabrics. The fabric had the width measuring about the height of the wearer and was wrapped around the body and pinned on both shoulders. The excess material was allowed to fall freely, giving the impression of a short cape as seen on Roman’s statues.

Another revolution was when draped clothes were replaced with the sewed ones. I think that the transition was made by the Byzantine costume. The fabrics started to have more elaborate patterns. The embroidery knew an ascension. Gold and silver threads, as well as pearls, were used to embellish the clothes. The style was adapted to the portrayal of the new Christian saints and symbols. Byzantine style continued in icon painting until today.

The real beginning of the fashion is considered to be the moment when the common costume for both, men and women is disappearing and clothes are starting to develop as two polarities. It remains a mystery where this true revolution happened for the first time. Simultaneously, France, Italy, Spain and England dispute their supremacy. Probably it was Italy, because renaissance period began in Florence. Of course, the maternal curves were not popular so women had to wear a type of bodice to flat their chest. Another characteristic of renaissance fashion is the hoop skirt which is a skirt worn over a framework of rings to make it spread out. In England the fashion was characterized by richness and confidence and… Elizabeth’s collars and her heart-shape hairstyle. Spanish clothes were almost always black and white, giving them a cavalier look. In France the neckline started to go down despite the protests of the puritans. Soon, the hoop was replaced with the Spanish farthingale characterized by the wide hips. More and more fabric was used for the gowns that sometimes weigh up to 15-20 kilo-s.

And this was only the beginning of the Golden Age of fashion. Except this time, France became the center of the fashion world. It was the age of balls and mistresses. The corsets showed all the parts of the female torso in the best light. The gowns were decorated with ruffles, ribbons and flowers. The fabrics were the best ever. Pompadour wigs were very popular and also very high as a symbol of a higher status. Fantasy had no limits. Of course, the fashion was an attribute of the aristocracy.

During the reign of Queen Marie Antoinette, who was famous for her extravagance, the French Revolution burst. The royal family was guillotined. Corsets, hoops, wings and all the things connected to the old aristocracy were no longer popular. The new dress was very simple, with the waistline just underneath the bust and a straight long skirt, like Josephine’s dresses.

Napoleon’s death is associated in fashion with the return of the corset and the new entry of the crinoline. The hourglass silhouette became an imperative for beauty. It was the period of the most unhealthy corsets ever made. Corset designers continued to tighten the waist. The S-shape spine became more accentuated. Crinolines started to inconvenience especially when the ladies were fainting. This is why they were replaced with bustles to fill out the upper back of the skirt, as fullness begins to move to that direction in order to accentuate the S-shape considered extremely fashionable. Ladies continued to faint, only this time they were no longer ridiculous.

The 20th century began with a revolt of women against corsets and then against skirts. Fashion started to change faster than it did in its entire history and became accessible to everybody. There are many things to say about fashion, because fashion always have been an accurate history book. So today’s fashion is reflecting what is happening in the world: globalization – we find influences in fashion from traditional costumes of countries we didn’t even know they exist, ecology - we see on catwalk many Mother-Earth, goddess dresses, because we started to be aware of our planet, post-apocalypse - I will not comment on that… and so on… Like I said there are too many things to say about fashion and I am not the right person to say it. I’m just trying to make a point and the point is that no matter who you are or what you like, you can find YOUR place in this fashion world, because today’s fashion allows you to do that. This is what you need to understand!

Step 3: Understanding your body shape (part 3)

There are few things I would like to add about body proportions.

The ideal human body is considered to be 8 heads tall:

1 - one head length from the top of the head to the chin – obviously ;
2 - one head length from the chin to the bust line – the lower point of your garment’s neckline should be at this point for the most flattering look; if you wear o higher or lower neckline just add a necklace or a scarf to give a sense of balance (the bust line is easily corrected if necessary with a good bra);
3 - one head length from the bust line to the waist line – if your waist line is higher or lower go for some tailoring tricks to give the illusion of an ideal waist line;
4 - one head length from the waist line to the hip line – tailoring tricks can do wonders with this too, if needed;
5 - one head length from the hip line to somewhere between the mid-tights and knees – this is the level for the most flattering mini-skirt length;
6 - one head length from this point to past the knees – this is the level for the most flattering mid-skirt length;
7 – one head length from this point to the middle of the calves – a skirt that ends at this level will almost always make your legs look slimmer, especially if you have beautiful ankles;
8 – one head length from here to the feet – if this length is not equal with a head length, the difference will be the ideal heel length for your shoes.

Don’t take these things too seriously! Just have fun!… You don’t want to be ideal, you want to be beautiful and it is not always the same thing…

Step 3: Understanding your body shape (part 2)

There are 5 general variations for each basic body shape depending on height and weight:

Normal figure
This is how average women look like. They are about 165±5 cm height and they are neither skinny nor over weight. Most of them have subtle pear shape bodies. If you have an average figure, you have more opportunities if you know how to play with styles in your advantage. An average figure is like a blank screen and you can project onto it whatever you want.

Petite figure
This is typically for women that are less than 160 cm height. And I’m talking here about a well proportioned adult body. If you have a petite figure, don’t try too hard to look taller. It will look like you don’t love yourself and that is always sad. Try instead to enhance your petite figure. First of all wear clothes and accessories that are well proportioned to your figure. And second, a petite figure is a delicate figure, so my suggestion is to opt for soft fabrics, pastel colors, discreet prints and small, delicate jewelry.

Tall figure
This is typically for women that are more than 170 cm height. Tall women seem to come from a different world – the “catwalk world” maybe . If you are a tall women, remember that people will notice you first in a crowded place. This might feel stressful if you are shy, so work on your confidence. What is great about being a tall woman, especially if you are a confident one too, is that you can wear those artistic couture dresses and they will look amazing on your body.

Heavy figure
This is a sensitive subject. I don’t really know how to describe a heavy figure, because it is not about wearing a certain size. Probably a heavy figure is typically for women that are having some problems in finding fashionable clothing. It is a marginalized body figure. There are two mistakes that these women make: one is to wear clothes that don’t fit (too large or too small) and two is to opt for styles that don’t flatter their figures. First thing you need to do, if you have a heavy figure, is to find a good tailor that will create clothes for your body. My recommendation is to opt for solid fabrics, simple lines, saturated colors and bold prints; and it is better to avoid things that appear very delicate. Also wear large accessories to be well proportioned with your figure. From my point of view, wearing dark colors and vertical stripes to appear slimmer it is actually a myth. What you need to master is the art of layering clothes.

Skinny figure
This is again a sensitive subject. Skinny is most of the time associated with illness and sometimes for good reasons, but there are still plenty of healthy skinny women in this world. And they eat healthy, they live healthy, they even seem to have a better immunity system. About these type of women I’m talking about and if you are one of them and you have the body of a fairy, all that I can say is enjoy your body, be happy with it, wear clothes that fit well and you will look fashion forward even if you wear vintage. Sometimes being skinny makes you appear taller.