Clothing In The Middle Ages

Over the years clothing has gone through many changes and adjustments, from the uncomfortable and unfitted clothes of the Middle Ages to the natural, flowing look of modern clothes. Clothing started off quite simple and basic but over time began to grow in importance and represent many things such as what kind of people wore it, what group they were affiliated with and how wealthy an individual was.
During the Middle Ages, a person would make their own attire to suit their lifestyle, usually this clothing would be roughly made and often uncomfortable but would still be sufficient for its purpose. Clothing would often be oversized and rarely fit. Such clothing required a belt to secure clothes properly on the body. The renaissance was a turning point in the evolution of clothing, bringing the importance of fit and style. People who were wealthy enough, had clothes made by tailors. Tailors were skilled in creating clothes and were capable of adding a pattern to give clothing a sense of uniqueness. Gemstones could be added to clothes to display wealth. During the renaissance,
clothing became much more complex and required more skill. Fitting remained an important issue and was solved with the addition of laces or corsets but clothes were quite complicated to get in and out of.
As the clothing evolution continues to run its course it is affected by political and social changes during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Signs of wealth began to play less of an important role in clothing and society, the fitting of clothes continued to be a growing issue which would no longer be ignored. Both men and womens clothing began to change and took a more fitted approach. This is around the time when the suit came into prominence for men. For women, dresses became more trimmed and removed the effect of volume for the look of flow. The wealthy continued to have their clothes made by tailors and required several trips. The lesser wealthy would not go to a tailor as “it was much less expensive to make clothing in the home” and if needed a tailor could be used for the more complicated parts of making clothes. Families helped each other make clothes as well, acting as tailors for one
another.
The civil war played a significant part in the change of clothing style. Clothing before the war was usually made by a tailor or family member, clothes that were already made were available but “its variety was limited”. During the civil war, many factories were made to quickly and efficiently make clothing for the soldiers, this is when standard sized clothing comes into play. People began to realize that there was a correlation between measurement in mens clothing, thus different fits were created. Some of these fits include a slim fit, classic fit, and relaxed fit. The fit of a person is determined by their body type and ratio. Womens clothing did have change until the 1920s, at which point womens ready made apparel became popular. Women had many new ways of buying clothes instead of making their own, such as chain stores and mail order catalogs. Ready made clothes became an important and popular part of society. Clothing fit was still a problem for women up until 1937 when the U.S. department of agriculture conducted a study in womens measurements. In modern times, clothes for both men and women fit well with the body and have a natural flow and can be bought in many different ways. The style of clothing continues to change before our very eyes and will continue to do so.