Informative Essay: Clothing After The Civil War
Informative Essay: Clothing
Man as a species evolved and grew over the course of history; and as society further developed, it became evident that evolution needed a cover. While babies are born in all their glory, clothing becomes an inevitable necessity. The development of clothing was inevitable in order to fit societal standards. Much like evolution of man, however, clothes were bound to change. In order to understand the development of clothing in relation to style, it is imperative to recognize the correlation. The relationship between clothing styles and development can be seen with with the following innovations throughout history: tailoring in the Renaissance, ready made clothes following the Civil War, and integration of 20th …show more content…
As mentioned earlier, clothes were typically handmade by tailors, as well as individuals or home family members. This changed after the Civil War, when most soldier uniforms “were custom-made in workers’ homes under government contract” (Source 1). Manufacturers started to build factories, which meant uniforms no longer had to be custom-made. As stated by Source 1, the factories “were able to make uniforms for a fraction of the cost of home sewers.” Because of this, the output of uniforms, and clothing in general, were exceptionally met the military’s and public’s needs. Furthermore, the measurements of the soldiers began to show a pattern. This pattern showed similar ratios and body structures among most men. Source 1 explains it best by illustrating how these measurements created “the first commercial sizing scales for men” and how these “ratios persist in names of fits and cuts in men’s suits, shirts and denim jeans.” In contrast, all women had many different body factors to account for when making clothing. To further add to the problem, manufacturers each had their “own unique...sizing system” which were “based on inaccurate...or no body data at all.” This problem was eventually fixed by a standardized sizing system for all companies, but not before many sent back clothes and refunds. As time progressed, even though ready-made clothes lacked variety in tailor-made clothes, ready-made clothes were much cheaper and led to the creation of today’s retail market; however, it does not end
Man as a species evolved and grew over the course of history; and as society further developed, it became evident that evolution needed a cover. While babies are born in all their glory, clothing becomes an inevitable necessity. The development of clothing was inevitable in order to fit societal standards. Much like evolution of man, however, clothes were bound to change. In order to understand the development of clothing in relation to style, it is imperative to recognize the correlation. The relationship between clothing styles and development can be seen with with the following innovations throughout history: tailoring in the Renaissance, ready made clothes following the Civil War, and integration of 20th …show more content…
As mentioned earlier, clothes were typically handmade by tailors, as well as individuals or home family members. This changed after the Civil War, when most soldier uniforms “were custom-made in workers’ homes under government contract” (Source 1). Manufacturers started to build factories, which meant uniforms no longer had to be custom-made. As stated by Source 1, the factories “were able to make uniforms for a fraction of the cost of home sewers.” Because of this, the output of uniforms, and clothing in general, were exceptionally met the military’s and public’s needs. Furthermore, the measurements of the soldiers began to show a pattern. This pattern showed similar ratios and body structures among most men. Source 1 explains it best by illustrating how these measurements created “the first commercial sizing scales for men” and how these “ratios persist in names of fits and cuts in men’s suits, shirts and denim jeans.” In contrast, all women had many different body factors to account for when making clothing. To further add to the problem, manufacturers each had their “own unique...sizing system” which were “based on inaccurate...or no body data at all.” This problem was eventually fixed by a standardized sizing system for all companies, but not before many sent back clothes and refunds. As time progressed, even though ready-made clothes lacked variety in tailor-made clothes, ready-made clothes were much cheaper and led to the creation of today’s retail market; however, it does not end