THE FASHION PORTAL

The Fashion Portal

Victorian fashion
Victorian fashion
Swinging London, 1969

Fashion is a form of self-expression with a specific context, such as time, place and purpose. Example of these are clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion industry as that which is trending. Everything that is considered fashion is available and popularized by the fashion system (industry and media).

Given the rise in mass production of commodities and clothing at lower prices and global reach, reducing fashion's environmental impact and improving sustainability has become an urgent issue among politicians, brands, and consumers. (Full article...)

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A young woman wearing a white áo dài, a modernized national garment created around the 1930s. Photo taken in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021.

The áo dài (English: /ˈˈd, ˈɔːˈd, ˈˈz/; Vietnamese: [ʔaːw˧˦ zaːj˨˩] (North), [ʔaːw˦˥ jaːj˨˩] (South)) is a modernized Vietnamese national garment. Besides suits and dresses nowadays, men and women can also wear áo dài on formal occasions. It is a long, split tunic worn over silk trousers. Áo translates as shirt and dài means "long". The term can be used to describe any clothing attire that consists of a long tunic, such as nhật bình.

The predecessor of the áo dài was derived by the Nguyễn lords in Phú Xuân during 18th century. This outfit was derived from the áo ngũ thân, a five-piece dress commonly worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The áo dài was later made to be form-fitting which was influenced by the French, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other Hanoi artists redesigned the áo dài as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women. The áo dài dress for women was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s. On Tết and other occasions, Vietnamese men may wear an áo gấm (brocade robe), a version of the áo dài made of very thick fabric and with sewed symbols. (Full article...)
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Pierre Balmain adjusting a dress on model Ruth Ford in 1947 (photographed by Carl Van Vechten)
Haute couture (/ˌt kˈtjʊər/ (listen); French pronunciation: ​[ot kutyʁ]; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term "Haute couture" is derived from the French language, where "haute" means "high" or "elegant," and "couture" translates to "sewing" or "dressmaking." Bodice is a composition of vesture, traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term Haute Couture generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from the skirt and sleeves. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became the centre of a growing industry that focused on making outfits from high-quality, expensive, often unusual fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable of sewers—often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Couture translates literally from French as "dressmaking", sewing, or needlework and is also used as a common abbreviation of haute couture and can often refer to the same thing in spirit. Haute translates literally to "high". (Full article...)

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1814 double entendre cartoon
1814 double entendre cartoon

An 1814 engraved cartoon of a double entendre, a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué, inappropriate, or ironic. In this cartoon, the man says to the woman, "My sweet honey, I hope you are to be let with the Lodgins!" To this, she replies "No, sir, I am to be let alone." Here, the word "let" can mean either "to leave" or "to rent", so her response can be read to mean either that she wants the man to stop bothering her, or that she is available for a separate fee from the lodging.

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Chloë Stevens Sevigny (/ˈsɛvəni/, born November 18, 1974) is an American actress, model and fashion designer. Known for her work in independent films, often appearing in controversial or experimental features, Sevigny is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, an Independent Spirit Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also has a career in fashion design concurrent with her acting work. Over the years, her alternative fashion sense has earned her a reputation as a "style icon".

After graduating from high school, Sevigny found work as a model, and appeared in music videos for Sonic Youth and The Lemonheads, which helped acquire her "it girl" status. In 1995, she made her film debut in Kids, which earned her critical acclaim. A string of roles in small-scale features throughout the late 1990s, like 1996's Trees Lounge, further established her as a prominent performer in the independent film scene. Sevigny rose to prominence with her portrayal of Lana Tisdel in the drama film Boys Don't Cry (1999), for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various fashion-related articles on Wikipedia.

More Did you know (auto generated)

  • ... that fashion designer Ouigi Theodore's anvil-horn-shaped beard inspired his alter ego, "The Bearded Man"?
  • ... that the presentation of Inuit fashion items made from sealskin at contemporary art exhibition Floe Edge was called "an upraised Inuit middle finger" to anti–seal hunting activists?
  • ... that bookseller T. S. Shanbhag started Bangalore's landmark Premier Bookstore on the site of a burned-down clothing store in 1971?
  • ... that because of her striking beauty and sense of high fashion, soprano Annamary Dickey was dubbed the "Glamour Girl of the Met" in 1949?
  • ... that German fashion magazine Der Bazar had many spin offs, including Harper's Bazaar?
  • ... that billionaire Julia Koch once worked as a fashion designer's assistant and did fittings for Nancy Reagan?

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I have always believed that fashion was not made only to make women more beautiful, but also to reassure them, give them confidence. — Yves Saint Laurent (designer)

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Fashion designHistoryHaute coutureReady-to-wearCostume designJewelry designGermanFrenchItalianSouth AmericanPatternTailorTextileStylistBuyerDressmakerIllustrationForecastingModelFitting modelJournalism

History of Western fashionAncient worldEgyptianBiblicalGreekRomanByzantineEarly MedievalAnglo-Saxon12th century13th century14th century15th century1500–15501550–16001600–16501650–17001700–17501750–17751775–17951795–18201820sVictorian1830s1840s1850s1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930-19451945-19561960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s

MaterialsCottonFurLeatherLinenNylonPolyesterRayonSilkSpandexWool

DressesBall gownCocktail dressDébutante dressEvening gownGownJumper dressLittle black dressOpera glovesPetticoatSariShirtdressSundressTea gownWedding dressWrap dress

FootwearAthletic shoeBootCourt shoeDress shoeFlip-flopsSandalShoeSlipper

HosieryFully fashioned stockingsHold-upsLeg warmerLeggingsPantyhoseRHT stockingsSockStockingTightsToe Sock • Toe Tights

TopsBlouseCrop topDress shirtHalterneckHenley shirtHoodieJerseyGuernseyPoet shirtPolo shirtShirtSleeveless shirtSweaterSweater vestT-shirtTube topTurtleneckTwinset

Trousers or pantsBell-bottomsBermuda shortsBondage pantsCapri pantsCargo pantsCulottesCycling shortsDress pantsJeansJodhpursOverallParachute pantsPhat pantsShortsSweatpantsWindpantsYoga pants

SkirtsA-line skirtDenim skirtLeather skirtMen's skirtsMicroskirtMiniskirtPencil skirtPrairie skirtRah-rah skirtSkortWrap

Suits and uniformsAcademic dressBlack tieCleanroom suitClerical clothingCourt dressGymslipJumpsuitKasayaLab coatMorning dressPantsuitRed Sea rigRomper suitScrubsStrollerTuxedoWhite tie


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