Why Do Fashions Change Over Time? (2024)

Do you pick out the clothes you wear to school each day? When you’re deciding what to wear, what do you think about? What things are important to you?

If you look in your closet, you realize that you have a certain number of clothes to choose from. But how did those clothes get there? Did you help pick them out? Why did you or your family members choose the clothes you have?

Who decided that blue jeans and T-shirts are “cool” for kids to wear today? Who designs the clothes you see for sale in stores? All of these questions revolve around the world of fashion.

Fashion refers to the styles of dress that are currently popular. Fashion goes beyond just clothes, though. It can extend to shoes, jewelry, and even how you style your hair.

For some people, fashion is a high priority. They like to wear only the latest fashions and styles. For others, though, keeping up with the trends isn’t that important.

And keeping up is certainly something you have to do if fashion is important to you. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is this: It always changes!

Don’t believe us? Spend some time on the Internet looking at fashion over the ages. In the 1960s and 1970s, hippies made bell-bottomed blue jeans popular. In the 1980s, Michael Jackson made parachute pants all the rage. Now try to find these items in today’s clothing stores. It may be pretty difficult!

Why do fashions change? The answer is probably as simple as the fact that people change. Over time, the new replaces the old. People are influenced by popular culture, including athletes, musicians, movie stars, social media, and royalty. They also pay attention to what people wear in popular films, television shows, online videos, books, and music. We also are influenced by the fashion industry’s advertising.

The stars of popular culture don’t remain stars by doing the same things over and over again. Instead, they’re always searching for a new angle to maintain their popularity. Often these new angles come in the form of new clothing or hairstyles.

When people see these new styles, they often want to imitate their favorite stars. To do so, they seek out the latest fashions—clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc.—to make themselves look like the people they want to be like. In this way, fashions constantly change over time.

This has been happening for hundreds of years! Ever since clothes were invented, they’ve been used as forms of expression. As far back as the 1700s, people in France were known to spend hours looking through fashion magazines to learn about the latest styles. This trend quickly spread across Europe.

For years, clothes have been used to separate people into groups. Even today, expensive brand-name clothing is sometimes used by people to distinguish themselves from others. Unfortunately, this can often have the effect of ostracizing certain groups.

Don’t forget that it’s always okay to develop your own sense of style. You can be unique and separate from others in the fashion world. Stay true to yourself and let your personality—not your clothes—speak for who you are!