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It is interesting to see that these days, everyone across the globe dresses essentially the same way. Why would that be, especially since other parts of culture

It is interesting to see that these days, everyone across the globe dresses essentially the same way. Why would that be, especially since other parts of cultures (like food) are still distinct in distinct places?

ddeokbokki 8y ago
Some nobody English man (Beau Brummell) one day declared that dressing in richly colored fabrics with intricate designs was not appropriate for men and was too akin to women fashion, thus starting the dandy-ism movement. Eventually it caught on and through trade and colonization the movement started taking form worldwide and bleak standard menswear started replacing traditional clothing.
cat199 8y ago
all I know is that I joined the enlightenment and all I got was this lousy necktie
GrumpyNl 8y ago
Kind of evolution in clothing? Do we dress better and more comfortable now?
blacksqr 8y ago
Until the 20th century, producing color fast fabrics was either impossible or expensive. Brightly-colored clothing was difficult to maintain, and if you had a lot of it, you basically needed to be rich enough to afford a staff to take care of it. As the middle class expanded, people wanted practical dress clothes, and that generally meant black or white for fastness and launderability. Puritans/dissenting protestants played a large role in manufacturing and finance in the US and Britain, and they preferred dark colors to reflect their seriousness and sobriety. As these countries came to dominate world trade, their dress preferences spread. In the 19th century morning coats and frock coats predominated in the middle/upper class. After WWI these came to be despised emblems of the older generation that started the war. The future Edward VIII of the UK, when he was Prince of Wales, popularized men's sporting wear -- his tastes were influential because they represented youth, modernity and vitality in contrast to the pre-WWI generation. He introduced the style of sport coat, tie and collar that still predominate today. His style, plus the darker colors already preferred by professionals, remain more or less the global uniform for men because of the influence of British/American professionals. "Producing fast black in the Middle Ages was a complicated process involving multiple dyeings with woad or indigo followed by mordanting, but at the dawn of Early Modern period, a new and superior method of dyeing black dye reached Europe via Spanish conquests in the New World. The new method used logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum), a dyewood native to Mexico and Central America. Although logwood was poorly received at first, producing a blue inferior to that of woad and indigo, it was discovered to produce a fast black in combination with a ferrous sulfate (copperas) mordant. Despite changing fashions in color, logwood was the most widely used dye by the 19th century, providing the sober blacks of formal and mourning clothes."[0] [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_dye#The_rise_of_formal_black https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_dye#The_rise_of_formal...
- chihuahua 8y ago
  I find it fascinating that it's called a "sport coat" because people used to wear it with a tie for sporting activities (definitely golf, maybe hunting, etc). These days it looks really formal, but back then it was (apparently) the equivalent of today's running shorts and yoga pants.
  - blacksqr 8y ago
    Exactly so, both men's suits and tuxedos originated as leisure wear.
  - hiharryhere 8y ago
    And now people go out and about in their yoga pants and activewear, even if they aren't doing anything remotely sporting. Funny how history repeats.
drak0n1c 8y ago
Even in the cases where people dress differently than the global norm (ie the Middle East and parts of Africa), clothing is increasingly homogenized throughout the region and each constituent area's unique style has disappeared. I'm all in favor of trying on other clothing styles. Don't be shy about wearing a Chinese dress to prom. People complain about cultural appropriation, but really, the only way to ensure that modern western clothes don't become the sole form of acceptable formal and casual wear is to let more people wear and provide demand for alternative styles.

ddeokbokki 8y ago

Some nobody English man (Beau Brummell) one day declared that dressing in richly colored fabrics with intricate designs was not appropriate for men and was too akin to women fashion, thus starting the dandy-ism movement. Eventually it caught on and through trade and colonization the movement started taking form worldwide and bleak standard menswear started replacing traditional clothing.

cat199 8y ago

all I know is that I joined the enlightenment and all I got was this lousy necktie

GrumpyNl 8y ago

Kind of evolution in clothing? Do we dress better and more comfortable now?

blacksqr 8y ago

Until the 20th century, producing color fast fabrics was either impossible or expensive. Brightly-colored clothing was difficult to maintain, and if you had a lot of it, you basically needed to be rich enough to afford a staff to take care of it. As the middle class expanded, people wanted practical dress clothes, and that generally meant black or white for fastness and launderability. Puritans/dissenting protestants played a large role in manufacturing and finance in the US and Britain, and they preferred dark colors to reflect their seriousness and sobriety. As these countries came to dominate world trade, their dress preferences spread. In the 19th century morning coats and frock coats predominated in the middle/upper class. After WWI these came to be despised emblems of the older generation that started the war. The future Edward VIII of the UK, when he was Prince of Wales, popularized men's sporting wear -- his tastes were influential because they represented youth, modernity and vitality in contrast to the pre-WWI generation. He introduced the style of sport coat, tie and collar that still predominate today. His style, plus the darker colors already preferred by professionals, remain more or less the global uniform for men because of the influence of British/American professionals. "Producing fast black in the Middle Ages was a complicated process involving multiple dyeings with woad or indigo followed by mordanting, but at the dawn of Early Modern period, a new and superior method of dyeing black dye reached Europe via Spanish conquests in the New World. The new method used logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum), a dyewood native to Mexico and Central America. Although logwood was poorly received at first, producing a blue inferior to that of woad and indigo, it was discovered to produce a fast black in combination with a ferrous sulfate (copperas) mordant. Despite changing fashions in color, logwood was the most widely used dye by the 19th century, providing the sober blacks of formal and mourning clothes."[0] [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_dye#The_rise_of_formal_black https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_dye#The_rise_of_formal...

chihuahua 8y ago
I find it fascinating that it's called a "sport coat" because people used to wear it with a tie for sporting activities (definitely golf, maybe hunting, etc). These days it looks really formal, but back then it was (apparently) the equivalent of today's running shorts and yoga pants.
- blacksqr 8y ago
  Exactly so, both men's suits and tuxedos originated as leisure wear.
- hiharryhere 8y ago
  And now people go out and about in their yoga pants and activewear, even if they aren't doing anything remotely sporting. Funny how history repeats.

drak0n1c 8y ago

Even in the cases where people dress differently than the global norm (ie the Middle East and parts of Africa), clothing is increasingly homogenized throughout the region and each constituent area's unique style has disappeared. I'm all in favor of trying on other clothing styles. Don't be shy about wearing a Chinese dress to prom. People complain about cultural appropriation, but really, the only way to ensure that modern western clothes don't become the sole form of acceptable formal and casual wear is to let more people wear and provide demand for alternative styles.