FCS 490R Fashion History. Terms and Definitions. Chapter Nineteen

 Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19 Vocab 1975-1996

Acid wash - Rebecca Odd 

The process of acid-washing is rooted in 1960s California surf culture, when salty-haired surfers grew tired of fading their jeans in the sun and turned to chlorine bleach instead. The practice exploded in the '80s punk scene, and in 1981 Guess released the first pair of "pre-washed" bleach-splattered jeans. The style was so popular within subcultures and beyond, from heavy metal bands to blockbuster coming-of-age films, that it is still heralded as one of the defining trends of the decade.

https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/g29893027/acid-wash-jeans-trend-history/?slide=1 

https://www.everything80spodcast.com/acid-wash-jeans/ 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

Cut-offs- Maggie Morton 

In the 1970’s, Daisy Duke denim cut-off shorts became popular because of the famous tv show at the time, the Dukes of Hazzard. The style went into the 80’s, when denim shorts became a fashion icon that was a must have in almost every wardrobe. Men even started to wear them as well. Then during the 90’s, they took on a new look to accommodate the end of the heavy metal era and beginning of the grunge scene. It was no longer popular to wear the short cut-offs like the Daisy Dukes, but now it was trendy to wear longer shorts that went basically to the knee. They would wear them either rolled up or just leave them torn. At the turn of the millennium, cut-off shorts took a short hiatus, but in 2005 they slowly started to make their way back into wardrobes. 

https://dustfactoryvintage.com/vintage-denim-cutoff-shorts/ 

https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/59bv5b/a-brief-history-of-denim-cutoffs-from-daisy-duke-to-debbie-harry 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

Designer jeans- Maggie Morton 

Starting in the late 1970s, a new kind of jeans began to emerge, called designer jeans. They were fashioned for style rather than practicality. They were worn tight to accentuate the body’s curves. Designer jeans were made with combinations of cotton, spandex, and lycra, which allowed them to move and stretch with the body. Designer jeans came in all colors starting with several shades of blue, black, gray, brown, and white. They also featured various fabric treatments such as bleached or acid-washed. Designer jeans were generally more expensive than traditional jeans. However, Calvin Klein won name recognition when he became the first designer to market the jeans at affordable prices. Another famous designer with the bestselling line was Gloria Vanderbilt. Her jeans exploded with success in 1976 as women wanted her very flattering jeans. 

https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/designer-jeans 

https://www.crfashionbook.com/celebrity/a28119238/history-behind-gloria-vanderbilt-denim/ 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

Disposable diapers - Rebecca Odd 

Diaper manufacturers began experimenting with superabsorbers as a partial replacement for fluff pulp in the early 1980s. The polymers could absorb between thirty and sixty times their weight in liquid, a significant advantage over conventional absorbent materials such as fluff pulp. The superabsorber technology delivered the traditional advantages of disposables in a package not much bigger than cloth undergarments. It enabled infants and young children to move more freely, generated less waste, and delivered savings in distribution, shipping, and storage. 

https://www.diaperanswers.org/disposable-diapers-reinvented/ 

https://www.diaperjungle.com/pages/diaper-history-timeline 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

Dreadlocks - Elizabeth Gibbons 

The dreadlock hairstyle is often attributed to African-American culture, Rastafarian religious beliefs, and all-natural lifestyles. Rastafarians adopted the hairstyle for spiritual reasons, and reference the Bible among other works for the reasons they style their hair in this way. Although dreadlocks have been around for longer, they were popularized in the 80s and 90s by a number of well-known celebrities. Among these were actress Whoopi Goldberg and singer-songwriter Bob Marley. To create this dreadlock hairstyle, the hair needs to be grown out to about 3 inches or longer. The hair needs to be unwashed (or sometimes is washed with purely natural shampoos) for a few days before creating the locks. The hair is rinsed and dried about 2 hours before it is brushed and sectioned into strands. Each strand is tied off at the base, and then the strands are brushed backwards towards the head while each one is twisted to aid in locking the hair strands together. 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/rastafari/customs/customs_1.shtml 

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2015/04/86174/history-of-dreadlocks 

https://www.thehairshaman.com/symbolism/global-cultures/rasta-way-growing-hair/

Grunge, heroin chic - Jada Cordon 

The grunge style became popular around the late 1980s and stayed popular into the early 90s. It originated from laborers in Seattle but then spread to musicians and surfers. The grunge look consists of plaid shirts, t-shirts, casual blue jeans “unkempt,” shapeless dresses, ripped jeans, faded denim, and plain shirts. We still see the grunge influence today. Heroin chic- the push back against supermodels. Looking very pale and dark circles under the eyes. It glamorized drugs and the use of heroin. 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

https://www.rebelsmarket.com/blog/posts/grunge-fashion-where-did-it-come-from-and-why-is-it-back 

https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/heroin-addiction/heroin-chic/

High-tech fabrics, high-tech footwear, Microfibers McKelle Marshall REEBOK PUMPS It never got better than these shoes. Designed for basketball, you were supposed to pump air into these shoes for extra ankle support if you needed it. I had a pair of these, and I’ll contend that these were the coolest shoes of all time. AIR JORDANS Air Jordans basically created what is today referred to as the sneaker market. These shoes were first worn by Michael Jordan himself, and three decades later, Air Jordan is now its own brand. Still in production today, you’ll find sneakerheads and fashionistas alike rocking this classic silhouette. DOC MARTENS Big, beefy boots, Doc Martens were the footwear du jour of angsty teenagers. Usually fans of the Cure, these boots became infamous in the proto-emo scene. SAUCONY JAZZ This casual sneaker is still available today in a range of colors. It’s a great shoe for lounging, walking, and matching your feet to your outfit. JELLIES For girls only, jellies were just sandals made out of a strange, translucent gummy material. I’m not sure if they were comfortable or not, but I’ll be darned if every girl in my 1st grade class didn’t wear them. VANS CLASSIC SLIP ONS In the 80s, Sean Penn started his acting career as a stoner in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In this movie, he wore Vans classic checkered slip-ons, and they become ultra-popular in the alternative, skater, and stoner crowd. 

https://southtree.com/blogs/artifact/the-10-shoe-styles-of-the-80s 

https://www.thedeffest.com/vintage-ads/tag/hi-tec+sneakers 

http://www.80sfashion.org/jelly-shoes/ 

Hip hop, Street Fashion - Jada Cordon 

Hip hop street fashion started in the late 1980s. It originated in the Bronx and started with street dancers. There was a lot of break dancing and they were called the b-boys and fly girls. Hip hop style is closely related to rap music. Clothes were very oversized and baggy. Pants were worn lower with big shirts often repping sports teams logos. There were a lot of chains and backwards hats. This style was very popular among the younger people. Tommy Hilfiger was big in this. 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/90s-hip-hop-fashion/ 

https://heartafact.com/90s-hip-hop-fashion/ 

Internet, quick response; Wendy Triana 

“A computer based system that allows fast ordering, manufacturing, and delivery of goods” 

Text book 

Licensing, message T-shirts; Wendy Triana 

Licensing means receiving permission from a company to make their products and to sell it. It usually requires to pay royalty fees to the original owners. 

Power suit: Amber Davidson 

 Between 1982 and 1987, the power suit took the focus off a woman’s gender and on to what she could achieve, and was a uniform to demand respect, authority and power in a corporate setting. The power suit is now considered synonymous with feminism, equality and the breaking of gender roles. These gender roles influenced the power suit’s popularity, as women needed a masculine garment in order to be seen as competent businesswomen. The padded shoulders referenced a man’s broad shoulders, the loose tailoring hiding a woman’s curved figure and bold colours were replaced with dark, muted tones. 

https://www.per-spex.com/articles/2019/3/17/the-importance-of-the-1980s-power-suit 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/streamlined-suits-herald-the-return-of-power-dressing-1505234244 

Preppies, Punk: Amber Davidson 

Textbook- The preppie style got its name originally from young people who were currently attending Ivy league colleges, who also derived from preparatory schools before college. It consisted of tweed blazers, conservatively cut trousers and skirts, a tailored blouse or shirt, high quality leather loafers, oxfords, or pumps. This style was fashionable from the 1980s-2008. Preppy fashions are associated with classic and conservative styles of dressing and clothing brands such as Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren and clothing from The Gap. Also popular were argyle sweaters and vests. It was also considered "preppy" to wear a sweater tied loosely around the shoulders.t 

http://1980sfashion.weebly.com/preppy.html 

Punk Style 

Textbook-  Punk style started in the 1970s. Designer Vivienne Westwood originated designs for early punk musicians and their followers. Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren and Bromley Contingent were all punk designers of this time. Punk revival was evident in 1993, and surfaced again in 2003. Punk first emerged in the mid 1970s in London as an aggressive movement. About 200 young people defined themselves as an anti-fashion urban youth street culture, and also closely aligned was a music movement that took the name punk. The clothes suited the lifestyle of those with general low income due to unemployment. Punks cut up old clothes from thrift shops or their own, and deconstructed garments into new forms, they were designed in a way to attract attention. Design techniques that were considered crude at the time were brought about. Like torn fabrics, frayed edges and defaced prints, which are now considered normal. In the 1970s this had never been seen before. Up until then fabric was only looked at as material to keep as pristine, new looking and beautiful as possible. 

https://www.fashion-era.com/punks_fashion_history1.htm 

Allison Boyes Retro fashion- 

Retro is used to describe things that are replicated to look like vintage clothing but are newly made. This is also referred as “vintage inspired”. For something to be considered vintage it needs to be at least 20 years old or more. For something to be considered Antique it needs to be 100 years old or more. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines retro as “: relating to, reviving, or being the styles and especially the fashions of the past : fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned. Retro fashions rarely imitate vintage fashions accurately for many reasons. Fabric quality for one has declined so much since the 70’s so the outcome is much cheaper nowadays unless deadstock or designer quality fabric is used. Second, clothing manufacturing is now outsourced to foriegn countries where many corners are cut from details, finishes, linings, to reduced amounts of fabric used in an article of clothing and more. Clothes that are truly vintage most often have the same qualities and attributes as “Bridge” brands and luxury fashion/designer RTW. The best way to create retro clothes is to use materials that are vintage and in good/new condition. That way you are making something as period correct as possible. You can also use deadstock material & notions to do this. Dead stock refers to any unsold items which are lying in your warehouse or your store for a long time. In order for people to claim something is deadstock, it is almost necessary for it to have the tags still attached, all of the packaging, or have no sign of wear or damage whatsoever. However, most “retro” clothing today is cheap, low quality, and incorrectly styled or designed in order to cut costs which give people a false idea of what vintage clothing actually used to look like and be. 

Allison Boyes Spandex stretch fiber fabrics - 

Spandex is commonly believed to have originated from the 70s but it was actually invented in 1959 by DuPont chemists and was first used in bras and jockstraps, as well as in workout gear. This new material was branded as “Lycra”. DuPont became interested in developing a synthetic elastic fiber in the 1930s, which was perfected by chemist Joseph Shivers in 1959. Spandex's (Lycra) transformative nature allowed it to be incorporated into other garments besides girdles and undergarments. Performance fabric eventually was being produced and used all around the world by the 70’s. For example, a luxury performance fabric supplier that I am familiar with is Jacky Tex which is an italian fabric company established in the 70’s. Typical performance fabric traits are: water resistance, stain resistance, mold and mildew resistance, light fastness, durability, and antimicrobial traits. The most common threads used for performance upholstery fabric are olefin, acrylic, nylon, and polyester. “The cost for a pound of spandex 10 years ago was $12; today, it's about $4 a pound.” An estimated 80% of clothing sold in the United States contained spandex in 2010. Spandex & lycra’s rise in popularity is often viewed to be a result of increasing waist lines and obesity in the United States. Like many other products that dupont has invented, spandex has a very negative impact on the planet because it requires toxic chemicals to produce and takes up to 200 years to biodegrade. I recommend watching the movie Dark Waters to see how Dupont has knowingly poisoned the entire world with “forever chemicals” aka PFA’s that cause cancer so they could make a profit off of their products. 

Watch this video here (https://vimeo.com/328077259) to see a 1936 Dupont Chemical Industry Film. Skip to 13:50 to see how they made synthetic fibers during the the 30’s and 40’s.

Sources: 

[1].https://www.npr.org/2011/12/11/143003539/spandex-has-stretched-with-u-s-waistlines#:~:text=But%20spandex%20had%20a%20life,snap%20right%20back%20to%20shape. 

[2]https://patents.google.com/patent/US3023192 

Hippies- staci moore 

Hippies (derived from the word hipster) were the natural outgrowth of the Beat movement in the 1950s. Interested in an alternative lifestyle and rebelling against a society grown increasingly conformist and repressive, they were focused on freedom and getting back to nature. Hippie clothing was often loose and made of natural fibers like cotton and hemp. Men and women grew their hair long and eschewed products and fussy styling (although, contrary to popular belief, they did still shampoo). The black turtlenecks and trousers worn by the Beatniks, male and female, morphed into peasant blouses and jeans. Anything handmade, whether sewn, knit or woven as macramé, was prized. Gradually, this extended towards dyeing one's own clothes, and the colorful tie-dye style became popular.

https://womens-fashion.lovetoknow.com/1960s_Hippie_Fashion 

Unisex clothing - staci moore 

The term "unisex" as applied to dress was coined in the late sixties to denote clothing suitable or designed specifically for both males and females. Prior to this, fashion most traditionally contextualized stood for the clear demarcation of the sexes through the reaffirmation of gender identity. Simply put: women wore skirts, and men wore pants. In the 1920s, Chanel envisioned a new femininity in fashion that incorporated trousers-the symbol of masculine power. However, it was not until the Women's Liberation movement of the 1970s that pants were universally accepted as female attire. From this point forward, the impact of unisex expands more broadly to encompass various themes in fashion including androgyny, mass-market retail, and conceptual clothing. Many observers saw changing gender roles as the reason for the appearance of many items of clothing for men and women that were interchangeable in appearance such as jeans, tailored shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, blazers, runnin suits and sneakers. In 1968, the New York Times coined the term “unisex” and append it to all styles of gender-neutral couture. Following on, gender-fluid fashion, genderless styles, gender-free clothing, gender neutral fashion, and androgynous fashion were catalogued under a unified umbrella called unisex. Moving on to cinema and its influence on androgynous fashion, we have to mention ‘Space:1999’. Space:1999 was a futuristic TV series that aired in the mid-1970s, credited to introducing the androgynous fashion thong and the monokini. In fact, the credit goes to the costume designer of the ‘Space:1999’ movie series, Rudi Gernreich. Space:1999 movie series' Androgynous Fashion by Rudi Gernreich. Gernreich was light years ahead of his times, not only when it comes to androgynous fashion. He predicted the evolution of accessories, as practical belts and wrist-watches combinations that can work as weather indicators, compass, and radio, or all-in-one “The clothes of the future will have to be functional and suitable for both sexes. Weather permitting, both sexes will go about bare-chested, though women will wear simple protective pasties,” says the designer while presenting his concept of androgynous fashion at the Osaka Expo, in 1970. 

Textbook; Survey of Historic Costume, Tortora 2010 

https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/unisex-clothing 

https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8750/the-history-of-androgynous-fashion-up-to-contemporary-times 

Wearable Art- Lexy Holman 

Wearable art appeared in the 60s, grew in the 70s and grew further in the beginning 2000s. Wearable art is also known as “artwear” is always made by hand. You can actually wear the pieces but they are mostly seen in exhibitions. The artwork is totally different from the mainstream fashion world, but it’s still related to it. Wearable art comes in many forms like sculptural, knitted, leather, weaving, dyeing, and sewing and many others. The master of Wearable Art is Alexander Mcqueen. Mcqueen created countless groundbreaking performances in this very art form.

https://mocomuseum.com/stories/wearable-art/ 

https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-history-eras/wearable-art 

Wedge hairstyle- Lexy Holman 

Short haircut made popular by Dorthy Hamill. She was an Olympic medal winner in 1976 and wore the style at the games. The classic "Dorothy Hamill Haircut" short hairstyle instantly became a fad, and many young American girls cut their hair short so they could look like Dorothy. After she won the Olympics, Hamill had many endorsements, including those for White Rain hair products. The stylist behind Hamill's haircut was Yusuke Suga, a New York hair designer originally from Japan. 

https://www.liveabout.com/dorothy-hamills-famous-wedge-haircut-1282727 

https://www.hairfinder.com/hairquestions/wedge.htm 

Yuppies - Elizabeth Gibbons 

The term yuppie refers to “Young Urban Professionals,” or young adults with college educations who have secured jobs in well-paying professions such as law and business. “Yuppie” is not regularly used as a compliment; yuppies are also seen as spendthrift individuals who choose to apply their incomes towards luxuries such as expensive clothing, cars, and other materialistic goods. They also encouraged the observation of and fascination with celebrities in popular culture. 

“Survey of Historic Costume” by Tortora & Eubank 2011 

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/yuppie 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yuppie 

http://1980sdude.weebly.com/

nora terry-The Vietnam War 

(Vietnamese: Chiến tranh Việt Nam), also known as the Second Indochina War,[57] and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America (Vietnamese: Kháng chiến chống Mỹ) or simply the American War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955[A 1] to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.[11] It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, China,[15] and other communist allies; South Vietnam was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand, and other anti-communist allies.[58][59] The war, considered a Cold War-era proxy war by some,[60] lasted 19 years, with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973, and included the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. 

Energy Crisis: Emma Yochim 

During the energy crisis of 1973 cars could be seen in lines like this at every gas station across america. Some cars were there for hours waiting for their turn to grab gas. For the first Time America was experiencing a gas shortage. America was using more oil than it could produce, and began relying more heavily on outside sources. Many regulations came into play to prevent the Shortage from expanding even more. Long before the Energy Crisis hit President Franklin Rossevelt had been meeting secretly with King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud to settle an economic exchange on the common bond of oil. Both Countries relied heavily on oil energy, but because of America’s shortage, Saudi Arabia was now becoming quite powerful. Gas prices rose nearly 50%, going from 38 cents-per-gallon to 55 cents-per-gallon. Ultimately the Energy Crises happened due to a flawed culture of America and affected all of the country greatly. 

https://placesjournal.org/article/the-twilight-of-autopia/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4nj7lbSZ5pywkxJo2hqrhB-3u_FLO0pc7HecD7ZCqHGepzFPQFEejeUaAohPEALw_wcB&cn-reloaded=1 

College Student Protests: Emma Yochim 

On May 5th, 1970 students of the University of Washington marched on the interstate 5 freeway on their way to the federal Courthouse. After four Kent State University students were killed for protesting the Vietnam War, UW students were fired up. These events started a strike from both the University of Washington but also from many colleges from around the country. The strike was an entire week long. These rallies resulted in ten times more student participation than any other previous rally. After the Vietnam War, a lot of anti-war movements came about. At the same time colleges began to fight for more racial equality as the colleges began to fill with more African American and Asian students. After a few days of protests the Students eventually became violent, and many were hurt, including students themselves. 

https://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/may1970strike.shtml 

ra terry 

Fur Movement McKelle Marshall 

Anti-fur campaigns became part of popular culture during the 1980s-1990s. Beginning with the anti-sealing campaign in the 1970s and expanding to a more general campaign focused on all animals used to make fur garments. (Emberly 1997). Many celebrities became involved in these anti-fur politics and continue to be used as icons for anti-fur campaigns. In Britain, fur sales fell “75% between 1985-1990” Lynx, a British animal rights organization used mass media to bring the anti-fur movement to the center of pop culture. Their print ads, and videos had a huge impact on the general population, targeting middle to upper class white women as the main consumers of fur products. (Emberly 1997). Their shocking, print ads were designed to make wearing fur be seen as something morally wrong. Wearing fur was once seen as a status symbol, and Lynx attempted to change that symbol into something to be ashamed of rather than proud of. 

https://allisonsmf.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/the-rise-of-the-anti-fur-movement/ 

International legislation, such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973, coincided with a number of anti-fur protests that continued into the 1980s and 1990s, led by organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). a leader in the faux fur industry went on to explain that that a woman who buys a pricey coat of real fur will have to pay for its upkeep and eventually alter the style to keep up with new fashions. On the other hand, she could buy a new artificial one each year to keep up with styles and not pay as much money. [8] And so begins the ideology of fast fashion: Why pay more for the real thing when you can buy more of something similar for less? 

https://fashionista.com/2018/01/fake-faux-fur-history 

https://outlet.historicimages.com/products/spa44778