If wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a coat seems obvious today, this has not always been the case. How has clothing evolved over the ages? From the simple tunic to the making of more elaborate clothes, what are the main transformations in fashion since Antiquity?
On the occasion of the series that France Inter + is dedicating to the great figures of fashion and Haute Couture, let’s take a closer look at the different clothing uses throughout history . We must go back to the most remote periods to understand how clothing was socially and politically defined, and what the respective dress codes were in each era.
From the Greco-Roman tunic to the unisex medieval dress
The most representative garment of the Greco-Roman period is the toga , which itself covered the tunic , a long shirt sewn on each side. These two garments were used to drape both a male and female model, they were unisex. Only the “stole” (Roman dress) stood out because it was only worn by the wives (called matrons ) of Roman citizens, as if to distinguish themselves from other women said to be of second rank in the social hierarchy.
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The tunic is the basic clothing from which the different outfits that come after are invented . The Roman dress forms the new basis of clothing, essentially seigneurial until the last third of the 14th century when fashion becomes as complex as it becomes rich – and this, despite the numerous sumptuary laws imposed by the king to try to regulate the exacerbation of luxury. Fashion becomes formidably frenetic.
On the feet, there were unisex poulaines until the 14th century (thin shoes with an elongated shape and very pointed toes); then there were funnel boots for men and then unisex high-heeled shoes in the 16th-17th centuries. From leggings , we moved on to high breeches , to long breeches (the first trousers, or even the first leggings !) which covered the body from the waist to the knee.
Illustration showing the costume between the Gallo-Roman and Carolingian periods, in “The History of Fashion in France” by Augustin Challamel (1882)Illustration showing the costume between the Gallo-Roman and Carolingian periods, in “The History of Fashion in France” by Augustin Challamel (1882)© Getty – Print Collector / Contributor
Dresses evolved from the simple piece of broad-sleeved tunic that was put on over the head (14th-15th century) to the famous houppelande , both masculine and feminine . Both long and short, it was looser and opened at the front. Not forgetting the ornaments, the gilding, the dyes that enriched the garment that was still just a simple overcoat .
From the Renaissance to the 18th century: the evolution of the doublet, the half-parted habit and French dresses
Above all, when the doublet (common ancestor of the jacket, the waistcoat, the shirt and the T-shirt) was more padded, it ended up inventing the clothing distinction between masculine and feminine in the silhouette: the vertical style persisted for women while the two-part outfit became the prerogative of men .
The garment became more ample from the Renaissance onwards , notably thanks to the puffs , at the top and bottom, which puffed out the sleeves or the trousers at the legs. This was a direct influence of Italian and Spanish fashions, which brought refinement to the fabrics.
As the Middle Ages faded, doublets became either very loose (with descending basques) or very tight depending on taste, the half-parted habit (separation of the top and bottom of the garment) became completely diversified to break with medieval austerity. Both men and women adorned themselves with ruffs, collars, pearl necklaces, earrings, rings… They also perfumed themselves with precious aromatics.
This splendor clashed for a few years with the austerity of King Louis XIII, which marked the beginning of a fashion that would continue to gain in sobriety and simplicity.
Under Louis XIV, on the other hand, fashion was as absolute as the monarchy , the wig became a real mania, women’s attire became heavier , hairstyles became higher, women’s hair fell in corkscrews, fabrics… became thicker. And if the bodice was more and more low-cut, the location of the female waist was raised and the shoulders broadened.
For men, it was soon the loose and puffy culottes (a sort of very puffy shorts) at the level of the legs, which we call the rhingrave which seduced in the middle of the 17th century. It ended up fading in favor of a characteristic shortening of the stockings. Then the trend for the “justaucorps” established itself which spread widely until the end of the 18th century .
The Enlightenment was already here and was penetrating the arts: the time was for lightness , for both men and women. Here was a new clothing sensitivity that culminated with the revolution of 1789.
From the Enlightenment to the 20th Century: Fashion Makes Its Revolution
Clothing became considerably lighter throughout the 18th century, it became lighter, silhouettes became more and more natural. Only the fabrics remained precious.
Especially since fashion was greatly influenced by England, which significantly simplified clothing . Men adopted the leotard , with long fitted jackets soon called redingotes , jabots or white ties, silk stockings and black flat shoes.
Clothing undergoes a revolution and leads inexorably towards the fashion movement of the Incredibles and Marvelous, which emerges as a reaction to the Terror of the Montagnard revolutionaries. Fashion becomes lighter to the point that women return to the extremely fine Greek-style dresses of muslin, emphasizing their silhouette, revealing their shoulders and adopting long cashmere shawls in this regard.