Chandler Ashcraft 7th hour December 3, 2013 Ms.

Wolf The Timeless Pieces of Fashion Fashion fades only style stays the same. Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel was the main designer of the first little black dress. Many pieces in fashion have succeeded in growing more and more popular as years have gone on. Some of those pieces include; jeans, the little black dress, and types of shoes. Those pieces have changed styles throughout the years and have become more successful in selling them to everyone across the world. These items of clothing I found the most interesting, and the ones I wanted to learn more about. The first creators of jeans were Jacob Davis, and Levi Strauss. Even though the first actual denim jeans date back to the 1600s in England, these were considered the first jeans because they had rivets. At first the jeans in the 1600s were mainly used for coal workers, or other jobs in that profession. Strauss and Davis created jeans in May 20, 1873 in San Francisco and they first came in two styles, indigo blue and brown cotton duck. In the time that were created they only cost about $1.25 each (Ament) Now lets go through the history of jeans. In 1935 the first jeans for women were featured in the Vogue Magazine, then in the 1950s women began to wear jeans. Teens also wore jeans in the 1950s because it was a radical way of defining themselves and a way to

look more like adults. (Ament) Also in 1957 there were 150 million pairs sold worldwide! (Secrest) In the 1960s it became a symbol of egalitarianism. (Ament) In between the 196070s jeans were more often seen in public, many points made about jeans were made in the 1970s. First the price of the blue jeans doubled, and designer jeans were created by Gloria Vanderbilt, Jordache, and Calvin Klein. (Secrest, Niven) Designer jeans cost as much as regular jeans and they were so tight you literally had to lie down and squeeze into them! What made designer jeans so special were the fancy designs stitched on the pockets and the labels of the designers. Jeans were also no longer just casual wear, they were used to dress up, and the new styles were hip hugging, skinny, high wasted, and wide legged jeans. (Niven) Lastly, Sally Fox created the colors beige, brown, and green for jeans, and Calvin Kleins finally came out in the 1980s. (Secrest) When jeans were first created the public was still getting used to the thought. Since Strauss and Davis made them with rivets for the first time they were actually selling pretty well with the public. (Ament) Other designers that made jeans more popular as stated earlier were Calvin Klein for the invention of designer jeans. Another designer that made jeans more well-known was Jeanne Paquin. She was the first women designer to open stores outside out the United States. (Niven) Many designers have helped with the input of jeans throughout the year! There are many things people dont know about jeans. First, since the main designers name was Levi, the public just began calling the jeans Levis. Second, the brown cotton duck style wasnt soft and it was uncomfortable, so therefore no one bought them and they

stopped the production of those jeans. Original name of the jeans were waist overalls. Finally, on an average Americans own an average of seven pairs. (Ament) Throughout time jeans have changed so much! They started out as what only workers would wear, to a new style for women. New colors for jeans have been created also through time. Present day you can find any colors from white, hot pink, yellow, or even orange! Skinny jeans have also been a really big trend in present day times as well. You will also find that labels mean everything. Jeans could look the exact same it just all depends on who created them. For the second timeless piece its the little black dress. Jean Patou was the original designer, but Coco Chanel made it famous. The little black dress first became famous when Vogue Magazine published a picture of the drawing by Chanel. (Fritz) After it was published women had to have it! Little black dress is probably the most well-known piece in fashion that will never become old. Chanels drawing in Vogue was known as Chanels Ford when printed in 1926. (Little Black Dress) Designs for the dress in the 1930s were that the hem fell to the calf, and that the neckline was modern. (Fritz) Synthetic fibers were made in the 1940s and that resulted in more designs. (Little Black Dress) War started in 1943, and the dress design was simple with squared shoulders. Late 1940s it was made with narrow skirts which was what future designs would look like. Dior brought the sleek style in the 1950s, and that was the main style for the 50s. Backs of the little black dress became poufy in the 50s also. Hems of the dress in 1965 were made so short that they couldnt get any shorter, or go anywhere

but down! (Fritz) Lastly, in the 1990s simple designs came in a variety of lengths and fullness. (Little Black Dress) Women believed it was a rule of fashion that you had to own a little black dress. (Little Black Dress) Chanel had hit a home run with this design! All around the United States women were talking about the famous dress, there were many designers that helped with process of making it well spread. Christian Dior made the full skirt and wasp waist designs. Elsa Schia Parelli made the glamorous look in 1936. One of the most wellknown occurrences of the little black dress was Hubert de Givenchys design for Breakfast at Tiffanys in 1961. (Fritz) You can practically wear anything with the little black dress and make it look good! To dress it up you could wear white pearls with a shall, and a narrowed sleeve dress. (Fritz) In the evening you could wear it with ornate jewelry and accessories. A jacket and pumps could be worn for business or an interview. (Little Black Dress) The little black dress could even look good with just a colorful scarf! No matter what you decide to wear you could pull off anything with the little black dress. Some people dont know that the little black dress stayed popular through the Great Depression. Even if it wasnt as popular as later years, it was still being bought in that terrible time period. People may not also know that the abbreviation is LBD. Also, in post war era times the dress symbolized a dangerous women. (Little Black Dress) Finally, probably every single celebrity has worn the little black dress to some premiere or award ceremony.

To close out, the last timeless piece is about shoes. Shoes have been thought to be around since 400,000 B.C. when the first record of them was made. Since they have been around for so long no one knows who the original creator was. The first pair of sandals were made about 6,000 years ago, but no one knows where at. Egyptian pharaohs were also the first mention of high heels ever being worn. (Timeline of Shoes) The first high heeled shoe factory was opened in the United States in 1888. Decades later in 1917, the first successful sneakers (canvas top with rubber soles) started being sold in the United States. (Timeline of Shoes) High heels became more like business shoes in the 1930s. Thirties shoes were high heels and pumps (material came in crocodile, lizard, and snakeskin) (Costantino). Brighter colors also came out the end of that decade. (Niven) Stilettos were invented in France by Roger Vivier in 1955, and lastly athletic shoes were first introduced in 1980. (Timeline of Shoes) Styles of shoes are very varied! Sandals styles include; sling back, high heeled, open toed, and wedge heel. The wedge heel was created by Salvatore Ferragamo. The platform heel was introduced in 1938. (Costantino) Colors of shoes in the 1930s were mostly black with some maroon, brown, and navy. (Niven) There were shoes made just for evening/day time, or seasons. In the evening, shoes were mostly gold and silver in the 1930s. (Niven) Pumps with satin were also dyed to match the ladies the evening gown. Daytime shoes were normally neat and unexciting, but they turned into low heeled broad shoes, instead of being big and clumpy. Last of all in the

spring, high heeled suede court shoes were the style with punched out designs, and two heeled lace ups. (Costantino) Shoes have gotten more advanced because we have more resources in the world now. There are many more designers that contribute ideas to the shoe industry, and make them look better. We also have longer lasting fabrics. Present day we could find almost any shoe we can dream of! Throughout time shoes are going to keep advancing, and improving all together. These items of clothing will keep progressing through-out the years and never become outdated! Our goal is to find timeless pieces that transcend shifting trends. Inside each parcel is an item that you will love and keep forever. Unknown. This quote I believe true because each timeless piece, will keep improving as more designs and ideas have been discovered. Certain pieces of fashion will never get old; they are too great to be forgotten.