Fancy Dress Shops

Han Chinese Clothing ... The contemporary concept of hanfu excludes many evolutions and innovations in the dress of the Han Chinese people since 1644, the founding of the Qing dynasty, on the basis that such changes were imposed by force (such as through the Queue Order) or adopted through cultural influence from the ruling Manchu ethnicity...

1650–1700 In Fashion ... Gradually it developed into a draped and pleated dress and eventually evolved into a dress worn looped and draped up over a contrasting petticoat and a stomacher... Hunting and riding dress In a June 1666 diary entry, Samuel Pepys describes the Maids of Honour in their riding habits of mannish coats, doublets, hats, and periwigs, "so that, only for a long petticoat dragging under their men's coats, nobody could take them for women in any point whatever"...

Byzantine Silk ... The Byzantine capital of Constantinople was the first significant silk-weaving center in Europe. Silk was one of the most important commodities in the Byzantine economy, used by the state both as a means of payment and of diplomacy...

1100–1200 In Fashion ... Fur was worn as an inside lining for warmth. Vair, the fur of the squirrel, was particularly popular and can be seen in many illuminated manuscript illustrations, where it is shown as a white and blue-grey softly striped or checkered pattern lining the mantles of the wealthy...

Culture Of Ancient Rome ... Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, its famed seven hills, and its monumental structures such as the Flavian Amphitheatre (now called the Colosseum), the Forum of Trajan, and the Pantheon. The city also had several theaters, gymnasiums, and many taverns, baths, and brothels...

Skirt ... In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...

Toga ... As time went on, dress styles changed. Romans adopted the shirt (tunica, or in Greek chiton) which the Greeks and Etruscans wore, made the toga more bulky, and wore it in a looser manner...

Clothing In The Ancient World ... The dress was rather narrow, even constricting, made of white or unbleached fabric for the lower classes, the sleeve starting under the chest in higher classes, and held up by suspenders tied onto the shoulders...

Gown ... Women's dress In women's fashion, gown was used in English for any one-piece garment, but more often through the 18th century for an overgarment worn with a petticoat – called in French a robe... By the early 20th century, both "gown" and "frock" were essentially synonymous with "dress", although gown was more often used for a formal, heavy or full-length garment and frock or dress for a light-weight, shorter or informal one...

1400–1500 In Fashion ... Silk-weaving was well established around the Mediterranean by the beginning of the century, and figured silks, often silk velvets with silver-gilt wefts, are increasingly seen in Italian dress and in the dress of the wealthy throughout Europe...

Clothing In Ancient Rome ... Wild silk, that is, cocoons collected from the wild after the insect had eaten its way out, also was known. Wild silk, being of smaller lengths, had to be spun...

Early Medieval European Dress ... Male dress The primary garment was the tunic -- generally a long fabric panel, folded over with a neck-hole cut into the fold, and sleeves attached... An early 6th century Merovingian Queen was buried in a violet silk dress and a red silk tunic embroidered in gold, as well as woollen hose and cloak... Clergy At the beginning of this period the clergy generally dressed the same as laymen in post-Roman populations; this changed completely during the period, as lay dress changed considerably but clerical dress hardly at all, and by the end all ranks of clergy wore distinctive forms of dress...

Men's Skirts ... Some long robes also resemble a skirt or dress, including the Middle Eastern and North African caftan and djellaba. Other similar garments worn by men around the world include the Greek and Balkan fustanella (a short flared cotton skirt), the Pacific lava-lava (similar to a sarong), some forms of Japanese hakama and the Bhutanese gho...

Anglo-Saxon Dress ... The tunic ended between the hip and the knee and had either long or short sleeves. Clasps were not needed to hold the tunic together because when pulled over the head it would sit snugly around the neck without the use of lacing or ties, indicating that the garment was one continuous piece...

Undergarment ... Undergarments are generally of two types, those that are worn to cover the torso and those that are worn below the waist, though garments which cover both also are available. Different styles of undergarments are generally worn by women and men...

Byzantine Dress ... Iconographic dress The most common images surviving from the Byzantine period are not relevant as references for actual dress worn in the period... Christ (often even as a baby), the Apostles, Saint Joseph, Saint John the Baptist and some others are nearly always shown wearing formulaic dress of a large himation, a large rectangular mantle wrapped round the body (almost a toga), over a chiton, or loose sleeved tunic, reaching to the ankles... Apart from Christ and the Virgin, much iconographic dress is white or relatively muted in colour especially when on walls (murals and mosaics) and in manuscripts, but more brightly coloured in icons...

Shirt ... The shirt was an item of men's underwear until the twentieth century. Although the woman's chemise was a closely related garment to the man's, it is the man's garment that became the modern shirt...

Clothing ... Physically, clothing serves many purposes; it can serve as protection from the elements, it can enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hiking and cooking. It protects humans from rough surfaces by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment...

History Of Clothing And Textiles ... Clothing and textiles have been important in human history and reflects the materials available to a civilization as well as the technologies that it has mastered. The social significance of the finished product reflects their culture...