Fashion Flashbacks

"Fashion is an underestimated social force. It functions effectively not only as an economic colossus but also to engineer social practices" (Finklestein). Fashion is more than its definition as a style of dress that is popular during a certain time or era. We can learn a lot about our culture by looking at current fashion trends because they show the relationships of consumer tastes, social habits, and eras in history. If we can define the reasons behind certain fashion trends, we can analyze a part of pop culture.

To study the meanings of today's mainstream fashion, it is most beneficial to look at the feminine side of fashion because it gives the clearest indications of the fashion eras that are being repeated. Women in America have been repeating fashion eras for almost as long as there have been clothes. Today, everywhere you look there are echoes of fashion's history. Fashions from the sixties, seventies and eighties make up a majority of what is currently in style at the present. The denim miniskirts, thick belts, quarter-sleeved shirts, and off-the-shoulder tops that can now be found in every teen-targeted store in America are from the eighties; the majority of jeans being sold today are the boot-cut or flare styles of the sixties and seventies; and the explosion of boots and cable-knit sweaters stems from their original popularity in the sixties. It is easy to see that we are repeating eras of fashion. The question is, of course, why? Why, in 2005, are Americans wearing clothes that were first popular in the sixties, seventies and eighties? Why not wear something totally new? We know that a seemingly endless and inevitable cycle of fashion is partially to blame. However, there are a few factors that can explain what has brought the fashion cycle to where it is today: the strategies of designers, the influence of the media, consumer needs, and current national moods.

Most fashion experts and designers, sociologists, and historians agree that fashion is in a continually changing loop, repeating modified versions of styles that have already come and gone. The idea that fashion trends follow a cyclical phase structure is not new; sociologists first recognized it over fifty years ago. There are numerous explanations for how and why the loop itself works. It is now widely believed that fashion repeats itself around every twenty to thirty years. Following this rule explains why 2005 has largely been a fashion flashback to the 1970s and 1980s. Some experts say that fashion cycles have evolved to become so short that nowadays the sixties, seventies, and eighties fashions go in an out every couple of years, forming micro-cycles. So the tradition of recycling fashion trends has influenced what we are wearing now, but why are we stuck in this loop?

One of the strongest forces fueling the loop is conversion. Designers and retailers continually, and effectively, persuade the public that their ideas are everything that a stylish wardrobe requires. Next season, the same designers convince everyone to give up their allegiance to the old designs and spend their money on the latest collections. The public can only buy what is made; if every store is selling flare jeans, people will have to buy them. So, a large part of why trends of the past are repeating today is because designers choose to make it so. Many times this is because a designer has rediscovered or reinvented an old style, and other designers follow suit. It has been said that designers have the constant desire to bring back successful styles of the past and renew them to make them current. Designers tend to repeat eras that had major breakthroughs in fashion or were particularly memorable. This can offer some explanation as to why the seventies and eighties are so dominant in 2005's repeats. These two decades are among the most well-known in terms of fashion. Is there anyone who wouldn't recognize bell bottoms (today's flare or boot-cut) as staples of the seventies? This sticking to the well-known makes sense because after all, it is easier (and probably less costly) to re-work something that's already been done (especially if it was initially done with success) than to start from scratch. Also, many consider it safer to bank on past evidence, especially when the economy is shaky. Designers are strategic in their choices of eras to repeat. The ages that spend the most money on clothing are between 16 and 35. Designers can appeal to this audience by re-introducing styles that these generations have already seen (either having worn them before themselves, or having seen them on older siblings) and are comfortable with.

The trickle-down theory basically states that fashion starts "high up"Ð'--celebrities and the rich, that isÐ'--and gradually spreads to the masses. It is true that musicians and other cultural icons, as well as political figures and royalty have always influenced what we're wearing. We are constantly being bombarded with fashion ideas from music videos, television, celebrities, magazines, and the internet. Movies also have a big impact on what people wear. Ray-Ban sold more than twice as many sunglasses after the movie Men in Black. Fashion and other pop culture outlets of expression both reflect and affect on another. In recent years, movies and music have returned to the nostalgic, and as a side-effect, popularized older apparel. When The Aviator came out, it helped to bring back some of the styles from that era. Although celebrities often take their cues from designers themselves, many are leaders in the fashion field. All of the magazines of 2005 featured comeback styles, feeding the idea to the general public. When singer/actress Hilary Duff wore sixties clothing on the cover of Teen Vogue, you can bet it influenced a fair few teenage girls. Like designers, celebrities return to old successes often. It's a "safety" issue for more than one crowd.

The fashion industry would be nothing without the consumer. So, of course, the wants and needs of the consumer play heavily into the movement of the cycle. Wearing vintage or retro clothing is very much about the individual's changing the status and revaluing clothing beyond the original time period. Historical curiosity and a need for nostalgia have lead many young adults of today back to the trends of their early childhoods. People can relate to styles of the seventies and eighties because they were present throughout their youths. This might be why we are now most comfortable with returning to these decades. Also, people may have revisited the fashions of the sixties, seventies, and eighties because the silhouettes and styles suited their figures best. The degree of the individual's desire to be fashionable affects the attitude toward new fashions, as well. So perhaps because consumers of today are concerned less with