English 10 Julia G.

Block 5 2/7/19

Different clothing styles Around the World

Do you ever wonder what people your age are wearing in different parts of the

world? Different religions, cultures, and societies have contrasting styles and dress

codes that you might not even be aware of. For example, people of the Muslim religion,

especially women, wouldn’t be able to go out during the summer and wear shorts and a

t-shirt.

Imagine yourself taking a trip to every area of the world. You start glancing at

your surroundings and you see all the different colors and patterns other people are

wearing. You notice this one person wearing the most magnificent dress you’ve ever

seen in your entire life. The colors it had was so bright that it is the only thing you can

look at. It’s so captivating and it makes you feel like you can do anything or wear

anything you want.

In the very beginning of the human race, people living in North America have

been wearing clothes made out of the only resources they could find and sometimes

that would mean cutting animal skins for their own warmth.

According to, The Worldwide History of Dress, by Patricia Anawalt, sometime

around 15,000 B.C., small bands of stone age hunters began moving out of siberia and

started to migrate to North America to become its first settlers. By the time of the

famous 1492 “Discovery of America” by Christopher Columbus, the continent was

already well-populated with diverse cultures.

 In the Arctic region of North America, these settlers, called Eskimos, had to adapt

to their new climate. Their traditional garments had to be tailored to provide maximum

warmth. The women were in charge of making clothes and they would use animal skins

to make them. The skins were cut into many pieces and then carefully sewn together to

achieve a snug fit. This type of clothing required daily attention which included drying

and softening constantly. (Worldwide History of Dress)

Among the most impressive of all Arctic garments was the kamleika (see #1)

which was a parka or shirt made of sea-mammal intestines that had been removed

intact, turned inside out, scraped clean, washed in water and urine, blown up with air

and then hung to dry. The final product was long white strips that were sewn together.

Gut-skin garments took one month to make and lasted four to six months. (Worldwide

History of Dress)

In the southern part of North America, the clothing was much different. They

would wear much less clothing than in the Arctic region. Some examples of what they

would wear is the rabbit skin shoulder blankets made from strips of rabbit pelt cut in a

spiral and then twined on yucca cords. (Worldwide History of Dress)

North American clothing of the earliest settlers was very different in all the

different regions and it had to do with the climate of the area they settled into. Another

place where climate played a major part in their clothing choices is Africa.

The article, “The History of AfriCAN Fashion”, states that Africa is a very complex

and historical continent, where fashion is just as colorful and interesting as the place

itself. The actual evolution of African clothing itself is hard to trace due to the lack of

historical evidence but people still have a pretty good idea of how it started.
 After the fall of the Ghanaian people in 11 C.E. the Malian Empire took over and

influenced African culture. They wore hand printed clothes called Bogolanfini or mud

cloth. Each of the cloths had different arrangements of symbols that revealed something

secret about its meanings. These were passed down from mother to daughter along

with specific motifs or a decorative design. (The History of AfriCAN Fashion)

In southwest Nigeria, the Adire textile originated from the Yoruba people. Adire

directly translates to tie and die in the Yoruba language. The symbols on these clothes

represent standardized aspects of people’s culture, drawn from history, myths, legends,

and deep observations of their environments. Motifs of Adire are taught by mothers to

daughters within dyeing families from generation to generation. (The History of AfriCAN

Fashion)

Another type of clothing they would wear was the Kente cloth which was mostly

worn on ceremonial and festive occasions during the mid-19th century. It is composed

of narrow strips of hand weaved material sewn together to form a rectangle. This cloth

was a way to identify a person’s status. Gold meant you were very wealthy and blue

meant you had spiritual purity. (The History of AfriCAN Fashion)

There are several other clothing styles used in African history, including their

textiles. They have different types of textiles that they would use to express themselves

through their patterns.

Moving back to the western hemisphere, America is one of many countries that

their clothes have not stayed the same throughout different decades.This is due to the

fact that resources might have changed and the styles of what people back then thought
looked good. The 1900s through the 2000s has been where the most change in clothes

has taken place.

The article, “American Fashion Through the Decades”, shows that for women

during the 1900s, when World War 1 took resources away from the luxurious haute

couture of the previous decade, they started to wear more simple, practical dresses

instead. In 1920, women just earned the right to vote and their independence and

individuality was reflected in their clothing. For the first time, young women decided how

to portray their own femininity. The “flapper” style was a period of youthful rebellion

because the look was loose and shapeless that flattened women’s busts and hips. The

opposite happened in the 1930s because fashion started to meet the severity of the

Great Depression. This marked the beginning of what many people believe to be the

modern style because glamour was no longer attainable.

When World War 2 started, it brought even more restrained clothes than during

World War 1 due to rationing. Uniforms were seen more readily in daily life. But, as the

war ended with a victory the U.S finally opened its doors to different styles of clothing. In

the 1970s, it was considered the hippie era and many people liked to do disco dancing.

This put many women in stretchy and shiny clothes made for dancing under the disco

ball. (American Fashion Through the Decades)

There are several different decades in the U.S. that has had some type of

clothing change. After researching the different styles, I realized that some of the

different clothing had something to do with the other things going on in the country such

as war.
 In addition to the U.S, the country of Japan can be very similar because it has

changed a lot since the beginning of their culture. In Japan, there are many different

everyday clothes that people wear. The most common traditional dress of the Japanese

culture is the Kimono (see #2). It is a long sleeve dress that reaches from the shoulders

all the way down to one’s heels. Originally, “kimono” was the Japanese word for

clothing, but in more recent years, the word has been used to refer specifically to

traditional Japanese clothing. Kimonos have came into being during the Heian period.

Also, most Kimonos are made of silk and during the summer, a special type of light

cotton is worn so they don’t overheat. (Japan Clothes in Modern Day)

While the traditional ethnic garments of Japan are still used today, they are

mostly used for special occasions. In more recent years, western clothing is worn often

in day to day life.

Another type of formal traditional clothes in Japan is called the tomesode. Unlike

the furisode, which is worn by young unmarried women, the tomesode is worn by

married women only. This piece can be broken down into varied categories based on

the social function they have. (Japan Clothes in Modern Day)

Along with clothing, Japanese men and women also wear different accessories

to go with their clothes. For example, the Amigasa hat is a traditional straw hat that is

used in some Japanese folk dances. The Sugegasa is the Japanese version of an

Asian conical hat. These are just some of the many different accessories that some

people wear to go along with their clothes.

After looking at different parts of the world, I've realized how diverse we are

altogether. But as we look at different cultures, they are practiced in all parts of the
world and not just one area. For example, Buddhism is a religion that is very different

when it comes to how they choose to present themselves with their clothing traditions. If

you are a visitor in Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and

Cambodia, you will most likely see Buddhist monks wearing orange robes and shaven

heads. The saffron robes have to do with the resources that were available back when

the religion first came about. Orange was chosen only for the reason that it was the only

dye available at the time. This tradition just stuck and is now the color of choice for

buddhist followers. The robe itself is meant to symbolize simplicity and detachment of

materialism.

According to Buddhist studies, a monk’s robe dates back all the way to when

Buddha himself introduced it to the early followers. The “triple robe”, or tricivara, is

composed of an inner garmen, an upper robe, and an outer robe. According to Buddhist

scriptures, in the monastic days, the monks would go out on their alms-round dressed in

only their waistcloth and when they were in the vicinities of their own home they would

wear only the upper robe before going to collect alms.

The waistcloth is the size of a sarong which is six feet by nine feet. It is said that,

“A monk should wear the waistcloth even all around covering the area of the navel and

the areas of the knees” (Vibhanga).

The third robe, or the outer robe, was only permitted by the Buddha for extra

warmth during the cold season. The reason for this is because unlike the upper robe,

the outer robe has two layers to keep warm.

Along with Buddhist traditions, Muslim men and women have many different

beliefs and dress codes that they are required to follow everyday. The Islamic law does
not require women to wear a burqa which is an enveloping outer garment worn by

women in some Islamic traditions to cover their body in public. But in some areas of the

world, they are considered as the normal dress code for women.

Other parts of the world require women to dress modestly. Many Muslim women

wear a hijab, which means to “cover”, “screen”, or “curtain”. The hijab is a specific form

of veil worn by some people. They are required to observe the hijab in front of any man

they could theoretically marry. However, they don’t have to wear them in front of their

father, brothers, grandfathers, uncles, or young children. (LibGuides: Women in Islam

and Muslim Realms: Dress Code)

Men also have a specific dress code they need to follow. The thobe is a long

robe that goes down to their feet and is usually very loose (see #3). They usually wear

these in everyday life. They also wear the ghutra which is a square or rectangular head

scarf along with a rope band to fasten it in place which is called the egal.

Both men and women of the Muslim religion have very different belief systems

than where we live and it goes to show how diverse we are around the world. People

who don’t live in places where this religion is popular aren’t really informed on why they

wear the things they do and aren’t aware of the different style clothes.

Jewish and Christian religions are also considered unique compared to other

religions. These religions have been around for an extremely long time but still use

some of the same clothing choices they did back then today.

Traditional Jewish clothing has been worn by Jews since the very birth or their

religion. It has also changed a lot since then while still maintaining the influences of

biblical commandments and Jewish religious law for clothing and modesty. Wider
culture have also had an impact on Jewish religious clothing, although the extent is very

limited.

The Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures, have set forth rules for

dress that set Jews apart from the communities they lived in. In many Islamic countries,

Jewish men typically wore tunics instead of trousers and in earlier years Jews were not

allowed to wear any color besides blue. Married women are supposed to wear a scarf,

snood, hat, beret, or sometimes a wig in order to conform with the requirement of

Jewish law that married women cover their hair.

Jewish women were differentiated from others in the western regions of the

Roman Empire by their custom veiling in public. It was retained by women as a sign of

their identification as Jews. The Talmud shows that women would wear shawls over

their heads when they would leave their homes, but there was no practice of fully

covering their faces. In some regions like Baghdad, they veiled their faces until the

1930s and in other regions they never covered their faces.

The clothing worn in everyday life is much different than what they wear during

synagogue services and worship. For example, Jewish men traditionally wear prayer

shawls and cover their heads with a Kippot. Women wear long skirts and cover much of

their bodies if they are orthodox Jews.

Many Christians have also followed certain dress codes during attendance at

church and outside of church. These different customs have varied over time and

between different Christian branches

In “Clothing in Christianity”, most people of the Christian religion us the phrase,

‘Sunday best’, which was used to describe clothes worn by Christians to church. These
clothes tended to be the best formal attire a person owned because Christians believe

that the Lord’s day is distinct and holy. However, other Christians don’t believe it is

necessary to wear their best clothes to church.

Also, they have a religious habit which is a distinctive set of religious clothing

worn by members of religious order. In the typical Roman Catholic church orders, it

consists of a tunic covered by a scapular and cowl with hood for monks and friars. A veil

was also worn by nuns. In the monastery, nuns wear a brown, ankle length dress that

is cinched at the waist by a white “cord”. This cord was a long rope with three knots

which represents the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Also, they wear a

white bonnet and waist length veil on top of that. (Clothing in Christianity)

The different clothes that are worn by Christians who have different roles in their

society have evolved a lot since the start of this religion and it continues to change.

As I have said throughout this paper, all the different clothes worn in the world

have to do with individual beliefs or what other people around them are wearing.

Different religions don’t believe in the same things which causes their clothing habits to

contrast with each other. Some prefer to cover up their skin while others couldn’t care

less if they show skin or not. The clothes they wear all have to do with what their

environment was in the very beginning of the start of the religion because the clothes

that were available back then was much less advanced than what is available today.

Lastly, I would like to say that the clothes we wear define who we are as people. This is

because, throughout this paper, the main focus was on how different people are and

how the clothes we wear can be used to determine what religion you practice.
 Works Cited

The Buddhist World: The Monastic Robes., www.buddhanet.net/e-

learning/buddhistworld/robe_txt.htm.

“American Fashion Through the Decades · Career Training USA · InterExchange.”

InterExchange, www.interexchange.org/articles/career-training-

usa/2015/09/24/american-fashion-through-decades/.

Anawalt, Patricia Rieff. The Worldwide History of Dress: with over 1,000 Illustrations, 900 in

Colour. Thames & Hudson, 2007.

Brown, Leah Alexandria, and Leah Alexandria Brown. “The History of AfriCAN Fashion.”

Medium, Medium, 10 Apr. 2017, medium.com/@leahbee93/the-history-of-african-

fashion-19d5d07f956b.

“Japan Clothes in Modern Day.” Kyoto Kimono Rental Wargo, 31 Oct. 2016, kyotokimono-

rental.com/en/column/japan-clothes-modern-day.html.

“LibGuides: Women in Islam and Muslim Realms: Dress Code.” Dress Code - Women in

Islam and Muslim Realms - LibGuides at Cornell University, 21 Dec. 2015,

guides.library.cornell.edu/IslamWomen/DressCode.

“Why Do Buddhist Monks Wear Orange Clad Robes and Shave Their Heads? - by

Exotissimo.” Google, Google,

www.google.com/amp/s/www.exotravel.com/blog/en/buddhist-monk/amp/.

http://www.codecomputerlove.com/, Code Computerlove -. “Clothing in Christianity.” National

Union of Students, www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/health-and-wellbeing/clothing-in-

christianity/.

#1 #2 #3