Women wore long dresses with a very narrow waist. Under their dresses they wore stiff corsets, but it was very uncomfortable. Their beauty was emphasized by long hair. In the Roaring Twenties dresses and hair became much shorter. People saw women´s knees for the first time! A straight figure with no waist or bust was fashionable and corsets disappeared. Man wore trousers with very wide legs called “Oxford Bags“. In the 1930s and 40s everything was longer again. Men´s fashion didn´t change very much. Men wore a suit, a tie, and usually a hat, too. Moustaches were less popular and then they went out of fashion. In the 1950s men wore long jackets in very bright colours – pink, orange or yellow – and very tight trousers called “drainpipes“. Women liked jumpers and blouses with wide skirts and short socks. Both men and women wore “winklepicker“ shoes with long pointed toes. The women´s shoes had high stiletto heels.

In the late 1960s and early 70s the colourful hippie “flower power“ style was fashionable. With this style are joined long hair, which were popular among women as well as among men. Women wore loose maxi-skirts or maxi-dresses. Men wore jeans and bright shirts or T-shirts. Beards became more common.

In the late 1980s and early 90s loose, casual clothes were in fashion – baggy trousers, loose sweatshirts, and baseball caps (usually back to front). Sports clothes like tracksuits and trainers were very fashionable too.


Hair style

Another important part of our image is hair. You can change its colour by dyeing it or bleaching it. There are three main hair styles: straight, curly and wavy. We can also use a wig. Wigs were popular in the Ancient Egypt. In Europe, they began to be worn by the aristocracy in the 17th century. Nowadays, they are still worn by judges in the UK.


Clothing

On special occasions we want to be dressed properly. When we go to the theatre or to a ball we prefer to be dressed up. We wear an evening dress, which consists of a dark suit, a light shirt and a tie or a bowtie, sometimes a dinner jacket, an evening gown, and pumps. Fashion designers prepare fabulous collections of evening dresses for women. For sports we put on sports wear, such as shorts, T-shirts, blazers, parkas, track suits and to the mountains a waterproof jacket or anorak and sport shoes (trainers, plimsolls, heavy boots or ski boots). At home we like to feel comfortable, and so we prefer leisure wear – jeans and T-shirts and slippers. To school we wear something practical and plain.