the best and the worst: week 06

and so, we sailed to the end of the sixth week of blogging (the first week of writing was purely experimental). for the entire week, my focus was on the history of fashion: looking at different periods, eras and movements. i have learnt of many of the periods in school from the angle of the literature that was written hence putting the various posts together was somewhat a stroll down memory lane. the struggle, though, was trying to find a balance between keeping the posts reader-friendly whilst being informative. putting a hundred years of fashion history into a few paragraphs was no easy feat but i'm pleased that (after much reading, cutting, copying and pasting) i did it anyway. thus i hope that you enjoyed this little learning journey that i 'forced' everyone to participate in.

without further ado, let's reveal the best of the week!

best: the ancients: china

yay for china! in researching for this post, i was taken aback to learn that the qipao or cheongsam was not the first outfit of the chinese. there was even an earlier post devoted to it. i have always been brought up thinking that the traditional outfit for the chinese was the slim fitting dress with the mandarin collar and the cloth buttons. whilst putting together this post, it was truly a lesson in my own culture and heritage. i haven't gotten round to asking my chinese friends but i am certain that many of them will be as surprised as me that the hanfu is the true traditional outfit. 

and the post that is the worst of the week...

worst: the goths

i think the goths took the bottom of the pile this week for a couple of reasons. firstly, it was the last article to be released in the week so there is always a huge risk that there is insufficient lapse in time for it to climb the charts. it is evident from the numbers this week that time was against the post. next, here in singapore, it's a public holiday (and thus a long weekend) which naturally translates into people not at work or at home. i can't expect everyone to stay home just to read my blog. i'm certain that the post will gain readership in the days to come but as of the weekly tally, it's the worst post of the week.

i don't think it's a bland post. it's just the bad timing.

before i wrap up this post, i would also like to make special mention of the post that is currently dominating the readership charts.

special mention: mary-kate, ashley...

this was a post i did a few weeks back on the olsen twins and this entire week, it shot up to number one and has been gaining very strong daily readership. if you are one of those who first visited my blog because of this post, i sincerely thank you for your support and i hope that you will visit this blog regularly as i bring you more diverse features. 

but if you have yet to read the post, do click on the link because i added a liner of update on the sisters. they have been awarded with something pretty special so do hop over to the post to find out what it is.

finally, it's been a good week here on The Online Edition in terms of the new knowledge that i gained and the boost in readership.

fash'on... BAM!

the ancients: japan

the japanese clothing consisted of a great variety of kimono. the first of which appeared in the jomon period, with no distinction between male and female. after japan opened up for trading with the outside world, other options started to come in.

officers and men of some units of the shogunal army and navy were among the first to adopt western clothing, fashioned after style of those worn by english marines stationed at yokohama. the style only grew from there, moving out from just the military to other forms of life as well.

the kimono is a traditional garment, wrapped around the body, sometimes in several layers and secured in place by sashes with a wide obi to complete the human parcel. the modern kimono is not worn as often as it once was.

there are six different types of kimonos that a woman can wear depending on her marital status and the event she intends to attend.

  

furisode and uchikake

 

houmongi and yukata

 

mofuku and tomesode

japanese clothing, specifically kimono, is styled to fit the seasons. clothing with more rustic colours and patterns (like russet leaves) are favoured in autumn, while in spring, more vibrant colours and floral designs (like cherry blossoms) are common. in winter, those dressing in kimono tend to wear darker colours and multiple layers (sometimes as many as ten). it is important that one dresses for the season in certain layers, because you do not want to be too hot or too cold.

here's a quick clip of selena gomez donning a kimono:

fash'on... BAM!

the ancients: china

so we've featured greece, rome and egypt in our ancient fashion so far but no journey will be complete if a discussion on china is not done. the recorded history of china begins with the xia dynasty and till this day, there are arguments if it even existed. however there are a couple of significant contributions that china made to the fashion industry of the ancients. their primary role would be the textile trade or the silk road.

the exchange of luxury textiles was predominant on the silk road, a series of ancient trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the asian continent connecting east and west by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from china to the mediterranean sea during various periods of time. trade on the silk road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of china, egypt, mesopotamia, persia, the indian subcontinent and rome. it also help to lay the foundations for the modern world.

silkworm spinning its cocoon

the earliest evidence of silk production in china was found at the sites of yangshao culture in xia, shanxi, where a cocoon of bombyx mori, the domesticated silkworm, cut in half by a sharp knife is dated between 5000 and 3000 bc.

image from century china

under the shang dynasty, han chinese clothing or hanfu consisted of a yi, a narrow-cuffed, knee-length tunic tied with a sash, and a narrow, ankle-length skirt, called shang, worn with a bixi, a length of fabric that reached the knees. clothing of the elite was made of silk in vivid primary colours.

Hanfu movement

the concept of hanfu is distinguished from the broader concept of traditional chinese clothing. this excludes the main changes 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 or adopted through cultural influence from the ruling manchu ethinicity. thus, the qipao, while widely regarded as an example of traditional chinese clothing, is not an example of hanfu since it derives from a manchu clothing style. these days, the only significant population segment which wear hanfu regularly on a day-to-day basis are religious priests and monks.

fash'on... BAM!

the ancients: egypt

how can anyone not love egypt? it has given us some of the world's greatest wonders and most mysterious legends. i even wrote a play about the egyptian tombs as well. that was in the past. for today, we shall look closely at the fashion of ancient egypt (you can of course find all the details here.)

in ancient egypt, linen was by far the most common textile because it helped people to be more comfortable in the subtropical heat. wool was known, but considered impure. only the wealthy wore animal fibers that were the object of taboos. they were used on occasion for overcoats but were forbidden in temples and sanctuaries. peasants, workers and other people of modest condition often wore nothing but the shenti (made of flax) was worn by all people. 

picture from Wikipedia

slaves often worked naked (nope not putting up pictures of egyptian slaves on this blog). on the other end of the scale, royal clothing is particularly well documented, as well as the clothing and crowns of the pharaohs. the pharaohs would wear leopard skins over their shoulders and add a lion's tail to hang from their belt.

Egyptian men

ancient Egyptian woman

from about 2130 bc during the old kingdom, garments were simple. the men wore skirts known as shendyt, which were belted at the waist, sometimes pleated or gathered in the front. as for the women, during the old, middle and new kingdom, they often wore simple sheath dresses. these dresses were held up by one or two straps and were worn down to the ankle and sometimes above or below the breast. the length of the dress denoted the social class of the wearer. beading or feathers were also used as an embellishment on the dress.

The Brooklyn Museum

jewelry was very popular in ancient egypt, no matter what your social class. it was heavy and rather voluminous. the egyptians became very skilled when making jewelry from turquoise, metals like gold and silver, and small beads. 

Jean Shrimpton

one creation that was specific to ancient egypt was the gorgerine, an assembly of metal discs worn on the chest, either over bare skin or over a shirt and attached in the back.

Tutankhamun's footwear

footwear was the same for both genders. it consisted of sandals of leatherwork, or for the priestly class, papyrus. since egyptians were usually barefoot, sandals were worn on special occasions or at times when their feet might get hurt.

fash'on... BAM!

the ancients: greece

usually, the posts within a day will be related to each other but due the massive amount of material that i want to include, 'the ancients' will span two days instead of one. also, lots of credit to my good friend, wikipedia, for providing me with a ton of assistance. anyway, *cues music* let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. before i break out further in song, the first era in fashion's history that i want to share with you is ancient greece.

ancient greek clothing consisted of lengths of wool or linen, generally rectangular and secured at the shoulders with ornamented pins called fibulae and belted with a sash. typical garments were the peplos, a loose robe worn by women; the chlamys, a cloak worn by men and the chiton, a tunic worn by both men and women.

images depicting the chlamy, peplos and chiton 

 fibulae

men's chitons hung to the knees, whereas women's chitons fell to their ankles. a long cloak called a himation was worn over the peplos or chlamys. 

while no clothes have survived from this period, descriptions exist from contemporary accounts and artistic depiction. clothes were mainly homemade and often served many purposes (such as bedding). 

picture from dvallejosanz

despite popular imagination and media depictions of all-white clothing, elaborate design and bright colours were favoured.

fash'on... BAM!