The
History of Sneakers
Sneakers go back a long way. In the late 18th century, people wore rubber soled shoes called plimsolls, but they were pretty crude-for one thing, there was no right foot or left foot. Around 1892, the U.S. Rubber Company came up with more comfortable rubber sneakers with canvas tops, called Keds. By 1917, these sneakers began to be mass produced. (They got the nickname sneakers because they were so quiet, a person wearing them could sneak up on someone.)
That same year, Marquis Converse produced the first shoe made just for basketball, called Converse All-Stars. In 1923, an Indiana hoops star named Chuck Taylor endorsed the shoes, and they became known as Chuck Taylor All-Stars. These are the best-selli 22122u205w ng basketball shoes of all time.
Sneakers Go Global
Sneakers went international in 1924. That's when a German man named Adi Dassler created a sneaker that he named after himself: Adidas. This brand became the most popular athletic shoe in the world. Track star Jessie Owens wore Adidas when he won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. Adi's brother Rudi started up another famous sports shoe company: Puma.
During the first half of the 20th century, sports shoes were worn mostly to play sports. But in the 1950s, kids began wearing them as fashion statements. Even more teens followed the fad after seeing James Dean in sneakers in the popular movie Rebel Without a Cause.
Innovation at a Price
Sales of sneakers really took off in 1984, when Michael Jordan signed a contract to wear a Nike shoe called Air Jordans-the most famous sneaker ever made. Even after Jordan retired from the NBA, his shoes continued to be best sellers. As companies like Nike, Reebok and Adidas competed, they changed the way sneakers looked, adding wild colors and doing away with laces. Sneakers began to be produced for every sport, including walking, skateboarding and "cross training."
New sneaker technologies increase performance. Nike's Air Force used little pockets of gas to create better cushioning, while Reebok introduced The Pump-air pumped into shoes to make them fit more snugly. Sneaker surprises continue: Spira Footwear, for example, has built a spring in the soles to reduce foot stress. Of course, innovations like these come with a price: Athletic shoes often cost more than $100 a pair!
The World of Fashion
The next time you put on your argyles or bikini, remember that they took their names from real places on the globe.
Ascot, a village in Berkshire, England, is the home of a famous annual horse race. During the 1700s, people who attended the races wore a wide, loosely tied scarf, which started a new fashion trend known as the ascot.
Bikini, a tiny coral island in the Pacific Marshall Islands, is where the U.S. conducted atom bomb tests in the late 1940s. Four days after the A-bomb was exploded, a French designer introduced a scanty, two-piece bathing suit and called it the bikini. He believed it would cause a fashion explosion, and indeed it did.
Cologne (in German spelled Köln), is the city in Germany where cologne was first produced. Cologne is a scented liquid made of alcohol and various fragrant oils, similar to perfume.
Fez is a city in Morocco. A fez is a brimless felt hat, usually red, with a black tassel hanging from its crown. It was first worn by men in Morocco and is still worn by Muslim men today.
Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands in the southwest-central English Channel. A guernsey is a snug, knitted wool shirt first worn by seamen in this area.
Nīmes, France, is the source of denim. In French it was called serge de Nīmes, or "fabric from Nīmes," and de Nīmes became "denim."
Panama hats are woven straw hats made in Ecuador. However, they were named for Panama because they were shipped from there in the 1800s.
Rhinestone (Bas-Rhin) is a district in France where rhinestones were first made. Rhinestones are colorless, artificial gems made of paste or glass.
Suede is the French pronunciation of Sweden, where this soft, velvety leather was first made.
Tuxedo is in Orange County, north of New York City. The tuxedo, a black formal men's dinner suit without "tails," was first worn here.
Trousers in History
In Asia both women and men have long worn pants for warmth, comfort, and convenience. In Rome and Greece women and men wore tunics.
In the fourth century, women in the Western world wore pants, which they adapted from the Persians. At that time, pants were considered unmanly.
By the Middle Ages in Europe women were wearing dresses and men were wearing breeches.
After the French Revolution, men took off their high heels, silk stockings, and wigs and began wearing trousers.
In the nineteenth century women put on trousers to ride horses, but they hid them by wearing full skirts on top.
All trousers were pull-ons until the nineteenth century, when front closures using buttons were introduced.
Jeans were the first trousers to put women and men on equal terms.
Until 1970 it was not fashionable and sometimes against the law for women to wear pants in offices, classrooms, and restaurants in the U.S.
What
is Haute Couture?
Uncovering the business of high fashion
-David Johnson
The term "haute couture" is French. Haute means "high" or "elegant." Couture literally means "sewing," but has come to indicate the business of designing, creating, and selling custom-made, high fashion women's clothes.
Strict Regulations
To be called a haute couture house, a business must belong to the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture in Paris, which is regulated by the French Department of Industry.
Members must employ 15 or more people and present their collections twice a year. Each presentation must include at least 35 separate outfits for day and eveningwear.
Glittering Names
The syndicate has about 18 members, including such fashion giants as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Pierre Cardin. The houses generate more than $1 billion in annual sales and employ close to 5,000 people, including 2,200 seamstresses. Workers often specialize in one area, such as feathers, fabric, buttons, shoes, etc. Before World War II, 35,000 people worked at couture houses.
Staggering Prices
Made from scratch for each customer, haute couture clothing typically requires three fittings. It usually takes from 100 to 400 hours to make one dress, costing from $26,000 to over $100,000. A tailored suit starts at $16,000, an evening gown at $60,000.
A Small Market
Today only 2,000 women in the world buy couture clothes; 60% are American. Only 200 are regular customers. Often, designers will loan clothes to movie stars or other public figures for publicity.
During fashion's "golden age," after World War II, some 15,000 women wore couture. Socialites such as the Duchess of Windsor, Babe Paley, and Gloria Guiness would order whole collections at a time.
Despite the small market, designers maintain haute couture operations partly because the prestige helps sell other products, such as perfume, cosmetics, and their ready-to-wear lines available in stores.
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