The Clothing Portal
Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) consists of items worn on the body. Clothing is typically made from textiles but may also be made from animal skins, furs, and other natural materials and synthetic fibres. Clothing is a feature of every known human society, and its form and use vary according to climate, culture, available materials, technology, social norms, and individual preference.
Humans likely began wearing clothing at least tens of thousands of years ago, and early clothing was made from animal skins and plant fibres before the widespread use of woven textiles. (Full article...)
A textile is any of various fibre-based materials, including fibres, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. Originally, textiles were woven; however, weaving is not the only manufacturing method, and many other methods were later developed to form textile structures based on their intended use. Knitting and non-woven are other popular types of fabric manufacturing. In the contemporary world, textiles satisfy the material needs for versatile applications, from simple daily clothing to bulletproof jackets, spacesuits, doctor's gowns and technical applications like geotextiles. (Full article...)
Textile art is art created from natural or synthetic fibers or from fabric or textile. Textile art is synonymous with fiber art. The art could be wall-hung, sculptural, installation, or have a functional decorative arts purpose. (Full article...)
Selected articles -
"Summer", detail from a tapestry called The Seasons or Orchard, woven by Morris & Co. in wool, silk, and mohair on a cotton ground at Merton Abbey in 1890, designed by William Morris and John Henry Dearle.
John Henry Dearle (22 August 1859 – 15 January 1932) was a British textile and stained-glass designer trained by the artist and craftsman William Morris who was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Dearle designed many of the later wallpapers and textiles released by Morris & Co., and contributed background and foliage patterns to tapestry designs featuring figures by Edward Burne-Jones and others. Beginning in his teens as a shop assistant and then design apprentice, Dearle rose to become Morris & Co.'s chief designer by 1890, creating designs for tapestries, embroidery, wallpapers, woven and printed textiles, stained glass, and carpets. Following Morris's death in 1896, Dearle was appointed Art Director of the firm, and became its principal stained glass designer on the death of Burne-Jones in 1898.
Morris's reputation overshadowed Dearle's work throughout Dearle's career: Dearle exhibited early patterns under Morris's name and Dearle designs continue to be sold as Morris patterns. Critical assessment of Dearle's work then underwent a significant change during the final decades of the twentieth century, recognizing Dearle's mature work as having a unique artistic vision of its own. Dearle always remained close to Morris's aesthetic, but from the 1890s onward he incorporated a distinctive set of Persian and Turkish influences. (Full article...)
A Palestinian Arab woman from Ramallah, photographed by the American Colony Photo Department, c. 1929–1946
Palestinian traditional clothing are the types of clothing historically and sometimes still presently worn by Palestinians. Foreign travelers to Palestine in the 19th and early 20th centuries often commented on the rich variety of the costumes worn, particularly by the fellaheen or village women. Many of the handcrafted garments were richly embroidered and the creation and maintenance of these items played a significant role in the lives of the region's women.
Though experts in the field trace the origins of Palestinian clothing to ancient times, there are no surviving clothing artifacts from this early period against which the modern items might be definitively compared. Influences from the various empires to have ruled Palestine, such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire, among others, have been documented by scholars largely based on the depictions in art and descriptions in literature of costumes produced during these times. (Full article...)
Kusquqvagmiut (Kuskokwim Yup'ik) man and woman wearing hoodless fancy fur parkas (atkupiak), circa 1879
Yup'ik clothing (Yup'ik aturaq sg aturak dual aturat pl, aklu, akluq, un’u; also, piluguk in Unaliq-Pastuliq dialect, aklu, cangssagar, un’u in Nunivak dialect, Cup'ik clothing for the Chevak Cup'ik-speaking people of Chevak and Cup'ig clothing for the Nunivak Cup'ig-speaking people of Nunivak Island) refers to the traditional Alaska Native-style clothing worn by the Yupik people of southwestern Alaska.
The traditional clothing systems developed and used by the Yup’ik, Inuit and Nuniwarmiut peoples performs similarly to the most effective cold weather clothing developed to date. Yup'ik women made clothes and footwear from animal skins (especially hide and fur of marine and land mammals for fur clothing, sometimes birds, also fish), sewn together using needles made from animal bones, walrus ivory, and bird bones such as the front part of a crane's foot and threads made from other animal products, such as sinew. The multi-functional ulu (semilunar woman's knife) is used to process and cut skins for clothing and footwear. Women made most clothing of caribou (wild caribou Rangifer tarandus granti and domestic reindeer Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and sealskin. Yup’ik clothing tended to fit relatively loosely. (Full article...)
Person knitting
Knitting is the process of interlooping yarn to create textile fabric made of interconnected loops, done by hand, machine or both.
Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row. When done by hand, the loops are created with a pair of knitting needles where the loops are created one at a time. When done by machine the loops are created on hook type needles that work on the entire row of knitting at a time. (Full article...)
Rug in progress in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
The textiles of Mexico have a long history. The making of fibers, cloth and other textile goods has existed in the country since at least 1400 BCE. Fibers used during the pre-Hispanic period included those from the yucca, palm and maguey plants as well as the use of cotton in the hot lowlands of the south. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Spanish introduced new fibers such as silk and wool as well as the European foot treadle loom. Clothing styles also changed radically. Fabric was produced exclusively in workshops or in the home until the era of Porfirio Díaz (1880s to 1910), when the mechanization of weaving was introduced, mostly by the French.
Today, fabric, clothes and other textiles are both made by craftsmen and in factories. Handcrafted goods include pre-Hispanic clothing such as huipils and sarapes, which are often embroidered. Clothing, rugs and more are made with natural and naturally dyed fibers. Most handcrafts are produced by indigenous people, whose communities are concentrated in the center and south of the country in states such as Mexico State, Oaxaca and Chiapas. The textile industry remains important to the economy of Mexico although it has suffered a setback due to competition by cheaper goods produced in countries such as China, India and Vietnam. (Full article...)
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color. Indigo is a natural dye obtained from the leaves of some plants of the Indigofera genus, in particular Indigofera tinctoria. Dye-bearing Indigofera plants were once common throughout the world. Blue colorants are relatively rare. Since indigo is insoluble, it is also referred to as a pigment (C.I. Pigment Blue 66, C.I.).
Most indigo dye produced today is synthetic, constituting around 80,000 tonnes each year, as of 2023. It is most commonly associated with the production of denim cloth and blue jeans, where its properties allow for effects such as stone washing and acid washing to be applied quickly. (Full article...)
Cone Mills Corporation was an American textile manufacturing company. It produced cotton fabrics such as corduroy, flannel, and denim. The company headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Full article...)
Cotton corduroy
Corduroy is a textile with a distinctively raised "cord" or wale texture. Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel (bare to the base fabric) between them. Both velvet and corduroy derive from fustian fabric. Corduroy looks as if it is made from multiple cords laid parallel to each other. (Full article...)
Sir William Henry Perkin (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907) was an English chemist and entrepreneur best known for his serendipitous discovery of the first commercial synthetic organic dye, mauveine, made from aniline. Though he failed in trying to synthesise quinine for the treatment of malaria, he became successful in the field of dyes after his first discovery at the age of 18.
Perkin set up a factory to produce the dye industrially. Regina Lee Blaszczyk, professor of business history at the University of Leeds, states, "By laying the foundation for the synthetic organic chemicals industry, Perkin helped to revolutionize the world of fashion." (Full article...)
An Aran cardigan in the traditional white báinín colour.
The Aran jumper (Irish: Geansaí Árann), also called a fisherman's jumper or a gansey, is a style of jumper that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A traditional Aran Jumper usually is off-white in colour, with cable patterns on the body and sleeves. Originally the jumpers were knitted using unscoured wool that retained its natural oils (lanolin) which made the garments water-resistant and meant they remained wearable even when wet.
Use of the word jumper (or other options such as "pullover" and "jersey") is largely determined by the regional version of English used. In the case of Ireland, Britain and Australia, "jumper" is the standard word, "jersey" is used in South Africa and New Zealand, whereas "sweater" is mainly found in tourist shops and in North America. The word used in Irish is geansaí. (Full article...)
David, between personifications of Wisdom and Prophecy, is depicted in a chlamys of patterned Byzantine silk. Paris Psalter, 10th century.
Byzantine silk is silk woven in the Byzantine Empire (Byzantium) from about the fourth century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
The Byzantine capital of Constantinople was the first significant silk-weaving center in Europe. Silk was one of the most important commodities in the Byzantine economy, used by the state both as a means of payment and of diplomacy. (Full article...)
Sprang Headdress from the Head of a Mummy of a Child (MET, 90.5.33)
Sprang is an ancient method of constructing fabric that has a natural elasticity. Its appearance is similar to netting, but unlike netting, sprang is constructed entirely from warp threads. Archaeological evidence indicates that sprang predates knitting; the two needlework forms bear a visible resemblance and serve similar functions but require different production techniques.
Although examples of sprang have been unearthed from as early as the Bronze Age, sprang was almost entirely undocumented in written records until the late nineteenth century when archaeological finds generated interest in Europe. Museum examples of sprang had been misidentified as knitting or lace until discoveries of ancient examples prompted reexamination of newer pieces. Subsequently, sprang has been identified in a variety of cultures and traditions across several continents. Its practice as a folk art waned during the twentieth century and sprang traditions have disappeared in most locales. Knitting has largely supplanted sprang. (Full article...)
The Harris tweed Orb Mark
The Harris Tweed Authority (HTA) is an independent statutory public body created by the Harris Tweed Act 1993, replacing the Harris Tweed Association, which was formed in 1910. The Harris Tweed Authority is charged with the general duty of furthering the Harris Tweed industry as a means of livelihood for those who live in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
The Harris Tweed Authority is responsible for safeguarding the standard and reputation of Harris Tweed, promoting awareness of the cloth internationally, and disseminating information about material falling within the definition of Harris tweed and articles made from it. (Full article...)
Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South. Whitney's invention made upland short cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery in the United States and prolonged the institution. Despite the social and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost much of his profits in legal battles over patent infringement for the cotton gin. Thereafter, he turned his attention to securing contracts with the government in the manufacture of muskets for the newly formed United States Army. He continued making arms and inventing until his death in 1825. (Full article...)
Smocking on the collar of a sixteenth-century garment
Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable. Smocking developed in England and has been practised since the Middle Ages and is unusual among embroidery methods in that it was often worn by labourers. Other major embroidery styles are purely decorative and represented status symbols. Smocking was practical for garments to be both form fitting and flexible, hence its name derives from smock — an agricultural labourer's work shirt. Smocking was used most extensively in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto generated)
- ... that Sandra Ng wore her own clothes while filming Love Lies to help the production crew save on the budget?
- ... that the earliest of the authentic portraits of Mozart shows the prodigy wearing the clothes of Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, given as a gift by Empress Maria Theresa?
- ... that Caroline Jones wore different charity clothes every day in 2015 after her mother died?
- ... that Swertia japonica was used as an insecticide for clothes during the Edo period?
- ... that according to Brandy Hellville, executives at Brandy Melville have bought the clothes off of employees' backs?
- ... that drag queen Marcus Hunter-Neill once donated £20,000 worth of clothes to charity?
More Did you know
- ... that Anna Maria Garthwaite (artwork pictured), the daughter of a Lincolnshire clergyman, became the leading designer of flowered fabrics for the Spitalfields silk-weaving trade in 18th century England?
- ... that Bouclé is a type of novelty yarn that uses special plying techniques to obtain its characteristic loopy appearance?
- ... that a swift is a tool with an adjustable diameter used to hold a skein of yarn while it is being wound off?
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A medieval ship flag captured by forces from Lübeck in the 1420s showed the arms of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Pomerania. At the time, Denmark, Norway and Sweden were united in the Kalmar Union. The saint accompanying the Virgin Mary and infant Christ is Saint James the Greater, identified by his scallop shell emblem. The flag was made of coarse linen. All figures and heraldic insignia were created using oil-based paint.
General images -
The following are images from various clothing-related articles on Wikipedia.
A Concert in an Interior by Jan Josef Horemans the Younger of Antwerp, 1764. The women's sack-back gowns and the men's coats over long waistcoats are characteristic of this period. (from History of clothing and textiles)
Kiko Mizuhara is a designer known for blending traditional Japanese elements with modern fashion, challenging stereotypes of Japanese style as static or outdated. (from Fashion)
1895 Punch cartoon.Gertrude: "My dear Jessie, what on earth is that Bicycle Suit for?"
Jessie: "Why, to wear, of course."
Gertrude: "But you haven't got a Bicycle!"
Jessie: "No; but I've got a Sewing Machine!" (from History of clothing and textiles)
Cover of Marcus Clarks' spring and summer catalogue 1926–27 (from Fashion)
Gensei Kajin Shu by Yoshu Chikanobu, 1890. Various styles of traditional Japanese clothing and Western styles. (from Fashion)
A French reinterpretation of Spanish fashion, with elaborate reticella ruff, 1609 (from History of clothing and textiles)
A silk chiffon dress identical to that worn by Jennifer Lopez to the 42nd Annual Grammys in 2000, this version exhibited at the Fashion Museum, Bath, as part of their Dress of the Year Collection. (from History of clothing and textiles)
Liu Wen, supermodel, walks the runway modeling fashions by designer Diane von Fürstenberg at New York Fashion Week 2013. (from Fashion)
Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, was a leader of fashion. Her choices, such as this 1783 white muslin dress called a chemise a la Reine, were highly influential and widely worn. (from Fashion)
A woman in Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, clad in fine Bengali muslin, 18th century. (from History of clothing and textiles)
Diana: A Celebration, an exhibition of Princess Diana's outfits at the Frazier History Museum. Diana's fashion significantly impacted style trends. (from Fashion)
Indigenous Americas Map Tunic designed in 2018 by Carla Fernández and Pedro Reyes for Taller Flora. (from Fashion)
Kaia Gerber at the 2019 Max Mara Fashion Week in Milan (from Fashion)
Tie dye vendor, July 2013 (from Fashion)
Estonian national clothes are a fine example of change in clothing after the Industrial Revolution. They changed considerably during 18th and 19th century with the addition of new types of colors (like aniline dyes), placement of colors (like lengthwise stripes) and with the addition of new elements (like waistcoats). By the end of the 19th century they went out of use in most of the country (except more remote places as in Kihnu island) and it was only in mid 20th century when they once again gained popularity and now as a formal clothing. Members of University of Tartu Folk Art Ensemble wearing clothes specific to Kihnu island, Tori Parish (women in red skirts) and Tõstamaa area (men in brown clothing). (from History of clothing and textiles)
Textile machinery at the Cambrian Factory, Llanwrtyd, Wales in the 1940s (from History of clothing and textiles)
A multigenerational banquet depicted on a wall-painting from Pompeii, 1st century AD (from History of clothing and textiles)
Latin dancers in their costumes. The woman is wearing backless dress with deep slits on its lower portion, while the man is wearing a shirt with top buttons open. (from Fashion)
Model with a modern dress reflecting the current fashion trend, 2011 (from Fashion)
This 1921 clipping from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with story and drawings by Marguerite Martyn, represents the saturation newspaper coverage given to society women at a fashionable dance. (from Fashion)
A 16th-century Boxer Codex image showing the attire of a Classical period Filipino, made of silk and cotton (from History of clothing and textiles)
Hindu lady wearing sari, one of the most ancient and popular pieces of clothing in the Indian subcontinent. (from Fashion)
Gross sales of goods vs IP laws (US 2007) (from Fashion)
Albrecht Dürer's drawing contrasts a well-turned out bourgeoise from Nuremberg (left) with her counterpart from Venice. The Venetian lady's high chopines make her look taller. (from Fashion)
Sungir boy clothes reconstruction, about 30,000 years ago. (from History of clothing and textiles)
Bold floral patterned silks, 15th century (from History of clothing and textiles)
Celebrities such as Britney Spears have popularized the concept of wearing underwear as outerwear. (from Fashion)
Edgar I of England in short tunic, hose, and cloak, 966 (from History of clothing and textiles)
Reconstruction of people of the Mierzanowice culture from present-day Poland, c. 2100–1650 BC. (from History of clothing and textiles)
A see-through top worn along with pasties at a fashion show in 2017. Such fashion trends get popularised through media. (from Fashion)
Warp-weighted loom configured for twill weave fabric. (from History of clothing and textiles)
14th-century Italian silk damasks (from History of clothing and textiles)
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