BEGINNING OF COSTUMES

• First clues of clothing dates back to 75000-

100000 years.
• No written record exists…cave paintings, old
fabric, old ornaments, tools used
• Earliest Civilization – Man lived in caves, main
concern “food and life”, hunted animals and
gathered plants
• Lived in groups with equal sharing of food
 BODY DECORATION BEGINNING
• Beginning of dress in the form of body decoration
• Ambition to be distinguished from the rest stimulated his
desire towards his dressing.
• Primitive hunter, stained with his own blood or that of
animal killed on returning to the tribe after the hunting
found these evidences to be greeted by others with respect
and admiration
• Physical power commanded respect due to which he sought
for more permanent badges
• Blood marks left upon the body as long as possible…that
marked the beginning of dim sense of beauty
 BODY DECORATION BEGINNING
• Devised new schemes of decoration
• Faces, heads and bodies were daubed in
natural colors through natural clays.
• Then came cutting and slashing of skin
followed by tattooeing
 BODY ORNAMENTATION BEGINNING

• Leader wore necklace of teeth, bone or

polished stone
• Same necklace of teeth, bone and in time
beads later after the art of weaving came into
existence took the form of tunic/ jacket.
• Similarly waist belt of feathers, bones
gradually became apron and finally into the
modern skirt
 DRESS FOR PROTECTION BEGINNNING
• Started with man using leaves and barks of trees such
as mulberry and twig to protect the body
• Extracted bark is soaked in water and three layers of it
are placed on a flat stone and beaten by the mallet
(type of hammer) until they cling together.
• Resultant bark cloth was oiled and painted to add to
its durability. E.g. Egyptian Linen making process
• Man realized the importance of animals – to be killed
not only for the food but also for their pelts(hair, fur)
& skin
DRESS FOR PROTECTION -BEGINNNING
• Skin of animals wrapped around their body hampered
their movement – necessary to give it shape.
• As the days passed skin had the tendency to become
dry, hard and intractable.
• Problem was solved by wetting the hide and beating it ,
process was repeated many times
• Tanning –bark of trees such as oaks & willows contain
tannic acid which was extracted by soaking the bark in
the water, hides were immersed in them for a long
period, thus becoming pliable and waterproof.
 INVENTION OF THE NEEDLE
• Bear’s skin wrapped around person’s shoulder and back
but due to heavy weight kept falling down
• Used Sinew (holds bone to muscle) to tie the bear’s skin –
deliberately punching holes to string the sinew through
holes.
• Lacing skills got better and better
• Awl was the tool used to punch holes in skin, while sinew
was pushed by hand through the holes.
• Later a notch was carved (blunt side) to hold sinew in its
place, other side was sharpened to make punching easier.
 INVENTION OF THE NEEDLE
• Notch was enlarged over a period of time
making it look like a hole until someone bore a
hole in the blunt side of the awl and hence
sinew could be threaded through the hole.
• First so called eyed needle was invented. It
was also the first composite tool
 Development of the sewing
• Eyed needle invention led to the development of
the sewing (process in which needle and thread
were used to bind together two pieces of
materials).
• People could sew skins rather than lacing them.
• They used sewing plate made up of bone to push
the needle through the hide
• People started living in groups in agrarian societies
and helped in the development of the clothes
 DEVELOPMENT OF SPINNING
• Sinew did not wear very well and it toughened & stiffened
with age.
• People started the use of stems and reeds (tall grass like
plants) and some kinds of tree bark. They also used horehair.
• People got the idea of spinning by observing how matted
animal hair twisted into strong rope-like strings.
• Gradually they made tools to spin fibres.
• Next development was yarn – a continuous strand or a string
of fibers.
• Process of making yarns is known as spinning and is made by
twisting and tightening the fibers
 DISCOVERY OF NATURAL FIBERS
• Once people knew about spinning and
weaving they looked for fibers
• Four natural fibers used – Wool from Sumeria,
Linen from Egypt, Cotton from India and Silk
from China
 Development of Garment Styles
Draped Garments –
• Fabric that is draped, wrapped or hung on the
body
• Pins, buttons, belts, etc can be used.
• In ancient times people wore animal skins as
draped garment
• E.g. Schenti of Egypt, Chiton and Himation of
Greek, Stolas of Rome, Sarees and Dhotis of India
• Raw edges are knotted or fringed
 Development of Garment Styles
Fitted Garments –
• Fit exactly to the body contours
• Fitted garments are ready to wear and cannot
be changed to another style.
• Raveling of threads needs to be managed (no
raveling in skin used by ancient people)
 Development of Garment Styles
Composite Garments –
• Combination of Fitted and Draped
• E.g. Saree, blouse and inner skirt
 Role of costumes
Aesthetic satisfaction –
• Person expresses his/ her ideas about beauty
• Need to show and love to display
• Result is the narcissism
• Taking friends along for shopping
 Role of costumes
Protection and Hygeine –
• Individual resistance to weather differs
• By proper selection body is maintained at a
constant temperature
• Special suits used - fire fighters, space suits
 Role of Costumes
Role Identity –
• Short Roles – school, wedding, modelling
• Longer roles – occupational/ family role
• Permanent – sexual identity. Choice of
hairstyle, shoes, jewellery, perfume difers.
People feel outraged when members of one
sex adopts the traits of opposite sex
 Role of Costumes
Age Role –
• No formal rules that particular style or color to
be worn at particular age or stage but societal
norms.
• Catholic Wedding – white dress depicting
transition of phase from single to married –
black when widow in Greece
 Role of costumes
Identifies its group & its culture –
• Group is number of persons either found
together or thought of as belonging together
• Native style of India different from that of Dubai
• Group identification creates a sense of
patriotism also by use of uniforms, badges,
emblems, etc
• Much the same way as our language and food
 Role of costume
• Status symbol
• Self identity
• Non-verbal communication –doctor, flight
attendant, 1960s, padded shoulder in jackets.
• Reflects fashion time –
• Sex appeal – expenditure exceeds parents
expenditure on clothes Women’s clothes “ sex-
conscious” while men’s are “ class conscious”