James Laver the famous costume historian and a past Keeper of
the Robes at the London Victoria and Albert Museum, was a noted authority
on dress and its relationship to society. When you assess
any fashion look bear in mind his ideas on the timeline timetable of style.
»
Laver's Law says that fashions have a timeline and are
considered to be:-
Laver's Law
Indecent
10 years before its time
Shameless
5 years before its time
Daring
1 year before its time
Smart
----------
Dowdy
1 year after its time
Hideous
10 years after its time
Ridiculous
20 years after its time
Amusing
30 years after its time
Quaint
50 years after its time
Charming
70 years after its time
Romantic
100 years after its time
Beautiful
150 years after its time
»
James Laver was very astute, and in the 1970s Dr. Roy Strong wrote about
Laver's idea in The Times many years after it was first proposed. Why not check your
wardrobe now
and eliminate dowdy, hideous or ridiculous items. Perhaps anything older has a
certain museum quality or will come in handy for those 70's revival nights.
Seriously if it is older than 20 years and it has a good label and in good
condition it may well be valuable - ONE DAY - it is almost certainly already
being collected by someone somewhere in the world and is described as
vintage. If you are philanthropic
consider donating the item to a museum and leave them to decide if an item has
historical value. Alternatively check out some of the
Vintage Fashion sites on
the web and find out if you can do a deal.
Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
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