h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was musing on clothing a bit earlier. If I go to an electronics fair, I might see prototypes of devices people hadn't thought possible 10 years earlier. If I go to a fashion show, the dominant colour might be orange instead of black and the skirts are a bit shorter. Big deal. I was wondering which actual advances have happened when it comes to clothing, instead of things just having an extra button added. Any suggestions? The invention of the zipper would be one, but that's almost 150 years ago. There's velcro, but again about 50 years ago. Anything else?

Mechanical trousers?

http://asg.animatedheroes.com/albums/02/trousers2.jpg

ok - here's your 'starter for 10'... wearable electronics

in the last year or so there have been articles about embedded electronic applications (eg., personal music players, computing devices, etc.) fabricateded within clothing, conformable battery technology, and even an electronic dress which causes sections of itself to change colour (or even become transparent!) when its wearer becomes 'aroused'

you're obviously not getting invited to the right electronics fairs!

So I was right with mechanical trousers then?

I'd hazzard a guess... and probably therefore be wrong.... But I'd imaigne, with the changeing of production to being more high tech, I'd imagine there must have been all manner of differnt weeves for matterial, which might not necessarily be groudn breaking in making the clothes look wildly differnt, b but maybe with differnt properties? Hmm... I'm still wearing cotton or linen shirts, leather boots and denum jeans, so I've quite easily missed any major changes all the 'newer'' synthetic matterials I can think of, arnt' really that* recent I guess...

LOL @ my inability to proofread & correct "fabricateded"

'i couldn't spell engineer, once - now i are one', as they say in the trade!

I guess if something is fabricateded it has been subjected to an extra level of buildingworthyful scrutineeringness.

hd >>> "So I was right with mechanical trousers then?"


heheh - only if you want to start a flame war between electrical and mechanical engineers

How about materials like Gore-Tex?

Or synthetic materials that *don't* make you feel like you're wrapped in a plastic carrier bag (as most of them used to)?

It's said that necessity is the mother of invention, but what we need from clothing hasn't changed much in thousands of years: keep us warm, keep us dry, and cover up any taboo bits there may be in a given time or place. So from the functionality side, what we have does it all already. The changes that happen are largely aesthetic.

But when people started going into space, or to the bottom of the sea, their clothing advanced quite a bit - it had to meet new needs.

Gore-Tex is amazing. As is my little raincoat which compresses into a tiny bag for portage.

TRiG.

Clothes that clean themselves.

"Engineers have created a chemical coating that causes cotton materials to clean themselves of stains and remove odours when exposed to sunlight."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16225050

'Invisibility' cloak, not quite there yet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7553061.stm

<<"Engineers have created a chemical coating that causes cotton materials to clean themselves of stains and remove odours when exposed to sunlight.">>

Meh. Alec Guinness did it in the 60s. They're in for a surprise unfortunately.

In 1951 I believe.

Do Reactions lenses in glasses count as fashion? They're pretty amazing though I'd like for the reaction to work better in the heat: during the hot weather I put my glasses in the fridge before I go to bed. It leads to some awkward conversations with people thinking I've had a mental breakdown.

>> I put my glasses in the fridge before I go to bed. <<


You might want to think about the definition of 'cool'.


~jwf~

Just fixing the header

>>You might want to think about the definition of 'cool'.<<

The photochromatic reaction works better at low temperatures than high ones (I used to know why but can no longer remember) and the glasses can be pretty ineffectual in hot weather. Putting them in the fridge overnight helps cool the glass down and, since glass is a poor conductor of heat, they stay cold/cool for a decent portion of the day.

"Fashions come and go, but style is eternal." - Yves Saint Laurent

In real terms there have been no advances in fashion since the 1940s, the only differences being how things are cut and how many layers are worn.

I think Xan's right about fashion, pretty much. The last great developments happened in the 1940s, as Mr D says. Even the mini-skirt of the 60s was a throwback to the 1920s. The problem is the humans in them. We have two arms, two legs, one head, and half of us have two breasts to accommodate as well, so eventually, you have covered all the possibilities.

The advances have come, as has been said, in the technology of the fabrics, which, to my mind, is another topic altogether - albeit related.

But getting something to fall like a modern microfibre fabric has always been possible, just not affordable for us masses. So it's not necessarily a fashion development. As well as the introduction of indestructible fabrics like polyester microfibre and Goretex, there has been a move towards biodegradable and environment-friendly technologies, and materials made of recycled paper or other rubbish, as well as hemp, bamboo etc. etc.

You can't really count tiny details like the fall of the fabric, the width of a waist band, new combinations of colours to be great strides in fashion development. And you can hardly expect a man to notice them anyway.

What has caused a change in our attitudes to clothing is the economic development and the throw-away culture we "enjoyed" in the 80s and 90s. You'd buy a blouse or pair of trousers for a couple of bob and wear them twice and throw them away. This led to people being more adventurous in their clothing because they weren't thinking in terms of the timeless Chanel suit for a couple of grand to last till they were grandmothers, or the tailor-made three-piece from Savile Row to pass on to their sons or nephews.


I think it's a shame we're not still walking round in togas, though.

Togas might get annoying in revolving doors and elevators!