The worlds oldest discovered pair of trousers are 3,300 years old. How different are they from what we wear? Time joked that they would fit in at Anthropologie.
Made from wool, with a reinforced crotch, pattern design and straight leg, these pants feature most of the elements of a modern pant. Sure there was no zipper or clasp, no pockets, and the waistband wasn’t elastic–but people still wear rompers, and I would argue those are a step down in functionality.
Why haven’t pants changed much? My dress pants are wool and I like them more than most “modern” fabrics. Did we find the secret sauce over 3,000 years ago and haven’t found an improvement yet?
Shoes too. I was recently looking for a new pair of shoes for work and I wanted the following attributes:
- Leather upper (stretchable)
- Use of a wide last
- Replaceable heal
- Cork in footbed
I’m a little picky on dress shoes, but I’ve worn through too many and they are one of the three things to spend money on (Shoes, Mattress, chair). I’ve had shoes with synthetic tops, cushioned midsoles and rubber bottoms. They have either looked clunky, wore quickly, or lost comfort with wear. This does not happen with shoes that have the characteristics above.
Roman sandals from as early as 34 BC would fit in with the worlds oldest trousers in Anthropologie. They were leather with cork or hardened leather bottoms and tight laces.
Again, did we find the secret sauce in 50 BC? Toss in metal eyelets, rubber welt, and traction supporting bottoms, and we have modern shoes. Much like rompers, are pleather stilettoes a great leap forward or a ‘Great Leap Forward’?
Why is it that authors from the Victorian era through the Golden Age of Science fiction anticipate so much change to our clothing? For thousands of years fashion changed tremendously, but the technology in clothing (pants and shoes at least) did not. Why by year 2000 did those authors anticipate we would be wearing Mylar jumpsuits with rocket packs and motorized heelys? Hell, we just passed self-lacing shoes as a possibility.
I think it could be that we did find the best design for most clothes in the BC era. Wearable tech won’t catch on precisely because fashion changes so often and it’s hard to find something that works well. I wouldn’t want to buy a shirt with great computing power if I anticipate that it will be out-of-style in a few months. I’d rather put that power in my pocket. Instead, I would want the technology benefits in clothes to center around making maintenance easier and item cost lower.
I think there will be a point where clothing fundamentally changes, but it will come only after other factors cause us to need clothing that protects against threats or facilitates actions that humans have not encountered in the past. I don’t think fashion will lead the revolution; which is interesting, because the fashion industry is one that prides itself on change.
Polly Wanna Math 