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Home > Featured Stories > Community of Scholars > April 2009 > Six Reasons to Go to Class > Dress, Style & ChangeARS/TAM 352 - Dress, Style and Change
Explore how the clothes we wear have evolved over the time and the reasons behind the shifts.
The scoop: Through sources such as artwork, film clips, books and costumes, students learn how and why clothing styles have changed over time—from the loin cloths of the cavemen to the baby doll dresses of the 1960s and clothes today. In this hands-on and discussion-oriented class, students also try on period pieces from the university’s costume shop and bring in their own clothes inspired by earlier periods.
Keep in Mind: Fashion is art, McIlwee says, and the most intimate one because it touches our bodies. And like other art forms, such as literature and film, clothing styles don’t happen in a vacuum. Political, economic and social conditions of the day shape what you do and do not wear.
//Instructor
John McIlwee
John C. McIlwee is the director of NC State's University Theater.
//Did You Know?
During the 1910s, when people could walk into carriages,
women’s fashion typically included extravagant hats. When did those
hats start to die out? With the increased popularity of the car.
//From the Course Catalog
ARS/TAM 352 Dress, Style, & Change
UNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Interdisciplinary course focusing on historical and cultural principles of style as related to dress and fashion. Examination of fashion and stylistic trends in cycles of dress.
