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Unit 3 Fifty years of fashion
1 No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant factors: the ubiquitous jeans and the rise and fall of hemlines for women's skirts and dresses.
2 Denim, the material which jeans are made of, was known in France in the late 16th century, but it was Levi Strauss who saw that miners in the Californian gold rush in the mid-19th century needed strong trousers, which he reinforced with metal rivets. Blue denim jeans remained popular in the US as work clothes until the 1950s, but then became associated with youth, new ideas, rebellion and individuality. When Levi Strauss & Co began to export blue jeans to Europe and Asia in the late 1950s, they were bought and worn with huge enthusiasm by young people and recognized as a symbol of the young, informal American way of life.
3 Hemlines have a more peculiar significance during this period. It has often been noted that there is a precise correlation, with only a few exceptions, between the length of women's skirts and the economy. As the stock market rises, so do hemlines, and when it falls, so do they. Exactly why women should want to expose more or less of their legs during periods of economic boom and bust remains a mystery. But the general trend is inescapable. Whenever the economic outlook is unsettled, both men and women tend to wear more conservative clothes.
4 Perhaps the most important development in fashion in the 1960s was the miniskirt, invented by the British designer Mary Quant. Because Quant worked in the heart of Swinging London, the miniskirt developed into a major international fashion. It was given greater respectability when the great French designer, Courrèges, developed it into an item of high fashion. But it would not have achieved such international currency without the development of tights, instead of stockings, because the rise in hemlines meant the stocking tops would be visible.
5 The hippie movement of the mid-1960s and early 1970s influenced the design of jeans, with the trouser leg developing a flared \hemlines dropped to midi (mid-calf length) and maxi (ankle length), while jeans were no longer exclusively blue.
6 Jeans remained fashionable during the period of punk, usually worn ripped, often with chains and studded belts. The look lasted for several years, although became more and more restricted to small groups of inner-city young people, and had little influence on other age groups.
7 As a backlash to the anarchy of punk, the New Romantics was a fashion movement which occurred mainly in British nightclubs. It was glamorous and courageous, and featured lavish frilled shirts. Jeans were definitely not acceptable.
8 The mid-1980s saw the rise of a number of different styles. Power dressing was characterized by smart suits and, for the newly-empowered women, shoulder pads and knee-length skirts. Not surprisingly, the economy was unstable, and people took less risks in what they wore. For men, the Miami Vice style, named after the television series, made use of smart T-shirts under designer jackets, and designer
stubble—three or four days of beard growth. But as always, denim remained popular with the young. In particular, heavy metal music fans wore bleached and ripped jeans and denim jackets.
9 Gradually hemlines started to rise again ... until the world stock market crash in 1987. So the late 1980s in the US saw the rise of the more conservative style called Preppy style, with classic clothes by Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers for men, button-down shirts, chinos and loafers, with a sweater tied loosely around the neck. They also wore jeans, but either brand-new or clean and smartly pressed—not at all what Levi Strauss originally intended.
10 As the world economies improved again in the 1990s, fashion for young people became more daring. Boots and Converse or Nike trainers remained popular, but the predominant colours became olive green and oatmeal. Hair was worn long, or cut spiky short and dyed blue, green or red. Hoodies, baseball caps and baggy jeans, which were often worn low below the buttocks, were common on the streets.
11 Then in January 2000 the New York technology stock market collapsed. As usual, so did hemlines, which were described by one commentator as \knee.\Hemlines were higher than they had been for many years.
12 During this period, it was unusual to wear formal clothes unless you were at work. Designer jeans gained huge popularity. These were made of the traditional denim, perhaps with some lycra added, but cut and marketed under well-known brands such as Armani, Hugo Boss and Moschino, who until recently had only concerned themselves with the smartest fashion lines. Skinny jeans also became popular in Britain and most of Europe. Skirt length is uncertain, ranging from micro to \—knee-length or just below.
13 Sometimes the hemline indicator, as it's called, can even precede and predict a change in the mood of the stock market long before it actually happens. In September 2007, at the New York fashion shows, which were displaying their styles for spring 2008, the trend was for much longer dresses and skirts, many to mid-calf or even down to the ankles. Some people felt this showed that the hemline indicator was no longer reliable, and that designers no longer dictated what people would wear. During the London and New York fashion shows in September 2008, hemlines continued to drop. But sure enough, in the fall of 2008, the stock market indexes fell dramatically when the banking crisis hit the US, Europe and then the rest of the world. Hemlines were no longer following the stock market—they were showing the way and indicating future economic trends.
14 During the whole period, fashion styles have ranged widely, and have usually been sparked off by a desire to identify people as belonging to a particular sub-culture. But the constant factors over this period are denim and hemlines and the greatest influences have been a 19th-century Californian clothes manufacturer and a young designer in the Swinging London of the 1960s.
时装潮流50年
1960至2010年间的时装史存在两个不可忽略或不可低估的不变因素：一是无处不在的牛仔裤，二是女装裙摆长度的变化。
牛仔裤是用粗斜纹布做的，早在16 世纪末法国就有了这种布料。19 世纪中叶，李维 ? 施特劳斯发现在加州淘金的矿工很需要用这种耐用布料做成的牛仔裤，他还用铆钉来加固裤子。 此后一直到20世纪50年代，蓝色粗斜纹布做的牛仔裤一直只是流行的工装，但是后来牛仔裤变成了青春、新思想、反叛及个性的标志。 50年代末，利惠公司开始向欧亚出口蓝色牛仔裤。年轻人趋之若鹜，视其为美国年轻人随意生活方式的象征。
裙摆在这一时期有着特殊的意义。 人们时常会注意到，女人的裙摆和经济之间存在一种颇为精确的关联性，且鲜有例外。 股市升时裙摆也跟着提高；股市跌时裙摆就跟着降低。 在经济繁荣和萧条时期女性到底为什么要多暴露或少暴露双腿至今仍然是个谜。 但总的趋势必定是这样的：每当经济前景不明朗时，男人和女人都倾向于比较保守的服装。
20世纪60年代时装史上一个最重要的发展或许就是英国时装设计师玛丽 ? 匡特发明的超短裙。 由于匡特在“摇摆伦敦”的中心地带工作，超短裙很快就风行全球。 当法国杰出的时装设计师库雷热把超短裙变成一件高级时装时，超短裙得到了人们更多的认可。 但是，如果只有长筒袜而没有发明裤袜的话，超短裙是不可能在全球流行的，因为裙摆的提高会让人看见长筒袜的袜口。
60年代中、70年代初的嬉皮士运动影响了牛仔裤的设计，牛仔裤的裤腿发展成了扩张的“喇叭形”。 到了70年代中期，随着经济的恶化，裙摆降低到了小腿中部甚至脚踝部，而牛仔裤则不再是清一色的蓝色了。 牛仔裤在朋克时期依然很时髦，裤腿通常有撕裂的口子，并配有铁链及打着装饰钉的皮带。 这种样式的牛仔裤流行了几年，但流行的范围越来越小，仅限于内城区的少数年轻人群体，对其他年龄段的群体影响不大。
作为对朋克无序状态的一种抗拒，新浪漫派是英国夜总会的主要时装潮流。 这种时装大胆创新、魅力十足：衬衫装饰有很多褶边，而牛仔裤是绝对不被认可的。
80年代中期兴起了几种风格各异的服装。 “权威装”以雅致的套装为特色，带肩垫的上衣配及膝短裙，受到新近得势的女士的欢迎。 此时的经济不太稳定，难怪人们不想在穿着上太冒险。 男士流行以电视剧《迈阿密风云》命名的“迈阿密风云”式样的时装，名牌短外套配时髦的T 恤，蓄着有型的短胡须——长三四天的样子。 和往常一样，粗斜纹布仍然受到年轻人的欢迎。 尤其是重金属音乐迷，爱穿漂白的、装饰有裂口的牛仔裤及牛仔夹克。
在1987年全球股市崩盘之前，裙摆也开始逐渐地提高。 美国在80年代末兴起了一种较为保守的风格，称为“学院风”。男士穿拉尔夫 ? 劳伦和布克兄弟品牌的经典服装，衣领带纽扣的衬衫、斜纹棉布裤和平底便鞋，脖子上随意搭着一件毛衣。 他们也穿牛仔裤，但是新的，或者是干净、熨平的牛仔裤，完全不是李维 ? 施特劳斯最初所设想的那种牛仔裤。
90年代，随着世界经济的再次复苏，年轻人的时装也变得更加大胆起来。 靴子、匡威和耐克运动鞋都很流行，但是流行色变成了橄榄绿和米灰色。 人们的头发要么留得很长，要么是染成蓝色、绿色或红色的刺猬头。 帽衫、棒球帽及松垮的低腰牛仔裤在街上随处可见。
2000年1月，纽约的科技股市崩盘。 和往常一样，裙摆也相应地降低了，正如一位评论家所说的，“循规蹈矩、一本正经的式样开始流行了。 裙摆应该长及过膝。” 但仅仅过了一年，股市开始复苏，超短迷你裙又回来了，裙摆比多年以来的高度都要高一些。
这段时期，除非在工作时，人们通常不穿正式的服装。 名牌牛仔裤享有很高的知名度，用传统的粗斜纹布制作，可能还加了点莱卡，但是由著名服装品牌，如阿玛尼、胡戈 ? 伯斯及莫斯奇诺设计、销售。这些品牌公司以前都只做最优雅的时装。 紧身牛仔裤在英国及欧洲大部分地区很流行。 裙子的长短不一，既有超短裙，也有长度比较“理性”的裙子——即及膝或刚刚过膝的裙子。
有时候，所谓的裙摆标志甚至能够预示股市的行情。 2007年9月的纽约时装展展示了2008年春季流行式样，潮流转向了长衣、长裙，裙摆长及小腿中部，甚至到了脚踝。 有人觉得这表明裙摆标志靠不住了，服装设计师已经丧失了对时装的主宰权。 2008年9月，在伦敦和纽约时装展中，裙摆的高度继续降低。 果然，2008年秋天金融危机袭击欧美，并波及全球，股指急剧下跌。 这时，裙摆不再被动地追随股市的变化，而是预示股市行情及未来的经济趋势。
在整个这段时期内，时装的风格多种多样，而且往往源于人们希望归属于某种亚文化的愿望。 但是，这个时期的不变因素是粗斜纹布和裙摆。影响力最大的当属19世纪加利福尼亚州的一个服装制造商以及20世纪60年代工作在“摇摆伦敦”的一位年轻的时装设计师。
Language points
1. No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant factors: the ubiquitous jeans and ... (Para 1)
The word ubiquitous means present everywhere. Thus the ubiquitous jeans means that jeans can be found everywhere.
2. Exactly why women should want to expose more or less of their legs during periods of economic boom and bust remains a mystery. (Para 3)
An economic boom is a sudden increase in trade, business activity and development in a particular area or region; an economic bust is a business failure or bankruptcy because of lack of money. The expression economic boom and bust describes cycles in which a boom period of growth, high production and rising prices is followed by an economic decline, contraction and unemployment before a new cycle begins.
3. Whenever the economic outlook is unsettled ... (Para 3)
The economic outlook is unsettled means the economy is unstable, that is, the economy has problems and is likely to change suddenly, making people uncertain about what may happen in the future.
4. It was given greater respectability when the great French designer, Courrèges, developed it into an item of high fashion. (Para 4)
For a while the miniskirt was controversial and not respectable because it showed a large extent of the wearer's legs, but when Courrèges developed it in Paris fashion shows, this gave approval and support, because the miniskirt could be considered an item of high fashion (having high status from a Paris fashion house).
5. ... but the predominant colours became olive green and oatmeal. (Para 10)
Predominant colours refer to the most common colours or those which seem more important or powerful.
6. ... which were described by one commentator as \11)
A fashion is in when it is a new or current style, or out when it is out-of-date.
7. During the whole period, fashion styles have ranged widely, and have usually been sparked off by a desire to identify people as belonging to a particular sub-culture. (Para 14)