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J-Lo in a low low cut dress, 2000

I know it doesn’t feel like a decade has passed since Y2K but in a little more than a month we will be entering the 2010s and that means the first decade of 21st century fashion is wrapping up. Science fiction predicted we would all be wearing unisex jumpsuits in crease resistant synthetics, but in reality the first decade of the new millennium offered no space age vision. The entire decade was about looking back, not forward.

Sarah Jessica Parker in a vintage inspired cocktail dress

Vintage fashions from the 1950s to the 1980s were the inspiration for all new fashions from chain stores to haute couture. Department stores resembled giant vintage clothing warehouses filled with separates from different eras to mix and match for a hodge podge contemporary look (a way of styling delineated by Patricia Field in her costuming for Sex and the City, but difficult to pull off successfully). Vintage shops carried authentic Jackie Kennedy sheath dresses, mod coats, beaded cardigans, Disco T-shirts, and Flashdance leggings that could transform you into any vintage fashion icon from Holly Go-Lightly to Rhoda Morganstern. Borrowing from the past to create modern style has been common since Barbara Hulanicki revived the 1930s and 1940s for her Biba label, but when Ralph Lauren got too close to copying an Yves St. Laurent tuxedo dress he was fined by a French court in 1994 for copyright infringement. But that didn’t stop the trend. From Anna Sui to Nicholas Ghesquiere, raiding vintage wardrobes for style ideas was the dominant trend of the 2000s. Cameron Silver of Decades, a vintage clothing store in West Hollywood, admitted in 2002 that 60% of his sales went to designers “who are just hyper stylists these days.”

Crocs - the summer 2006 hit

Some defining fashions of the 2000s were continuations of trends that began in the 1990s or before. Tattooing and piercing, for example, grew in popularity with the punk and fetish cultures but generally remained unseen until the early 2000s. At first, small ankle tattoos appeared, and then lower back tats were exposed in bare midriff tops and low-rise jeans (thong underwear straps were also showcased by low-rise jeans.) By the end of the decade, neck calligraphy and entire sleeves of Japanese motifs were covering arms. However, piercing all but disappeared, with the exception of the occasional tribal style ear lobe plug worn by skateboarders and bicycle couriers.

Shaved heads, made popular by Hip Hop singers and Sinead O’Connor in the 1990s, turned the street tough/chemo patient look into a mainstream tress code in the 2000s. For women, the tousled ‘I just fell out of bed’ look of the 1990s persisted but lost momentum by the end of the decade in favour of more coifed locks. And with a nod to the Studio 54 era, Afros and corn rowing had small return engagements, as did coloured hair, but really only for performers like Lil’ Kim and Pink. Caramel highlights was about as daring as anyone got who didn’t perform on stage.

Crop top and low rise jeans, New York, Spring 2001

Thin was very ’in’ despite the fact that most of the population was getting fatter, probably because we all put on weight while quitting smoking. Meanwhile in fashionland, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss resembled their wafer thin laptops when they turned sideways. The only discernable bumps on most fashion icons were those made by surgically implanted or padded breasts. Take away cigarettes, cocaine, and bulimia and you have to wonder how many rail thin celebrities would be able to maintain their 00 dress sizes.

Bratz dolls, fall 2002

Most work places saw casual dress codes expand from Fridays to every day. The most popular casual look for work and weekend at the beginning of the decade was low-rise jeans or trousers with full or flared legs. When worn in combination with a crop top, the toned tummy became the new erogenous zone but pudgy muffin tops were the reality. In the middle of the decade flares disappeared and tight tapered styles and leggings reappeared; waistlines also moved back up to the top of the hips. Crop tops were abandoned in favour of more modest empire-waist peasant tops, making an entire generation of women look like unwed mothers. The biggest non-fashion event of the 2000s was the return of the poncho. Ponchos were in fashion for about 3 minutes in the winter of 2004/2005, and were long gone by the time Martha Stewart emerged from prison or Ugly Betty wore her Guadalajara version to work. The poncho was part of the Bohemian or ‘Boho’ style of peasant tops and gypsy skirts that returned often throughout the decade. Also in for repeat performances were animal prints, denim, military (cargo pants, camouflage), and pimp and pole dancer styles (Pussycat Doll chic consisting of micro minis, Huggie Bear hats, and bling).

Baby Doll Dress, spring 2000

For dressier occasions the baby doll dress lasted most of the decade. Worn with dark stockings or no stockings at all, baby doll dresses never reached the nth degree cult status of the Japanese Goth-Lolita look. However, most other subculture fashions, from Goth to Gay, went mainstream in the 2000s.

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was launched in 2003 as part of the landslide of reality TV makeover shows (What Not to Wear, Ten Years Younger, Extreme Makeover…) The format became routine: An overweight woman of a certain age who is exhausted from work and taking care of her kids is given a brutal talking to by a bunch of stylists who sharpen their wits on her high school hair-do and age inappropriate 90s wardrobe. She is given a dye job, her eyebrows are plucked, she puts on a new outfit or two, and her life is suddenly worth living again because she says she feels sexy in her new too-tight jeans floral print blouse, and stiletto shoes. The sponsors of these shows were often mainstream chain stores, which meant New York location shoots did not explore the wonderful shops of Tribeca, but rather the H&M on Broadway.

Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton, 2003

The Gap and Banana Republic, leading retailers in the 1990s, waned in popularity in the 2000’s, while Old Navy, a budget basics store from the same parent company, held its own alongside strong fashion retailers like H&M and Target. Founded in Sweden in 1947, H&M began opening franchises across Europe in the 1960s; their first American store opened in Manhattan in 2000. The origins of Target date back over a century but in the shift from five and dime retailer to Walmart competitor, Target hired designers such as Steven Sprouse in 2002 and Isaac Mizrahi in 2003 to create collections for budget-conscious customers. H&M followed suit, hiring designers Stella McCartney in 2005 and Roberto Cavalli in 2007.

French Connection, founded in 1972, accidentally discovered in 1997 that their UK branch was identified in a fax as FCUK. Leaping upon the vulgar dyslexic acronym for marketing purposes, the French Connection sold T-shirts with sayings like ‘FCUK fashion’ to style-deprived imbeciles. The company feigned surprise when they lost their bid to the rights of the acronym; First Consultants UK Ltd. proved precedence in court and in 2006 French Connection abandoned their FCUK campaign.

Juicy Couture track pants and Uggs

One of the decade’s leading marketing success stories began when Gel Nash-Taylor, the wife of Duran Duran’s John Taylor, and her partner Pamela Skaist-Levy branded a line of maternity pants in 1996 under the name Juicy Couture. Juicy Couture offered affordable, comfortable casual wear aimed at the yummy mummy’s market wedged between girl power and cougars. The label found limited success until 2003 when Liz Claiborne bought the fledgling company for 50 million dollars. By 2005, Juicy Couture and its knock-offs had women 18-45 in tracksuits with words like Juicy, Sweet, Sexy, and Meow written across the butt.

Chavs in Burberry plaid

Long-standing brands re-marketed themselves for a hipper look in the new millennium. The English classic Burberry reinvented itself in 2002 to appeal to a younger crowd, losing most of their older, established clientele in the process when Chavs (English term for teenage delinquents such as soccer hooligans) picked up on the trend for Burberry plaid. Similarly Marc Jacobs hired artist Takashi Murakami to update a bag for Louis Vuitton that would appeal to the Japanese Lolita aesthetic in 2003.

Celebrity brands exploded in the 2000s. In most cases the celebrities had marginal input into the design and only loaned their name for branding. The list included: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Gwen Stefani, Kelli Osbourne, Lenny Kravitz, Anna Nicole Smith, Mariah Carey, Donald Trump, Lil’ Kim, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba, Kanye, Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Lopez, P Diddy, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne… and many more.

Japanese Goth Lolita

On a high fashion note, the leading American designer torch passed from Tom Ford to Marc Jacobs in the 2000s. Across the pond it was the talented ‘l’enfant terrible’ Alexander McQueen who managed to find recognition and funding for his label from the Gucci Group, courtesy of Tom Ford in 2002. John Galliano remained a bright light in fashionland at Christian Dior, even though his couture consists of irrelevant fantasy gowns made solely for media exploitation. Galliano also has Anna ‘Nuclear’ Wintour, chief editor of American Vogue, as his number one fan. Anna Wintour’s thinly veiled send up in the 2003 book and 2006 film ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ proved that fashion was just business after all, and not a very nice one at that. While getting along with Wintour is necessary for good reportage in Vogue, Armani and Alaia are not quiet about their disdain for her. She may need to be wary of burnt bridges now as the current falling circulation doesn’t look good on her twenty-one year reign at Vogue.

Fashion reportage is changing and the fashion magazine is no longer the dominant style delineator. The 2000s saw the birth of television channels devoted to fashion. The Internet put the power of fashion coverage into many more hands; The Vintage Fashion Guild, The Sartorialist, Worn Fashion Journal, and numerous other professional and amateur websites and blogs now report on and influence the path of fashion.

Roberto Cavalli dressed as Karl Lagerfeld for Halloween 2007

In the 2000s we saw less of Karl Lagerfeld (42 kilos less). We also saw brilliant designers retire: Issey Miyake, Calvin Klein, Hanae Mori, Valentino, Christian Lacroix, and Tom Ford. And some designers we lost forever: Thea Porter, Bonnie Cashin, Bill Blass, Roberta de Camerino, Pauline Trigere, Hardy Amies, Geoffrey Beene, Stephen Sprouse, Giovanna Fontana, Donald Brooks, Liz Claiborne, Mr. Blackwell, Oleg Cassini, Gianfranco Ferre, and Yves St. Laurent.

Gladiator platform sandals, spring 2008

As for coming attractions in the 2010s, I suspect we will see more environmentally friendly fashions including sustainable materials coming into fashion – more hemp, less polyester. Mixed in with revivals, including a broader shoulder line from the 80s, fashion is already showing a trend for new ways of constructing and decorating that are contemporary, not retro. Vintage is here to stay, but not always in its original form. There is already a strong trend for ‘up cycling’ – remaking bad vintage into good wearables. Don’t forget this was the way things used to be until prosperity in the 1950s made North Americans consumers with voracious appetites for novelty. We have already seen shoes with built in Ipods and coats and dresses with cell phone pockets so perhaps more technology and fashion will combine in the coming decade. On the negative side expect to see significant cost increases in labour and shipping. Other than these few prognostications – time will only tell.

Ten things I will remember about fashion in the 2000s, and most of them aren’t good:

Miss Piggy takes a cue from Janet Jackson from a 2004 viral email image

1 - 2004’s ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’ – Tell the truth Janet it wasn’t an accident; it was just a bad idea.

2 - Flip-flops – They are too casual and dangerous to wear any place other than the beach or the back yard

3 - Uggs – They get stinky and dirty quickly, they make your legs look fat, and they’re ugly

4 - Eco terrorists – from P.E.T.A. members who send images of skinned animals to vintage websites that have a 1940s rabbit muff for sale, to vegans who like to remind everyone at the table why they are superior because they don’t wear leather shoes or use cosmetics. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

5 - Paris Hilton and all the other celebrities with sex tapes and no underwear

6 - Knock-offs – Fashion is all about knocking off someone else’s ideas – Victor Costa and Nettie Rosenstein weren’t designers, they were copyists. Fake purses, sunglasses and shoes became common in the 2000s but the real issue here is trademark infringement. Obviously a company logo is clearly copyrightable, but is quilted kid or contrast stitching? China (the United States biggest creditor) makes the most profits from the production and sale of knock-offs so until websites that offer $89.00 ‘Louboutin’ shoes are closed down, don’t tell me tales of terrorists making money from Louis ‘Fauxton’ bags because I am not listening.

Boho Chic, 2008, as worn by Kelly Bensimon, with a corset belt and Minnetonka moccasin boots

7 - Non-clothing accessories – everything from a Starbucks coffee to a teacup Chihuahua – must you walk around with perceived status symbols in your hand?

8 - Oversized, over-designed handbags – What happened to all those elegant crocodile Kelly bags and evening clutches from the 90s – purses were wonderful then but now they are big and ugly.

9 - Overpriced cheap products – Crocs are a good example. They are great shoes for the beach or back yard, but why are knock-offs available for a tenth of the price? Hey Crocs – your products are rubber sandals, not art, charge accordingly.

10 - Reality fashion programs. I keep promising myself to stop watching Project Runway and I will – next time. I don’t like the unfair and unrealistic expectations set upon the contestants. I am still angry over the 2006 ‘couture’ challenge in Paris - couture can NOT be made with glue in two days, to fit two different models

All Images were gleaned off the net - if any are copyrighted I will gladly credit or remove them at the owner’s request.

Canadian knitted winter hood with instructions for knitting a similar looking hood shown in Petersons magazine, 1859

The Fashion History Museum’s exhibition Everyday Attire opens November 21 at Ball’s Falls in Jordan, Ontario. Running until January 18, the exhibition looks at what women wore every day between 1820 and 1920, before the days of jeans and T-shirts. Simple cotton print dresses based on high fashion silhouettes and the popular rise of the skirt and blouse, as well as garments designed strictly for home use, including wrappers and aprons, are highlights of this survey of everyday clothing.

1904 skirt and blouse with accessories in display case, 1877 grey wool winter suit, Cotton print dress worn in Buffalo, New York in 1838, and an English cotton print day dress, about 1820

Even those of us who aren’t catholic are probably familiar with the names of a few saints — they are an integral part of Western art and cultural history after all. There are St. Christopher medals for nervous travellers, St. Francis bird baths for the garden, St. Joseph statues for burying upside down in the back yard if you can’t sell your house, an endless array of colleges, hospitals and towns named for various saints, and anyone who has bought vintage clothing at a thrift store is probably familiar with Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of charities. But is there a patron saint of fashion?

I didn’t find anyone specific for the job, but there are many patrons who oversee various aspects of the fashion industry. St. Crispin is the patron saint of shoemakers, although his sainthood has been downgraded like many saints whose good works and posthumous miracles were not properly documented during the Middle Ages. For making shoes you need leather for which there are two patron saints, St. Bartholomew and St. Simon Zelotes who both work on the behalf of tanners; similarily, St. Bonifice and St. Matthias are both patron saints of tailors. For goldsmiths and jewellers there is St. Eligius, and for dyers and needle makers, Helena is the patron (or is that matron?) saint. St. Blase is the patron saint of carders (wool combers), and both St. James the Lesser and St. Clement of Ireland work as patron saints of both wool fullers and hatters. Saint Barbara is also a part time patron of hatters, but as she is primarily devoted to the military, her hat job is more of a sideline.

Saint Severus is probably the best candidate for becoming the patron saint of the fashion industry as he is already the patron saint of drapers, hatters, milliners, silk workers, weavers, and wool manufacturers. However, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of lace makers and spinsters has been honoured by the fashion and millinery industry. On St. Catherine’s feast day on November 25, ‘midinettes’ (unmarried seamstresses at the grand couture maisons) would don hats of yellow and green (representing faith and wisdom), and make a pilgrimage to a statue of St. Catherine to ask for help in finding a husband so they don’t have to wear ‘St. Catherine’s Bonnet’ (become an old maid.)

French milliners began holding parades of fantastic novelty hat creations and by the 1930s the parades had become Old Maid’s Day celebrations with a big party at night where you might meet a husband (probably not yours) to dance the night away…

(…asks Gloria Upson of her fiance Patrick Dennis in Auntie Mame.)

To me, puce has always been an onomatopoeiac word - it looks like it sounds (dull and murky) and yet few people know what the real colour of puce looks like. When asked, many think it’s a shade of green, probably confusing chartreuse with puce, while others think it’s a shade of blue or mauve. Even in its day, the exact colour probably wavered between each batch of dye.

I wanted to set the record straight on puce but while searching for information I ran into other people who also decided to set the record straight; Glass of Fashion beat me to it by a few months with her great post on the origins of puce, and several Q&A sites have lively discussions on the perceptions and origins of the colour.

This is an actual close-up photograph of a blood engorged flea

Puce is French for flea (which is why Flea markets in Paris are called Les Puces), and the colour is supposed to emulate the colour of a flea after it has fed and is engorged with blood. The colour of the blood through the translucent tan colour of the flea’s body is a reddish/purplish brown but I have to admit that the photograph to the left of a close-up of a blood-engorged flea was not as brown as I would have defined puce.

The French loved giving specific names to shades of colours in the late 18th century; green water (l’eau verte) and flea (puce) were particular favourites in the 1770s and 1780s. Puce officially entered the English vocabulary when the Oxford English Dictionary defined the word in 1787.

The colour has since come in and out of fashion. A darker hue became popular in the mid 19th century.  By dyeing brown kid leather with red cochineal dye, a dark purplish colour was created that became known as bronzed kid - a particular favourite for dressy shoes and boots.

Buying images for a publication can be prohibitively expensive. I wish I had known about the Library of Congress image archives when I wrote my book Forties Fashion. They have a phenomenol collection and it’s copyright free! In keeping with Remembrance Day here are some superb images of women in factories during World War II from the Library of Congress archives. These are American images, but of course, scenes just like these were occurring around the world during the war and on both sides of the conflict.