U 3
Fifty years of fashion
1 No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant factors: jeans and the rise and fall of U 3
时尚50年
1 从1960 年到2010 年的任何一部时尚史都不能忽视或低估两个恒在的因素：牛仔裤和女性裙子长度的变化。 hemlines for women’s skirts and dresses. 2 Denim, the textile which jeans are made of, was known in France in the late 16th century, but it was Levi Strauss who saw that mine workers in the Californian gold rush in the mid-19th century needed strong trousers, which he reinforced with metal pins. Blue denim jeans remained popular in the US as work clothes until the 1950s, but then became associated with youth, new ideas, resistance to authority and independent thinking. 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 a large proportion of 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. There is consensus among fashion editors that there is a precise relation, with only a few exceptions, between the length of women’s skirts and the economy. As the stock market rises, so do hemlines, and conversely, when it falls, so do they. Exactly why women should want to expose or conceal
2 做牛仔裤的布料劳动布在16 世纪末期的法国就已经为人所知，但却是李维·施特劳斯注意到19 世纪中叶加利福尼亚淘金热时的矿工对结实长裤的需求，因此他采用这种布料制作裤子，并配以金属铆钉使其更结实。直到20 世纪50 年代，在美国蓝色牛仔裤仍然只是受欢迎的工作服，但是后来，它与青春、新思想、反抗权威和独立思考联系起来。20 世纪50年代末，当利惠商业有限公司开始向欧洲和亚洲出口蓝色牛仔裤时，大批年轻人热情高涨地买来穿在身上，并把它看成年轻美国的不拘礼节的生活方式的象征。
3 在此时期，裙子的底边有着独特的重要意义。时尚编辑们一致认为：除了个别情况外，女性裙子的长度和经济之间有着密切的联系。女性裙子的底边会随着股市的上涨而上升；反之，股市下跌，裙子的底边也下降。究竟为什么女人会在经济繁荣时露出双腿，而在经济萧条时遮住双腿现在仍是一个谜。但总的趋势是明显的。每当经济前景不明朗
bare legs during periods of economic boom and bust remains a mystery. But the general trend is clear. Whenever the economic outlook is troublesome, the convention is for both men and women 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 attracted greater respect when the great French designer, Courrèges, imported it into his range of clothes and 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 “bell-bottom” style. By the mid-1970s, as the economy grew worse, hemlines descended to midi or medium (mid-calf) length and maxi (ankle length), while jeans were no longer limited to blue. 6 Jeans remained fashionable during the period of punk, usually worn ripped, often with badges, chains and belts with metal ornaments, and pierced ears and noses. The look lasted for several years, although became more and more
时，无论男女，其着装都较为保守。
4 也许在20世纪60年代，时尚界最重要的发展就是英国设计师玛莉·匡特发明了超短裙。由于匡特在摇摆伦敦的中心工作，超短裙发展成为国际时尚界的重要流行服装。伟大的法国设计师库雷热把超短裙引入到他设计的服装系列中，使其发展成为高级时装，超短裙因此得到了更大程度的认可。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范围内流行的，因为裙子底边的上升会使长筒袜的袜口显露出来。
5 20 世纪60年代中期和70年代初期的嬉皮士运动对牛仔裤的设计也有影响，出现了“喇叭”裤。到20 世纪70 年代中期，随着经济状况的恶化，裙子达到中等长度（长及小腿中部）甚至长及脚踝，而牛仔裤也不再是清一色的蓝色了。
6 朋克时期牛仔裤依然流行。人们穿的牛仔裤通常是有破洞的，往往还会搭配徽章、链子和有金属饰物的腰带，而且这一时期还流行打耳洞和鼻洞。这类装扮持续了好几年，然而作此装扮的人群逐渐地缩小到内城的年
restricted to small groups of inner-city young people, and had little influence on other age groups.
7 As a reaction to punk, the New Romantics was a fashion movement which occurred in British clubs. It was eye-catching and featured fancy shirts and blouses. Jeans were definitely not acceptable.
8 The mid-1980s saw the rise of a number of different
styles.
Power
dressing
was
characterized by smart executive suits and, for the newly-empowered women, shoulder pads and knee-length skirts. Not surprisingly, the economy wasn’t stable, 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 three or four days of beard growth. But as always, denim remained popular with the young. In particular, heavy metal music fans wore 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, casual trousers and shoes, with a sweater tied in a loose knot around the neck. They also wore jeans, but either brandnew or clean and smartly pressed – not at all what Levi Strauss originally
轻人小群体，其他年龄段的人受此影响不大。
7 作为对朋克的一种逆反，新浪漫主义是出现在英国俱乐部中的一场时尚运动。新浪漫主义的着装很抢眼，以花哨的男女衬衣为特色。牛仔裤是绝对不能接受的。
8 20 世纪80年代中期出现了不同风格的着装。权威着装的特点就是漂亮的职业套装，刚刚获得权利的女性穿着则以垫肩和及膝裙为特色。由于经济不稳定，人们在穿着上自然就喜欢少冒些风险。男性穿着是“迈阿密风云”风格的，这一名称来源于一部电视连续剧《迈阿密风云》，即潇洒的T 恤外搭名牌夹克，再加上蓄了三四天的胡须。但一如既往，牛仔在年轻人中依然流行。特别是重金属音乐的粉丝除了穿着带破洞的牛仔裤外，还会穿牛仔夹克。
9 渐渐地，裙子底边又开始上升??直到1987 年全球股市崩盘。所以，美国在20 世纪80年代末兴起了被称为“学院风格”的较为保守的服装风格，经典的男装就是拉尔夫·劳伦和布克兄弟品牌的男装：即领尖带有纽扣的衬衫、休闲裤和休闲鞋，毛衣松松地打个结系在脖子上。人们也穿牛仔裤，但要么是崭新的，要么是干干净净熨得笔挺的——这绝对不是李维·施特劳斯最初设想的牛仔裤。
intended.
10 As the world economies bounced back again in the 1990s, fashion for young people became more daring. Boots and Converse or Nike trainers remained popular, but the most common colours became olive green and oatmeal. Hair was worn long, or cut short and
10 随着20世纪90年代世界经济的再次反弹，年轻人在时尚方面变得更为大胆。靴子和匡威或耐克运动鞋仍然流行，但最常见的颜色变成橄榄绿和米灰色。流行的发型为长发，或剪短染成蓝色、绿色或红色。帽衫、棒球帽和松松垮垮搭在胯上的牛仔裤是大街dyed blue, green or red. Hoodies, baseball caps and loose jeans, which were often fastened low below the backside, 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 “the prim and proper look is in. Skirts should be below the knee.” But merely one year later, the stock market began to rally, and the miniskirt returned. Lower limbs were more exposed 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 extra stretch fibre 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. Narrow jeans also became popular in Britain and most of Europe. Skirt length is uncertain, ranging from micro to
上的常见装扮。
11 2000 年1月，纽约科技股市崩盘。同往常一样，裙子底边也降了下来。一位评论家这样描述当时的时尚风格：“一本正经的着装开始流行，裙子应长及膝盖以下。”但仅仅一年之后，股市开始反弹，超短裙也重归时尚，而且腿部比多年来裸露得更多。
12 这一时期，正式的着装是不常见的，除非是在工作场所。品牌牛仔裤获得了巨大的人气。品牌牛仔裤由传统的牛仔布制成，或许会加入弹力纤维，但由知名品牌，如阿玛尼、雨果·波士和莫斯奇诺等剪裁和销售。这些品牌以前只关注最时髦的时尚服装系列。在英国和欧洲大部分地区，瘦腿牛仔裤也开始流行。裙子的长度不一，从迷你裙到“合理的”及膝裙或过膝长裙，各种长度的裙子都有。
“sensible” – knee-length or just below. 13 Sometimes hemlines can even 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,
13 有时裙子底边甚至可以预测股市行情。2007 年9 月，纽约时装秀上展示的2008年春季时装的流行趋势是长长的裙子，许多长及小腿中部，甚至长至脚踝。有人认为，这表明裙边指标不再可靠，并且设计师也丧失了对于人们着装的主宰权。2008 年9 月，many to midcalf 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 crashed 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.
伦敦和纽约时装秀上展示的裙子底边继续下降。果然，2008 年秋季，当金融危机重创美国、欧洲继而世界各地时，股指崩溃了。裙子底边不再追随股市行情——而是预示股市行情，并表明未来的经济走势。
14 在整个50 年期间，时尚风格变化巨大，而且变化通常由人们想要归属于某个亚文化群体的愿望所激发。但在此期间，时尚的不变因素是牛仔裤和裙子底边长度的变化，而对于时尚的最大影响来自于19世纪加利福尼亚的一个服装制造商和20 世纪60 年代摇摆伦敦的一名年轻的时装设计师。