Question

The introduction of new materials and technologies brought several changes in womens clothing. What were those changes?

Answer 1

(i) Before the 17th century, women in Britain wore very few clothes made of flax, linen or wool, because they were difficult to clean. But British trade with India after 1600 brought cheap, beautiful and easy to maintain Indian chintzes within the reach of many Europeans.
(ii) During the Industrial Revolution, Britain began the mass manufacture of cotton textiles which it exported to many parts of the world. Thus, cotton clothes became more accessible to a wider section of people in Europe. By the early 20th century, artificial fibres made clothes cheaper and easier to wash and maintain.
(iii) In the late 1870s, heavy, restrictive underclothes were gradually discarded. Clothes got lighter, shorter and simpler.