American Fashion and Designers

American Fashion

The 1800's was when the American clothing industry started. Before this time clothes were personally made by tailors for rich people or the women of the house made clothes for poorer people. Clothes remained a status symbol and the "ready-to-wear" clothes were considered a sign of a poor person. This was the basis of American fashion though because people began wearing very similar things, trends began to emerge and uniforms were created. Soon, clothes came from all different designers and in all different price ranges.

Some of the most famous American fashion designers are: Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

Vera Wang
Vera Wang was raised in New York but her parents are Chinese. She is known for her wedding and bridesmaids dresses which were first released in 1990. She has made dresses for people such as Michelle Obama, Mariah Carey and Victoria Beckham. She owns boutiques in New York, Tokyo, London and Australia. Below are some of her dresses from her autumn collection.

Image From: http://www.ebonypeoples.com

Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren was born in New York, he studied business in college and served two years in the army. He originally owned a tie shop called "Polo" which elevated into his now clothing brand "Polo Ralph Lauren". He now has 35 boutiques in the US.

Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger was also born in New York. He originally bought old pieces of clothing in New York City, customised them and sold them at a local store. He founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1992 and was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of the Fashion Designers of American. He sold his corporation in 2006 for $1.6 billion.