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Western dress code suited for everyday use
Casual wear
(or
casual attire
or
clothing
) is a
Western dress code
that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the
Western world
following the
counterculture of the 1960s
. When emphasising casual wear's comfort, it may be referred to as
leisurewear
or
loungewear
.
While casual is "
informal
" in the sense of "not formal",
informal wear
traditionally refers to a Western dress code associated with
suits
?a step below
semi-formal wear
?thus being more formal than casual attire.
[1]
Overview
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History
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Modern casual fashion can be traced to
fashion sportswear
from the 1920s, including tweed
blazers
,
oxford shoes
, and golf skirts. An increase in the popularity of bicycling brought about a need for
culottes
, a forerunner for casual shorts. As the century progressed, "casual" came to encompass more styles, including denim
workwear
and elements from
military uniforms
. With the popularity of
spectator sports
in the late 20th century, a good deal of athletic gear has influenced casual wear, such as
jogging suits
,
running shoes
, and track clothing.
[2]
Basic materials used for casual wear include
denim
,
cotton
,
jersey
,
flannel
, and
fleece
. Materials such as
velvet
,
chiffon
, and
brocade
are often associated with more formal clothes.
[3]
While casual dress evokes utilitarian costume, there is a wide range for expression, including
punk fashion
and fashion inspired by earlier decades, such as the
1970s
and
1980s
.
Madonna
popularized
lace
,
jewelry
, and
cosmetics
into casual wear during the 1980s. In the 1990s,
hip hop fashion
played up elaborate jewelry and luxurious materials worn in conjunction with athletic gear and the clothing of manual labor.
Gender expression
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Casual wear introduced a "unisexing" of fashion. By the
1960s
, women adopted
T-shirts
,
jeans
, and
collared shirts
, and for the first time in nearly 200 years, it was fashionable for men to have long hair.
[2]
Casual wear is typically the dress code in which forms of
gender expression
are experimented with. An example is
masculine
jewelry, which was once considered shocking or titillating even in casual circles, and is now hardly noteworthy in semi-formal situations.
Amelia Bloomer
introduced trousers of a sort for women as a casual alternative to formal hoops and skirts. The trend toward female exposure in the 20th century tended to push the necklines of formal
ball gowns
lower and the skirts of
cocktail dresses
higher.
Jeans, dress shirt (casually
turn down collared
), and a T-shirt or
sleeveless shirt
are typically considered casual wear for men in modern times.
[4]
[5]
For men, the exposure of shoulders, thighs, and backs is still limited to casual wear.
[
citation needed
]
Gallery
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]
See also
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]
References
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]
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