Clothing:

Clothing and its design are an important part of most societies. Clothing can be made for different purposes: to keep warm, to look stylish, to perform a certain job, to express individual identity, or to celebrate the tradition of a group of people. In this category, you could trace the historical origins of different clothing styles, or look at how ideas about what is acceptable to wear or fashionable have changed over time. Or, you could compare the clothing of different social groups, cultural groups, or professions. You could also research the history of textiles or learn about the cutting-edge technologies behind new materials. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Academic Subjects/Standards you could explore in this category: Social Studies, Visual & Performing Arts, Technology, Physical Science, Civics, Languages & Language Arts

Topic Example One: Children's Clothing

Children throughout history have worn clothing provided by adults. Often, clothing choices were based on what adults felt was best for their children, not necessarily what kids liked. For example, in the 1720s in England, people believed that babies were delicate and that it would be dangerous for them to move their arms and legs freely. English parents would protect their babies by “swaddling" them. Swaddling involved wrapping the baby’s body tightly with long pieces of fabric to keep arms and legs close to the body. Even until the age of five, boys and girls wore dresses with tight skirts to restrict movement. Later, however, experts decided that babies needed to be exposed to weather so they could develop a resistance to disease and cold. This belief led adults to make baby clothes that were short, sleeveless, and much less restrictive. After World War II in the United States, a youth-focused popular culture emerged, and adults began to let children have a voice in choosing their own clothing. Parents who had lived through difficult times tried to give their children everything they wanted—and what children wanted at that time was to grow up more quickly and wear clothes that were more “adult.” For example, in the 1950s, many American boys refused to wear shorts after the age of 10, instead demanding the long blue jeans worn by stars such as Elvis Presley and James Dean. How do children around the world dress today? Who influences children’s clothing choices—their parents, their friends, celebrities and the media? How do children use clothing to identify themselves and express themselves?

Topic Example Two: Traditional Dress Around the World

Everyone loves a party! Sometimes parties or celebrations require special clothing. In India, during Deepavali (Festival of Lights), people light oil lamps and wear brightly-colored clothing to thank the gods for the happiness, knowledge, and wealth that they have received in the past year. Women wear saris (long pieces of cloth wrapped around their bodies); men wear kurtas (long tunics), churidars (long scarves), and dhoti-punjabis (trousers). In Russia, a festival called Maslyanitsa is held to say farewell to the winter season. During the festival, people dance while wearing traditional Russian clothing or folk costumes of dogs, cows, or cats. In Japan, on Hina Matsuri (Girls’ Day), parents celebrate the health and strength of their daughters. Girls wear kimonos, a traditional Japanese robe made from silk. On Tango-no-Sekku (Boys’ Day), families celebrate the hopes and ambitions for their sons. Boys sometimes wear a costume called gogatsu-ningyo, although more often, the costume is simply put on display in the home. The gogatsu-ningyo consists of a helmet, armor, and swords and is usually accompanied by flags, the family’s crest, arrows, and drums. What special clothing is worn during your regional holidays and celebrations? What do the special costumes represent? What themes in traditional clothing can you find between cultures?

Topic Example Three: Hip-Hop Style

Although its roots are in West African and African-American music, true hip-hop culture emerged from large, outdoor neighborhood gatherings—called block parties—held in New York City, U.S., in the 1970s. During these parties, disc jockeys (DJs) created a new style of music by mixing funk and soul music, while performers (MCs) rapped over the beat. This form of entertainment sparked a new urban culture encompassing dance, language, graffiti art, and clothing. Hip-hop performers often wore baggy pants, oversized athletic jerseys with matching hats, and expensive sneakers. As hip-hop’s popularity spread across the United States, suburban fans adopted this unofficial uniform as well. Starting in the late 1980s, hip-hop’s influence spread even further, reaching countries such as Japan, India, Turkey, and especially France and Italy. French rapper MC Solaar's career began during this time, and he soon became a huge star in Europe. Today, French rappers enjoy worldwide popularity second only to American rappers. What does it mean to wear the clothes of the hip-hop movement? How have other types of music influenced fashion? How have other cultural movements influenced fashion?

Topic Example Four: Smart Materials & Textiles

Many jobs require special clothing. Firefighters need clothing that prevents them from getting burned. Professional athletes need light, cool clothing to run comfortably. Deep-sea divers need suits to keep them warm underwater. Throughout history, inventors have created materials and textiles to meet these special needs. Today, modern inventors are using nanotechnology to get materials to do more than ever before. Nanotechnology is the study of things that are smaller than 100 or 200 nanometers (a piece of your hair is about 80,000 nanometers across!). Researchers are trying to create new materials by using very tiny components of nature as building blocks. Nano-Tex, a company based in California, U.S., makes fabric that can repel stains, eliminate wrinkles, or shed water. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. are trying to make special, reactive material for military uniforms. The material would transform into armor or provide emergency medical care when needed. In the future, researchers could develop weather-responsive clothing that would warm up or cool down, depending on the surrounding climate. How else could nanotechnology be used in the future? What other kinds of technology might be used to create the clothing of the future? How could new types of clothing help people do their jobs better and live better?

Citations

• Clare, Rose. Children’s Clothes Since 1750. New York: Drama Book Publishers, 1989.
• “Boys’ Clothes Styles during the 1950’s: Social Change.” Historical Boys’ Clothing. 12 Dec. 2003. 12 Aug. 2004 <http://histclo.hispeed.com/chron/mod/20/1950/c50sc.html>.
• Kohler, Carl. History of Costume. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1928.
• “Diwali: Clothes.” Dial India. 15 Jul. 2004 <http://www.dialindia.com/festivals/diwali/clothes.html>.
• Niharica. “‘Diwali in India.” Comp. Hos-McGrane, M. Holidays and Festivals Around the World. 26 Jan. 1999. 15 Jul. 2004 <http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/holidays/niharica.html>.
• Olga. “Maslyanitsa in Russia.” Comp. Hos-McGrane, M. Holidays and Festivals Around the World. 4 Feb. 1999. 15 Jul. 2004 <http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/holidays/olga.html>.
• Yuko. “Japanese Children’s Festivals.” Comp. Hos-McGrane, M. Holidays and Festivals Around the World. 25 Feb. 2000. 15 Jul. 2004 <http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/holidays/2_yuko.html>.
• Sargent, Denny. “The Festivals of Shinto: Tango-no-sekku.” Shinto and Its Festivals. 21 Jul. 2004 <http://www.thelema.net/hml/00Shinto/chap6.html>.
• “Hip-Hop Style: What is Cool?” PBS. 22 Jul. 2004 <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/fashion/hiphop.html>.
• “Hip hop music.” WordIQ Encyclopedia. 3 Aug. 2004 <http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Hip_hop_music>.
• Gagne, Michael. “Le rap: URI professor authors book on French hip-hop.” The Good Five Cent Cigar 7 Nov. 2002. 3 Aug. 2004 <http://www.ramcigar.com/news/2002/11/07/Campus/Le.Rap.Uri.
  Professor.Authors.Book.On.French.HipHop-316924.shtml>.
• “Burlington Notes Progress in New Technology Initiative.” Home page. 27 Jun. 1999. Nano-Tex, LLC. 3 Aug. 2004 <http://www.nano-tex.com/news/press_releases_6_27_1999.htm?
  document_id=3341>.
• “Soldier of the Future.” Home page. Jan. 2004. MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. 22 Jul. 2004 <http://web.mit.edu/isn/aboutisn/isnvideo.html>.

Helpful Hints:

For each category, we have provided several examples to get you thinking about the wide variety of topics on which you might develop a website. Remember, your website entry is only required to fit into one of the broad categories, such as Clothing.

You will notice that many of our examples include cross-cultural references or highlight international aspects of a particular topic. The criteria used to score ThinkQuest entries reward collaboration among student teams in different regions or countries, so we have provided examples that we hope will inspire you to think globally and collaboratively as you choose your topic area and develop your website.

Here is one way you might choose a topic with your team: