Take a look a what you’re wearing now, because it might just end up on MTV’s “I Love the 2000s” someday.
Let’s face it — times have changed and with that, the way that people dress.
Since styles often re-emerge after time, it’s a good idea to draw
inspiration from the past, and even today, styles from different decades are still making a comeback.
Let’s rewind.

In the early 1900s, European fashion trickled its way to the West, including Idaho.
When the University of Idaho first opened in 1892, women wore their hair up loosely and often wavy. Women were conservatively dressed in corsets, long skirts and dresses, complimented with light colored, high-collared and ruffled blouses, adorned with detailed buttons and intricate stitching.

Susan Torntore, faculty member in the Department of Clothing, Textiles and Design, said in the past, female students were supposed to be more serious, like men.
“School was important — taken seriously,” she said.

Feet were dressed with hosiery or ankle socks and either flat or heeled shoes.
Men sported tailored trousers and either a vest, blazer or knee-length winter coat — and at times, all three.
Their collared shirts were pressed and dressed up with a tie or bowtie.
For formal events, men wore suits or tuxedos and women wore elegant, full-length gowns often times sporting gloves with their hair up.

In the 1920s, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel showed women they could wear pants.
However, it was not always the case that a female sporting pants or slacks was socially acceptable.
During the ‘50s, UI students needed to follow a dress code on campus.
According to the Student Handbook in 1954-55, skirts, sweaters and bobby socks were worn to go to class, coke dates, shows with the girls and athletic events.

Anyone sitting in the “I” section at football games needed to wear a white sweater or blouse.
On campus, blue jeans and slacks were only worn on Saturday mornings.

Alpha Phi alumna Nancy Lyle attended UI from 1952-1954.
“I remember I had what were called ‘white bucks’ — a white suede, or leather shoe,” Lyle said. “Loafers were my favorite — and we did put pennies in them. … We didn’t have nearly the amount of shoes that students have now.”
At the time, Lyle owned one pair of “white bucks,” one pair of penny loafers, and two pairs of white and black heels.
She said she remembers wearing matching ankle socks with sweaters over round-collared dickeys.
“We only wore jeans at certain times. We could not go out in them,” she said.
Lyle sported her jeans with saddle shoes.
To this day, Lyle said jeans are her favorite fashion item.
“I love jeans,” she said. “My life would not be good without jeans.”

In the spring, Lyle said women would switch to wearing “cottons,” or cotton dresses and lighter shoes.
In the winter, they would wear long coats and the Dean of Women could only say if it was cold enough to wear long pants.
Casual dresses, suits, hosiery worn with heels or flats were the norm for exchanges and firesides, while tea gatherings and receptions called for the addition of a hat, gloves and purse.
Formal or semi-formal dances called for gowns, usually strapless, while dinners called for shoulder-covering gowns or a cover-up jacket.

“We had more formal dances than what we have now,” Lyle said. “It was a fun time to dress formally.”
As for hairstyles, Lyle said she never wore her hair in a bouffant, or “beehive.”
“Never got that one figured out,” she said.

One leap in fashion choices at UI is how students dress for class.
“It’s OK to come to class completely dressed up or having just rolled out of bed,” Torntore said.
Torntore came to UI from Iowa State University and said she noticed a difference between students’ attire at both universities.

She said Iowa students spent more money on fashion and spa treatments — hair, tanning, etc.
“Moscow students are making different choices,” Torntore said. “They are aware of the trends. There is a really big mix on campus.”
Sandra Evenson, professor and interim director for the Department of Clothing, Textiles and Design, said she has noticed differences in fashion among campuses as well.
“There is a bigger range on campus than at Washington State University,” she said. “This campus has more variety. They say WSU’s campus has more of a Seattle look — a more urban look.”
Torntore said she has especially noticed the unique style of international students in the department.

“I love to see what they’re wearing,” she said. “It’s more urban, Asian fashion.”
Evenson agreed, and said from a cultural aspect, Asia has a promising fashion sense.
“One of the places to look for trends is Asia,” she said.
Torntore said she admires UI students’ eagerness to try new things.
“They’re really trying to create their own look,” she said.
How a person dresses can really affect a first impression.
“How you dress is a form of communication,” Evenson said.

Evenson runs a CAPP workshop, “Dine with Style and Suit Yourself” and can give advice on how to dress to impress.
“There’s been a shift in the perception of the suit,” she said.
Lyle said even professors have changed their style, from suits to more casual, everyday wear.
“It’s not so much about how they look, but what they present,” she said.
Evenson said generally what is fashionable is what is just out of reach.
“Looking cute is not that hard,” she said.

She said anyone can go to Ross and find cute clothes, but many consider other aspects that can influence the overall effect of an outfit, from hairstyles to how it fits on different body types.

Looking back over the years, it’s easy to distinguish the cultural characteristics of each decade with the help of recorded documentation from retro magazines, photos and even MTV shows.
Yet when it comes to living in the 2000s, how will these years be remembered? During the ‘90s, it was clear the ‘80s were different.
Evenson said she has noticed changes in fashion since the ‘80s.

“In the ‘80s, people wore tight jeans, high heels and silk shirts,” Evenson said. “In the 2000s there were Birkenstocks and Tevas, and now in 2008, it’s pointed toe shoes and very high heels with extra long pants to go over the shoes. Now ballet flats are back.”
From the change in hairstyles, music and fashion, it was easy to compare — but whoever thought the ‘90s would be remembered for its almost polar opposition in styles from the early ‘90s to 1999?

Society traded its M.C. Hammer windpants and hair ala New Kids on the Block or Madonna for flannel shirts, Vans, Doc Martens, baggy, high-waisted and tapered leg jeans, lacey slips and a greasy coif thanks to the grunge movement.
People traded their snap bracelets for chokers, Trapper Keepers for backpack purses and Jansport backpacks, poofy bangs and scrunchied ponytails for Jennifer Aniston’s infamous layered ‘do.

Today, leggings paired with high heels or flats are everywhere.
Even back in the ‘80s and available in practically every size, shape and color, leggings serve for layering or to simply accent an outfit.
American Apparel and Sass & Bide have taken an edgy approach with
their lame, leather-looking leggings, and the variety of heels to choose from are limitless.
Wedges are still popular, while tall pumps take on the street during the day and after dark.

As for the future of fashion, both Torntore and Evenson said they’re anticipating styles that are fashion forward — styles created with technology and the environment in mind. Smart wools and textiles are making their way into fashion design, as Neoprene sandals help help keep feet warm.
Evenson and Torntore said even soy and bamboo fibers are being incorporated into fashion, and bike shoe styles are creating new trends in everyday footwear.
“The influence on performance apparel affecting everyday apparel is peaking,” Evenson said.