Fight For Those Without Your Privilege Shirt

“Marie Antoinette and her fellow fashion trendsetters made cotton desirable,” Caroline London explained in an in-depth account of the historical moment for Racked. “Technology and slave labour made it affordable. It was the perfect storm. The affordability increased the desirability, resulting in an even higher demand, which in turn increased the mass production so that the price dropped even further.”Marie Antoinette and her fellow fashion trendsetters made cotton desirable“The cycle caused ‘King Cotton’, and the institution of slavery which it stood upon, to rule the South. Of course, we all know what happened from there. A simple dress launched an elaborate butterfly effect with far-reaching consequences that the young French queen never could have predicted when she took a step outside her lavish royal wardrobe.”

Fight For Those Without Your Privilege Shirt

Throughout the next century, Marie Antoinette’s impact on the cotton industry was considerable, transforming the manufacturing industry, but the white shirt as we know it now was still only worn by men until the 20th century, where for decades it was associated as a symbol of the wealthy gentleman – one who did not do manual labour (where the shirt would get dirty) and one who could afford to wash his clothes frequently. By the 1920s however, designers including Coco Chanel had broken down gender and class boundaries with a more relaxed and contemporary take on womenswear – in some cases swapping skirts for trousers and corsets for men’s shirts – which helped to bring the white shirt into the realm of women’s fashion.