WILHELMINA DAN AGENCY

Wilhelmina Dan Agency

Dan Agency

Though colors and patterns of textiles changed from year to year, the cut of a gentleman's coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut changed more slowly. Men's fashions largely derived from military models, and changes in a European male silhouette are galvanized in theatres of European war, where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of foreign styles: an example is the "Steinkirk" cravat or necktie.

Selecting the right pair is crucial. Most importantly, when you choose a style of retro glasses be careful that you're not picking from a decade currently not in trend. As well as the present return of the 1920s flapper, Art Deco influences are also finding their way into fashion. Not tied entirely to the formal start and end of the Art Deco era, the influence begins with earlier Art Nouveau and follows right through to the glamour of 40s silver screen starlets. Look out for the geometric shapes, curved lines and exotic influences that defined the era.

While you'd get away with 60s inspired frames, loud 1980s inspired sunglasses are a definite no no as are the more eclectic, multi-tonal pieces from the 70s. Some of the sunglasses seen on Betsey Johnson's Autumn-Winter 2008/2009 catwalk are a prime example of those to avoid, while if you were after a safe bet for 60s inspired sunglasses you could turn to some pieces in Mulberry's Spring-Summer 2008 collection, avoiding their 80s and 90s revival pieces.

Fashion, by description, changes constantly. The changes may proceed more rapidly than in most other fields of human activity (language, thought, etc). For some, modern fast-paced changes in fashion embody many of the negative aspects of capitalism: it results in waste and encourages people qua consumers to buy things unnecessarily. Other people enjoy the diversity that changing fashion can apparently provide, seeing the constant change as a way to satisfy their desire to experience "new" and "interesting" things. Note too that fashion can change to enforce uniformity, as in the case where so-called Mao suits became the national uniform of mainland China.