Some styles are named after the period of history they originated..
GRECIAN ERA
Clothing in ancient Greece primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys. Ancient Greek men and women typically wore two pieces of clothing draped about the body: an undergarment (chiton or peplos) and a cloak (himation or chlamys). Ancient Greek clothing was particularly based on necessity, function, materials, and protection rather than identity. Thus, clothes were very simple, draped, loose-fitting and free flowing. Customarily, clothing was homemade and cut to various lengths of rectangular linen or wool fabric with minimal cutting or sewing, and secured with ornamental clasps or pins, and a belt, or girdle (zone). Pieces were generally interchangeable between men and women. However, women usually wore their robes to their ankles whereas men generally wore theirs to their knees depending on the occasion and circumstance.
ROMAN ERA
Our impression of an ancient Roman, is either that of the soldier in his tunic and with an overlay of heavy metal armour, or of the Roman senator dressed in a toga. Men wore a leather belt over a tunica which was made from two pieces of cloth, to which separate short sleeves were added. As ever, Roman women's dresses were a little different from the men's tunics. For example, they were often pale rose, or aqua. The female equivalent of the male Subacula (under tunic), was the Intusium, a sleeveless under-tunic. Women also wore a bust bodice called strophium (much like a sari bodice). The stola was worn by married women. It was a full-length, tunic worn by the women from their wedding day onwards. This was not a fashionable garment, more an everyday dress, which signified that the woman was married. Being full in length, the stola covered the feet, and had a lower border called the instita. Fashion changes in female Roman dress came in the form of a change of coloured Stola, and many a stola had a fancy border on the hem. Even Roman women loved to ring the changes. There were also accessories such as brooches. Roman women also wore headdresses especially if they had an important position in society.
RENAISSANCE ERA
Clothing played a large role in Renaissance society, as clothing in the Renaissance was all about defining and showing off one's social status. The wealthy displayed their wealth by wearing expensive fabrics such as silk, brocade, velvet, and cotton. Furs were also popular among those who could afford them, and oftentimes furs were used by the wealthy as lining on the inside of their garments. Darker colors were the fashion as elaborate embroidery and jewels were often sewn into the fabrics, and dark colors were able to show those features off more.The lower classes wore much simpler garments than the wealthy, though often trying to imitate the style of the wealthy. Wide sleeved chemises and tight bodices were common. While many fashions stemmed from the upper class, one very popular and recognizable fashion, especially among commoners, was a fashion and technique called "slashing" and was created by the common class.Women's style was extravagant and multi-layered. A wealthy woman's attire would often have at least five layers (a skirt, underskirt, bodice, over-bodice or vest, hoop and collar are standard pieces to women's wear). While the early Renaissance period had women wearing fewer layers that consisted usually of kirtle (frock) and gown, by the mid 1500s the women's silhouette was stiff but puffed out and padded with layers. One reason for the layers was simply that layers was a status symbol. The more clothes you were wearing, the wealthier you probably were. One popular fashion was the "Spanish Farthingale" which was a long cone shaped hoop skirt that women would wear with a corset to complete the cone shape. The corset, or 'stay' as it was sometimes referred to, was a garment that was stiffened so that it cinched the waist in and flattened the breasts as part of the thin, cone shape. The era gave rise to the corset as fashion.
GIBSON GIRL ERA
The 1890s through 1905 is part of the Edwardian era, otherwise known as the Gibson Girl era. This was the time for the two piece skirt and blouse set to emerge with style. Dana Gibson created the iconic Gibson Girl look with extra wide puffy tops and blouses paired with a curved corseted waist, a-line skirts, voluminous Gibson hair topped with a large flower and feather hats. This look lasted 25 years but gradually slimmed down to a more manageable fashion. Thanks to special clothing for bicycle riding, hiking and and horseback riding, women’s clothes were a bit shorter, freer and more comfortable than the preceding Victorian years. Men’s style was still formal from the Victorian era but ever so slightly getting more relaxed.
FLAPPER ERA
Flappers were a generation of young Western women in the 1920s who wore skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, smoking cigarettes, driving automobiles, treating sex in a casual manner, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.
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