After the Industrial Revolution began in Europe in the 18th century, it became increasingly possible to produce cloth and clothing quickly and inexpensively. Fashionable clothing styles spread rapidly from the upper classes to the middle and working classes in the West. As communication improved, styles also spread to members of the elite classes in other parts of the world. Mass production of clothing meant that the traditional clothing styles of Africa, Asia, and the Americas were largely replaced by everyday European styles.
As national economies grow increasingly international, clothing styles have become correspondingly global. Young people in Johannesburg and Jakarta, Boston and Buenos Aires all tend to wear the same kind of clothing. However, different cultures have modified these originally European styles in accordance with local values and lifestyles. In particular, religious beliefs have influenced the clothing that women wear in public. Thus, a woman in Iran may wear blue jeans and a T-shirt at home, but cover them up with an enveloping robe called a chador when she goes outside. In addition, many people enjoy wearing their traditional clothing on holidays and other special occasions for reasons of national or ethnic pride.
Fashion change includes both short-term fluctuations in style and longer-term trends. Two trends seen in the 20th century seem likely to continue in the future. The first of these is the blurring of gender boundaries. Fashionable clothing of the 19th century made very sharp distinctions between men's and women's clothing in color, shape, fabric, and decoration. Gradually these distinctions broke down, especially when women claimed masculine items of clothing. Trousers and tailored suits are two notable examples of men's styles now worn regularly by both men and women.
Today's standard wardrobe includes a large number of garments that are essentially ungendered (neither male nor female), including T-shirts, jeans, casual jackets, and many kinds of special sports clothing, such as running shorts and sweat suits. At the same time, true unisex clothing (clothing with no distinction between genders) is very rare and is likely to remain so. Men's and women's tailored business suits, for example, can be regarded as simply two versions of the same basic garment, but they are generally very different in shape and in details, such as on which side the buttons are placed. Even outwardly ungendered items, such as jeans, are usually made in slightly different versions for men and women. An important function of clothing is to serve as a signifier of social identity, including gender, and that is likely to remain true.
A second continuing long-term fashion trend is the increasing importance of casual and sports attire in the overall wardrobe of both men and women. Tailored suits as business attire are now rapidly giving way to more casual dress.
Innovations in textiles and clothing construction often appear first in specialized sports clothing and then rapidly spread to everyday dress. Just as clothing sends signals about gender, it carries messages about situations and occasions; special formal attire of some sort will continue to be a part of fashion for the foreseeable future. However, such clothing is likely to become even more occasion-specific than it is today, and the trend toward ever more casual everyday dress is expected to continue.