15 Common Clothing Items Purposes And Why They Were Invented

Over the ages, the purpose of several clothing items changed entirely from what they were originally invented for. Fashion trends have evolved nowadays. In this article, we are going to discuss a few such clothing items and will provide you with an insight of what was their real purpose.

Have a look at the real purpose of the invention of these everyday clothing items:

1. The military essential Trench Coat turned into a fashionable garment

During World War-I, Burberry and Aquascutum designed trench coats for French and British officers. To protect soldiers from rain and wind since it was made of waterproof material. The shoulder strap on the coat displayed the rank of the soldiers and the officers.

Even after the war, men still wore trench coats to maintain respect and pride for officers among the public. Later, during 80’s women also started wearing trench coats.

2. Little black dress

Back in the 1920s, Black Dress was commonly worn by widows for at least for 2 years as a symbol of mourning. Then in 1926, Coco Chanel sold her famous little black dress called Chanel’s Ford by Vogue, in memory of her loved ones. After that, the dress became popular worldwide.

3. High heels

In the 16th century, they were invented by the Persian soldiers to serve the purpose of providing stability while shooting bows at ease from the back of a horse. In ancient Egypt, High heels were a sign of high official status. Both women and men wore high-heels back then.

4. Use of the tiny jeans pocket

Back in the 1800s, these tiny jeans pockets served a great purpose. The small pocket is usually known as a pocket watch. It was created for men to store their pocket watches and chains because at that time wrist watches were not invented.

Levi Strauss, the owner of ‘Waist Overalls’ made this for miners but later it gained popularity. Today, it is known as the thumb pocket, condom pocket, keys, and coin pocket.

5. Perfumes

In ancient Egyptian times, perfumes were created to communicate with God. Used by priests for religious rituals as a symbol of the holy presence or receiving new heights of spirituality and faith.

In the 17th century, it became a part of hygiene for the upper classes because only they could afford it, and was known as the royal scent.

6. Belts

In the Bronze age, belts were created to tie a long tunic to the waist. It was used as a rope to support clothes. In the middle ages, the military used belts to carry weapons and show their rank, and gain respect from people.

7. Loop at the back of the shirt

The loop first became famous among navy sailors, they didn’t have much space to keep their uniforms so they used a loop to hang them on a hook to dry them.

In the 1960s, GANT manufactured added a loop known as a locker loop – Ivy League college students used this in their lockers to get wrinkled-free shirts.

8. Don’t underestimate the small metal button at the corner of the jeans

The real purpose is more practical than style. Levi’s Jeans press added these rivets (small metal buttons) to keep all sewn parts in place and prevent jeans from tearing apart even after a long period of time.

9. A lapel buttonhole is not meant for flowers

Back then the suit lapel buttonhole had a button underneath. The purpose was to button up the coat fully as protection from the cold weather.

10. Jacket sleeve buttons

‘Frederick the Great’ of Russia, gave the idea to put buttons on sleeves to prevent soldiers from wiping their noses, and mouths, and prevent tears on the uniform and made it look dirty.

Also known as surgeon cuffs because soldiers could also unbutton and roll their cuffs and perform surgery on the battlefield and not get their jackets dirty.

11. Sunglasses

Chinese discovered sunglasses in the 12^th century. They used them to hide their facial expressions by concealing their eyes. Mainly used by judges of Chinese law courts while questioning witnesses. At that time, the sunglasses were meant to wear indoors and were flat panes of quartz.

Today, they are widely used to protect the eyes from harmful rays of the sun and also as a fashion statement.

12. Kohl/Kajal was used for protection

Around 3100 BC, kajal was used as a cure process for eye ailments, to protect children from evil eyes and rays of the sun. It was also known as ‘Galene eye paint’ in old days. Everyone wore kajal in different ways by putting kajal on upper and lower lash lines.

Now, it is used as a makeup accessory to enhance beauty.

13. Rings

In ancient Egypt, seal rings were used for business purposes to verify documents as the ring contained the names and titles of owners. The ancient Greeks use rings for decoration purposes and later they served the purpose of relationship status.

Today, rings are also used for fashion purposes.

14. Pom Pom hats

European soldiers wore pom pom hats of different colours which denoted their rank. Later in the 18th century sailors started wearing pom pom hats to prevent themselves from bumping their heads in the low sealing of the deck.

15. Ties

In ancient times, Chinese soldiers started wearing ties to protect themselves from the cold. Another purpose was to use a tie as a handkerchief. With time the purpose changed and was used in formal wear as a sign of nobility and fashion.

We hope you found these facts about the clothing items interesting.