Time Line

The 15th century: Until the fifteenth century the only that ever wore anything that resembles pants were horse riders. The oldest pair of riding trousers is from Mongolia 3,000 years ago.  As the tailoring industry developed men's clothing got shorter and tighter which resulted in the need for a separate piece of clothing. A popular example of this was the puffy shorts that men of the time would wear over stockings that fit similar to how leggings do today.  Many non-western cultures still wear skirts today as a typical form of dress.

The 16th century: How the female population was expected to act really heavily on what their place in society was. The idea that women reached marrying age when they turned 12 was only true for nobility and their male counterparts at the age of 14. People of the time would more commonly be married in their early 20s. ~ Shakespeare's lived to see the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, so this is why the ages of many of the characters in his plays are what they are.

The 17th century: Continuing with Shakespeare, none of his casts had actresses. And, because of many of his female characters disguising themselves as men lead to the saying, "Men pretending to be women, pretending to be men". Women were not allowed on stage until the second half of this century which is a big step from previous centuries from when women were not even allowed to be audience members.

The 18th century: The word dandy was actually meant as an insult for men who loved fashion, makeup, and jewelry and came into use because people were getting worried about how interested in what would now be considered typically feminine things. This mocking is actually the reason that men stopped wearing makeup.

The 19th century: Up until the 19th century all toddlers were dressed in white dresses. This was done out of convenience so changing soiled diapers and the white cloth was easy to clean thanks to bleach. Boys would start wearing pants around age six and that is when it would common to also start cutting their hair.

Citations

Bainbridge, Danielle. “Why Was Pink for Boys and Blue for Girls?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 16 Feb. 2018, www.pbs.org/video/why-was-pink-for-boys-and-blue-for-girls-6ikwzr/.

Thorpe, JR. “The History of Men & Skirts.” Bustle, Bustle, 17 Dec. 2018, www.bustle.com/p/the-history-of-men-skirts-58088.

“Internet Shakespeare Editions.” The Marriage Ceremony:: Life and Times :: Internet Shakespeare Editions, University of Victoria Friends of the ISE SSHRC, 4 Jan. 2011, internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/society/family/marriage.html.

“Why Men Don't Wear Makeup.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Jan. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEc3Ho2i54.