This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Erica MZDM: I'll have to ditto that there generally are generic styles that stay in favor for a very long time: Some variation on "White shirt + hard wearing straight-legged pants" has been a working man's standard for ...what, a century or two?
The Chris Reeves movie, time after time, gets this one right . . . the character shows up in the past in generic olde timey clothes, and is laughed at for his clothes are 5 years out of date.
Phartman: I dunno, did fashions really change as quickly as they do now, what with no mass media around to instill the idea that one must wear this or that style?
Zeke: Heck, I think that's overstating the situation even today. Dressing in specific fashions, like bell-bottoms, is one thing... but your basic jeans/T-shirt combo has been a safe bet for what, fifty years? (Of course, I say this as a guy; I put very little thought into my clothing choices. It's probably Different for Girls.)
Keith: There's been some changes, mostly in variation of small details and some traditions but the tuxedo has been pretty stable for over a century. The first one was made in 1860, and by 1880 had caught on in the US. I could wear a tux from 1907 and not be noticeably out of place at a formal event.
Ununnilium: Edited to reflect this.
... this page has so many mistakes. This troper is a costume student, and even though my knowledge, at this time, is limited (I couldn't tell you exact details of a certain period, but I know the general look for the past few centuries), I can tell you that most of this page is flawed. Fashions haven't changed at a fast rate; yes, they change, but it wasn't until the industrial revolution that fashions changed quickly, and only the past few decades this rapidly. Fashions usually changed with the current monarch of the given area with similarites between larger regions, such as all of Europe and a specialized look in countries or even regions. Entire decades could pass without much change at all. Even when fashions did change, clothing from previous fashions were still worn, unlike today when even last seasons' can be sneared at. Also, the shear lack of money and the extremely labour-intensive process of making clothes was enough to slow fashions to an almost unnoticable rate in spans of years or decades. Ever done a hand-back stitch? Trust me, it takes forever; now think of trying to make the incredably complex clothing of the Tudor reign in England by hand.
In regards to the example of "jeans and a white tee," even that is incorrect. The cut of both the jeans and the tee are ever changing. They have been around for a relatively long period of time, but that's kind of like saying "dresses have been around for a really long time." Yes, they have been, but style changes; you can't expect to wear a pair of low-rise, skinny jeans in any other time period than the past few years, can you?
