Explain the reasons for the changes in clothing patterns and materials in the 18th century

In eighteenth century Europe, most people dressed according to their regional codes, and were limited by the types of clothes and the cost of materials that were available in their region.

Clothing styles were also strictly regulated by class, gender or status in the social hierarchy.

At the time of French Revolution in 1789, people of France were expected to strictly follow the 'sumptuary laws'. The laws tried to control the behaviour of socially inferior people, preventing them from wearing certain cloth materials like ermine, fur or silk; consuming certain foods and beverages like alcohol and hunting game in certain areas.

In Victorian England, from childhood, girls were tightly laced up and dressed in stays and corsets. Clothing thus played a part in creating the image of weak, slavish Victorian women.

After the eighteenth century, the colonisation of most of the world by Europe, the spread of democratic ideals and the growth of an industrial society, completely changed the ways in which people thought about to dress.

Many women believed in the ideals of womanhood from the literature they read, the education they had received at school and at home.

Over the nineteenth century,  ideas changed.  By the 1830s, women in England fought for democratic rights.

As the suffrage (right to vote) movement developed, many began campaigning for dress reform.

Women's magazines described how tight dresses and corsets caused deformities and illness among young girls like restricted body growth, hampered blood circulation, acute weakness and faints.

In America, a similar movement developed among the white settlers on the east coast. Reform of the dress would change the position of women.

In the 1870s, The National Women Suffrage Association headed by Mrs.Stanton and The American Women Suffrage Association headed by Lucy Stone both campaigned for dress reform. 

They fought to simplify dress, shorten skirts and abandon corsets. On both Europe and America, there was now a movement for rational dress reform.

Many changes were made possible in Britain due to the introduction of new materials and technologies. Other changes came about because of the two world wars and the new working conditions for women.