Clothes and Fashion (1983: Doomsday)

Introduction
Among the many things that were taken for granted prior to Doomday only to become difficult to come by after it is clothing. With most of the world's population struggling with survival, the concept of fashion effectively died out and the manufacture of new garments ground to a halt. For years afterwards a policy of make-do-and-mend prevailed with second, third, and even fourth hand clothing being traded, worn and patched up within an inch of their lives. Garments that had become damaged beyond repair were taken apart and any usable material turned into new garments. Good quality, and therefore long lasting, clothing became a valuble commodity, with jeans and workshirts being in particuarly high demand, but even cheap and nasty garments were carefully preserved as well as possible, although it still didn't take long before they were worn to destruction. Even now, almost three decades after Doomsday, this attitude is still widespread. In many countries there is a thriving trade in used clothing and it is far from unusual to see someone wearing a shirt or coat that is older then they are.

Even in countries that weren't hit hard by shortages there was a change in the clothing worn by the population. Higher levels of UV led to long sleeves, long legs and sun hats becoming the order of the day, particuarly in warmer climates. In places like the ANZC, where people were used to wearing shorts and t-shirts most of the time, this took a fair bit of getting used to.

Cotton
More to come....

Wool
More to come...

Linen
More to come...

Hemp
More to come...

Nettle
More to come...

Synthetic Fabrics
More to come...