Fashion is a way of wearing clothes and accessories, often changing from season to season. In a more general sense, it also means a style that is currently popular. The most common form of fashion involves clothing, but it can include footwear, jewelry and other accessories. Fashion is a cultural phenomenon, and has been influenced by significant historical events, and by social changes within a society.

In the Western world, people have always been interested in fashion. Musicians and other artists have been influential in what we wear, as have politicians and royalty. Even folks in the 1700s pored over fashion magazines to see what the latest styles were. In the earliest days of fashion, it was important to show a person’s social class by what they wore. For example, Roman senators could wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple; emperors could wear yellow; and Hawaiians could dress only in garments made from feathers and carved whale teeth.

As time passed, it became possible for most anyone to dress in whatever style they liked. In the modern world, fashion is largely driven by designers and other people who are considered arbiters of taste. They create and spread the trends, sometimes in the name of art, but more often to earn money from those who “buy” into their fads.

In addition, a person’s own style can influence the trend of fashion in their immediate surroundings. When someone with high social status or a large following begins to wear new or different styles, they can inspire a fashion trend that influences people who admire or respect them.