Throughout history people have worn clothing of one description or another. Apart (13) protection against the weather, clothes were also often used to show the wearer’s status and wealth. Over the years, numerous fashions in clothing have come and gone. (14) some of these have been popular for relatively short periods, others have lasted longer.

Until the first half of the 20th century, the ability to follow fashion was limited to those (15) had the money to (16) so. But following fashion did not only demand money, it also required large amounts of leisure time. Wealthy people took fashion very seriously and close attention had to (17) paid to detail. Wearing the correct clothes for different occasions was very important, despite the (18) that this often meant changing clothes five or six (19) a day.

More recently, fashionable clothes have come within the reach of ordinary people. The traditional craft of dressmaking, (20) usually involved sewing (21) hand, was both costly and slow. But today, large-scale manufacturing has made it easier for people to keep (22) with changes in fashion (23) having to spend a great (24) of money.