Thomas Burberry, founder and original designer for the British line, Burberry, can be credited for the development of the trench coat. He first designed the trench coat as a raincoat for an army officer during the United Kingdom War Office in 1901. It then became an optional coat to the heavy serge greatcoats worn by the British Army.The coat then had a basic uniform design. It was usually ten buttons long and double-breasted, typically in khaki or black. The coat was also developed with intricate details such as cuff straps, shoulder straps and most notable for its wrapped belt. Fabric used for the trench was ideal for protection from the cold, snow and rain.

Following World War II, the trench became a garment of business-like respectability and worn by popular fictional characters on the big screen such as Dick Tracy, Rick Blane from Casablanca, Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany's, and most recently on Keanu Reeves in the box office hit, The Matrix.

Later in the 1960's, the trench coat became the alternative to the fishtail parka or crombie, and was seen as a highly fashionable overcoat. The trench has also been portrayed as a provocative garment worn by women in an effort to conceal their bare bodies.

Since the days of war, the trench has become a staple piece of a fashionable wardrobe. It is especially a popular item during the winter for both men and women alike. Looks for the trench coat has transcended into short and long. Modern changes to the look also include pleated or voluminous skirts, short, wide sleeves, and a variation in fabrics. Its silhouette has also changed to be more tailored and fitted, and although styles and colors change each season, the look is a timeless classic.

Capri pants are many things all at once: chic, sexy, fashionable and comfortable. The basic Capri style, attributed to Sonja de Lennart has not changed much, but how and where we wear our Capris has, thanks to Audrey Hepburn, Mary Tyler Moore, Stockard Channing and Uma Thurman.

European fashion designer Sonja de Lennart debuted her Capri Collection in 1945, and it included skirts, pants and blouses. Three years later she modified the Capri pants to make them tighter, and in turn sexier. She shortened the pants to the familiar three-quarter length, just below the knee that is common today. The original version even had the small slit up the outside of the material.

Fashion and film icon Audrey Hepburn breezed around in a pair of Capri pants with ballet flats in the 1954 movie Sabrina. More than five decades later, Capris paired with ballerina flats still work. The style was popular as resort wear in the 1950s, although the pants continued to evoke sex appeal on screen.

American women traded in their skirts for Capris in the mid-1960s thanks in no small part to Mary Tyler Moore. As Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Moore was given credit by Time Magazine for having made Capri pants "the biggest trend in U.S. casual attire," while at the same time the sponsors of the TV show reported that American women were not thrilled by the site of Mary Tyler Moore in the skin-tight pants.

Capris were the pants of choice for top Pink Lady Rizzo in 1978's Grease starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta. Stockard Channing's signature look included her Pink Ladies coat with black Capri pants.

The Capri pants also caused a sensation when Uma Thurman wore them in the dark Quentin Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction, in 1994.

Today's Capri pants can be worn in the office, on holiday or for exercise. This style of pants is ideal for showing off the latest sandals, flats or wedged shoes of your collection.

Sources

Cotton, Inc., http://www.cottoninc.com
Sonja de Lennart, http://www.sonjadelennart.com/gallery.html
Laura Petrie's Capri Pants, http://www.tvacres.com/clothing_pants_laurapetrie.htm

Breakfast at Tiffany's is, of course, one of the most iconic films for fashion of all time. It brought us the little black dress and the conviction that anyone can pursue their dream of being a New York socialite no matter how unlikely and have an oddly great time in the process.

The story of the film's costumes, however, is one of legendary Hollywood revenge. Just like in Hepburn's earlier film Sabrina, Givenchy had been hired to design her gowns. After all, Hepburn was a former model of his, and he loved the idea of a rising star showing off his clothes. Givenchy became, of course, the creator of the little black dress for which Breakfast at Tiffany's is so famous.

Sabrina, however, had led to cruel results for Givenchy, when Edith Head, the costume designer who hadn't designed all of the costumes (or any of the real standout show pieces used in the Paris sequences) won an Oscar for Givenchy's work and never acknowledged his part in the film's look. The studio even helped her cover it up! So when it was time for Head and Givenchy to work on the same project again, Givenchy made a point to protect his interests. Head's credit line on the film wound up being merely "wardrobe supervisor," which was a huge demotion for her.

Don't feel too bad for Head though, not only did she win more Oscars than any other woman and garner an amazing thirty-four nominations in her career, she got her first costume design job in film using sketches she'd borrowed from someone else!

Luckily we can all borrow the idea of the little black dress from this classic film, and there's truly no better time than now, with the current resurgence of interest in late-50s and early 60s vintage looks thanks to the current crop of Hollywood period pieces, which should ensure that sophisticated simplicity is a major fashion statement for some time to come.