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A back closure is a fastener (such as a zipper or button(s)) on the rear of a garment, most commonly one made for females. A fastener is a Hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together zipper (data structure A zipper ( English: zip fastener or zip) is a popular device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric. In Clothing and Fashion design, a button is a small plastic or metal disc- or knob-shaped typically round object usually attached to an article of Clothing Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather Female (♀ is the Sex of an Organism, or a part of an organism which produces ova (egg cells They were a common feature of women's and girls' clothes in the past, and were the preferred choice of some women for more dressy occasions. Their use by fashion designers mostly declined toward the end of the 20th century in favor of clothes that are easier for women to dress themselves in. Fashion design is the Applied art dedicated to Clothing and lifestyle Accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time Today, they are rarely found on any daily women's clothes, with the exception of bras, skirts, and certain other items that can be reversed so easily, thereby not requiring "reaching in back" to fasten.

Back closures throughout the past several centuries have been common on clothes designed for females of all ages, including dresses, skirts, jumpers, blouses, sweaters, and sometimes slacks, and on certain unisex clothes such as infant and toddler wear, costumes, wetsuits and special-needs outfits. A dress (also frock, gown) is a garment consisting of a Skirt with an attached Bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped Garment that hangs from the Waist and covers all or part of the Legs In European culture, skirts are usually A jumper dress (or jumper in American English; pinafore dress, pinafore in British English) is a sleeveless collarless dress The word blouse most commonly refers to a woman's Shirt, although the term is also used for some men's military uniform jackets A sweater, pullover, jumper, or jersey is a relatively heavy Shirt intended to cover the torso and arms of the human body (though in some cases Trousers are an item of Clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth stretching across Toddler is a common term for a young Child who is learning to walk or "toddle", generally considered to be the second stage of development after infancy The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and dress in general or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people class or period A wetsuit is a protective garment used for watersports such as Scuba diving, Surfing, Windsurfing, Kitesurfing, and Triathlon Though usually a feature of a garment's designs for stylistic reasons, some back closures can be difficult or sometimes impossible for the wearer to operate oneself, a factor that has favored their phase-out.

In earlier centuries, buttons found on the back of a dress as opposed to the front were originally intended to give the appearance of wealth in a woman, as wearing such a garment implied the woman could afford servants to help her dress. Back closures on female clothing remained common in Western fashion even through the Industrial Revolution, when servants became rare except to royalty and the wealthiest of women. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the Even then, back closures were still favored by women who wanted to appear wealthy or more attractive. It is for this reason that back closures have more often been associated with clothes intended for nicer occasions, such as formal occasions, religious services, or professional wear.

During the 20th century, however, they were opposed by feminists. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate In the 1970s and 1980s, women began taking on a wider range of activities and professions and began dressing to suit their more independent lifestyles. Early to Mid 1970 s Skirt and dress --> The decade began with a continuation of the hippie look from the 1960s. Like the fashion of all modern decades 1980s fashion in Popular culture incorporated distinct trends from different eras The use of back closures declined as casual wear, sports wear, and other styles of masculine origin influenced women's fashion design and became the norm for everyday wear and more acceptable to wear in the work force, and women and girls began wearing more comfortable clothing which they could easily dress themselves in without assistance. Workforce (Voyager episode The workforce is the labour pool in Employment.

Certain types of women's clothing, however, continue to feature back closures out of this tradition. Formal wear such as evening gowns and wedding gowns, for example, frequently fasten at the back. Formal dress (UK and formal wear (US are the general terms for Clothing suitable for formal social events such as a Wedding, formal garden party An evening gown is a long flowing lady's Dress usually worn to a formal affair A wedding dress or wedding gown is Clothing worn by a Bride during a Wedding ceremony Many summer dresses, especially in petite sizes, feature back zippers, though in recent years, fabrics that can retain these styles without the use of a zipper have been developed. A sundress is an informal sleeveless dress of any shape in a lightweight Fabric, for Summer wear Back closures also remain commonplace in some everyday garments that can be donned backwards and then reversed, such as skirts and bras, or that can be slipped on/off without the need for a closure, where they only are present for stylistic purposes.

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Advantages and disadvantages

Back closures have the following advantages on a garment:

Back closures have the following disadvantages:

Garment types

Dresses

A sundress with a back zipper
A sundress with a back zipper

Back closures are frequently chosen today by dress designers for aesthetic reasons, especially in haute couture, where practicality is less important. A sundress is an informal sleeveless dress of any shape in a lightweight Fabric, for Summer wear Haute couture ( French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking" oːt kuˈtyʁ refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions This allows for a smooth and solid front to the garment that is not interrupted by fasteners or openings. On thinner and more fitted garments, the bulk introduced by a button placket or a zippered seam may also be deemed less conspicuous when worn at the back.

The zipper was initially popularized as a fastener for men's trousers. zipper (data structure A zipper ( English: zip fastener or zip) is a popular device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric. Though at first opposed on women's clothes due to the suggestiveness of speedy undressing, ultimaely became popular on women's clothing, particularly dresses, in the late 1930s, for their convenience over hook and eye fasteners, buttons and snap fasteners, hence the now obsolete term zipperback dress. A hook-and-eye closure is a Clothing fastener that consists of two parts each sewn to their respective pieces of cloth one with a small protruding blunt hook and the other A snap fastener (also called snap, popper, and press stud) is a pair of interlocking discs commonly used in place of buttons to fasten Clothing Zippers are typically placed at the back seam of a dress. A back seam is a Seam (joining that runs vertically down the center-back of a garment Some such garments may sport decorative buttons, lacing or mock closures at the front, but actually open at the back.

Skirts

A skirt with a hidden back zipper
A skirt with a hidden back zipper

Skirts with back zippers continue to be commonplace, especially in career lines. A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped Garment that hangs from the Waist and covers all or part of the Legs In European culture, skirts are usually They are likely to remain long after other garments with back closures lose popularity because they allow for a woman to easily dress herself. The wearer can simply put it on backwards (with the zipper in front), zip it up, and rotate the skirt 180 degrees until the zipper is in its correct place. While many fitted skirts in the past had back zippers accompanied by a single waist button, most of those today are paired with a hook-and-eye closure.

Though skirts are currently the most common place for a back zipper, many skirts are made in alternative styles. Other skirt closures that are popular today include a front fly similar to those found on pants (which is common on jean skirts), a side zipper, or a column of buttons in front. A denim skirt, commonly known as a "jean skirt" is a Skirt made of Denim, the same material as Blue jeans. Many skirts, especially in plus sizes, feature an elastic waistband and no closure.

Blouses

Prior to the existence of the zipper, buttons were the most common back closure found on women's clothes. in the past, a dress was usually made with buttons covering the back from the neck down the waist, or several inches below. A blouse contained buttons down its full back. But later in the 20th century, garments for women were made with fewer buttons. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on

Toward the end of the 20th century, the keyhole button closure became popular on dresses and blouses made of nylon or silk, popular fabrics at the time. Overview Nylon is a Thermoplastic silky material first used commercially in a nylon- Bristled Toothbrush (1938 followed more famously by Silk is a natural Protein Fiber, some forms of which can be woven into Textiles The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons These garments, which had a roomy fit, were made to be slipped over, but the keyhole served simply as a fastener for the neck. Such clothes, mostly a part of a career line, were considered to be of high practicality. They could be worn interchangeably as casual clothes, and were easy to dress in, since they only required the fastening of a single button in a place that was easy to reach. This, combined with their T-shirt-like comfort and low cost, made them a popular choice for working women for a few decades. Since the 2000s, keyhole blouses have been replaced with sweater and T-shirt-like blouses that are elastic and are simply pulled over with no closures.

Some variations of the keyhole were blouses or dresses that had two or three buttons in back. Others had a fitted turtleneck-like collar, accompanied by either a single button or buttons covering up to the top half of the blouse. Some blouses were made with a full length of buttons, but with a roomy fit, allowing them to be donned and removed with just a single button open.

Bras

Most bras close in the back with a series of hooks and eyes. brassiere ( Brit /'bɹæzɪə(ɹ/ US /bɹə'ziɹ/ commonly referred to as a bra, /bɹɑ/ is an article of clothing that covers supports and elevates A hook-and-eye closure is a Clothing fastener that consists of two parts each sewn to their respective pieces of cloth one with a small protruding blunt hook and the other Since bras are elastic, they can still can donned with the closure in front and reversed. Some bras have front hooks, and others, particularly sports bras, have no closure at all. [1]

While front closing bras and pull-over bras (commonly known as sports bras) do exist, back closing bras remain the most popular type. JC Penney reported in 2004 that back-closing bras accounted for 62% of all bra sales. J C Penney Company Inc ( most commonly known today by the name JCPenney or simply Penneys) is a mid-range chain of American Department stores

Other women's garments

During the 1980s and 1990s, one-piece pants or shorts outfits that had back zippers or occasionally buttons were popular. These posed the problem that the wearer would be required to reach in back to unzip the garment simply for bathroom usage. Only those who were capable of reaching in back to zip/unzip these garments themselves could wear them. These garments are rarely seen today.

In the early 2000s, pants with back zippers, which have existed in the past, were popular. These were easier to operate than outfits with full back zippers.

Other types of clothes

Small children 
Many clothes made for 3 year old or younger children of either gender have zippers or buttons on the back. Such children mostly dressed by their parents or other adults, and this location can add ease, as well as style, to the child's outfit. Additionally, costumes made for children up to around age 12 frequently have back zippers. The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and dress in general or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people class or period
Adult males 
Generally, regular clothes made for adult males do not ever have back closures. However, an exception is the cummerbund of the men's tuxedo. A cummerbund is a broad waist Sash, usually Pleated which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets ( AmE: Tuxedos '.
Wetsuits 
Rear openings on wetsuits and diving suits can make it easier for a wearer to enter them. A wetsuit is a protective garment used for watersports such as Scuba diving, Surfing, Windsurfing, Kitesurfing, and Triathlon Most such suits are intended to be worn as skin-tight garments and are made of rubber or neoprene, which do not stretch easily at the thicknesses needed to insulate the wearer against cold water.
Protective clothing 
Aprons and smocks typically fasten at the rear as they have no openings at the front which could admit staining or hazardous substances. An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body Most household aprons are designed to be donned quickly and can simply be slipped over the head and tied at the back of the waist.
Special needs 
Adaptive garments designed for those with physical disabilities (such as arthritis) often open at the rear so that they can be put on without having to bend the arms backwards. Adaptive clothing is clothing designed for people with physical disabilities the elderly and the infirm who may experience difficulty dressing themselves due to an inability to manipulate Such garments are also easier for caregivers to put on an unresponsive, wheelchair-bound or bedridden person. Hospital gowns traditionally tie at the back for this same reason. A hospital gown, also known as a patient gown, exam gown, johnny shirt or johnny gown, is a short-sleeved thigh-length garment
Garments with rear closures are also used on patients with dementia (such as those with Alzheimer's Disease) to prevent them from disrobing at inappropriate moments or interfering with their diapers. Dementia (from Latin de- "apart away" + Mens ( genitive mentis) "mind" is the progressive decline Alzheimer's disease ( AD) also called Alzheimer disease or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of Dementia. These are typically one-piece jumpsuits with back zippers. Jumpsuit originally referred to the utilitarian one-piece garments used by parachuters and skydivers, but has come to be used as a common term for any one-piece
Main article: Locking clothing

Alternatives to back closures

In the past, when back closures were the norm, clothes that contained them were seen as more "classy" or "dressy" by women on this basis alone, and were sought by many women. Locking clothing is designed to prevent wearers from disrobing when doing so is inappropriate Due to the difficulty in self-fastening or unfastening a back closure, designers have employed a number of alternatives in order to make dressing and undressing easier while retaining fashionability by focusing on improving other elements of design. The alternatives, which are often used in combination, include:

In popular culture

Notes

  1. ^ Farrell-Beck, Jane & Gau, Colleen (2002), "Uplift: the bra in America", Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0812236432 
  2. ^ KIDiddles Song Lyrics - Miss Mary Mack

References

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