Fashion refers to the prevailing art and styles of dress or clothing that is popular in a particular culture at any given time. The term "fashion" is synonymous to beauty, glamour, and style. It is also generally referred as "fad" or "trend".

A person is described as "fashionable" if one dresses in a way that fits the current popular style of clothing. On the contrary, a person is "unfashionable" if one dresses passé or outdated.

Fashion may define a personality of a specific person or a group. If an individual for example, has a glamorous choice of clothes, people may say that the person is elite or affluent. A certain group of teenagers on the other hand, who shares the same tastes and choice for clothing may obviously display their uniformity by wearing the same style of clothes, shoes, bags, etc.

Areas of fashion also includes choices of: arts and crafts, architecture, body type, hair style, cosmetics, dance and music, forms of speech, economics, interests and hobbies, etiquette, management styles, politics, media, social networks, technology or troubleshooting and programming techniques, etc.

Fashion evolves. It changes rapidly. Demands of high status consumers, teenagers, old consumers, children of all ages, and fashion designers are responsible for the direction of the fashion change.

The constant habit of people changing the style of what they wear originated from the Western. During the periods of Ancient Rome, cultural changes in costumes occurred due to major economic and social changes. Then, a long period without large changes followed. Meanwhile, during the 8^th century, a famous musician named, Ziryab, introduced and displayed his inspired sophisticated clothing styles in Cordoba, Spain, and this marked another change in the manner of clothing.

Historians, James Laver and Fernand Braudel, dated the start of Western fashion in clothing during the middle of 14^th century. They influenced fashion by contributing the trend of shortening and tightening of the male over-garment.

During 17^th to 18^th century in Ancient France, fashion was led by the rich though, the class of bourgeoisie and peasants followed the trend--this was a major reason for rapid changing fashion.

Presently, several cities in the United States, Europe, and East including: New York City, Milan, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Miami, Hong Kong, Sydney, Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna, Moscow, New Delhi, and Dubai are recognized as global fashion centers where designers could display and exhibit their new fashion collectibles, clothing and apparel.

Media like newspapers, magazines, radio and television also play a role on the proliferation of popular fashion. The use of photographs on fashion magazines influenced the public taste on the 20^th century. The most famous of these magazines was La Gazette du Bon Ton, founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and published on 1925.

Another popular magazine named Vogue, was founded in the US in 1902 and was regarded as the most successful fashion magazine that had come and gone.

Currently (year 2008) using the internet, a website for fashionistas and Fashion tv audience is created to whet their appetite for browsing what's new. Every visitor of the site could browse what's in and what's not in the present trend. May they be a sports-minded fashionista, a game lover, or a model wannabe.

(http://www.ftv.com/fashion/page.php?P=24)

Another website which fashion lovers may visit is Fashion-era.com. The site analyses two centuries of women costume and fashion history silhouettes in detail. This site provides consumers the knowledge that they need to gain to get well-versed with the past and present fashion era.

(http://www.fashion-era.com/)