James Laver

LAVER'S LAW

[The cycle of fashion change]

                   Indecent                       10 years before its time
                   Shameless                       5 years before its time
                   Outré (Daring)             1 year before its time
                   Smart                                'Current Fashion'
                   Dowdy                             1 year after its time
                   Hideous                         10 years after its time
                   Ridiculous                     20 years after its time
                   Amusing                        30 years after its time
                   Quaint                            50 years after its time
                   Charming                      70 years after its time
                   Romantic                     100 years after its time
                   Beautiful                      150 years after its time
 

James Laver (1899-1975) was a fashion historian, art historian, curator and author and Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

First published in Taste and Fashion, 1937.

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