Clothing Thai wisdom
lothing normally serves as protection from severe heat or cold. In ancient times, human beings must have clothed themselves with any natural materials available. Later, they must have made simple woven wear from certain fibrous plants such as flax, jute, or pineapple leaves, before knowing how to acquire threads and how to weave fabrics from cotton, wool, or silk.

After having learned to acquire silk thread and to makee silk cloth, humans must have learned coloring with natural dyes from readily available plants such as the indigo dye from the indigo plant, the black dye from ebony fruits (Diospyros mollis), yellow from jackfruit wood or cumin, red from Sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan), green from leaves of wild olive (Vitex pinnata), light green from leaves of cork wood trees, and khaki from teak leaves.

It has been hypothesized that humans must have developed weaving techniques from knitting. Weaving gradually became more sophisticated with the invention of percussion loom about 1,800 years ago. The tool had made weaving much faster. In Europe, the had led to a breakthrough in human history, the Industrial Revolution, when machines were invented to replace human hands in cotton mills in the mid-19th Century CE.

In Thailand, howwever, back-strap looms or handlooms are still in used for certain kinds of materials weaving, especially in some rural villages around the country.

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The Development of Rattanakosin Costume
n traditional Thai society, people were roughly categorized into the ruler class (royalty, notility, and courtiers) and the ruled (commoners and peasants). Dress was a means to distinguish people of different social status. Commoners were not to "over-dress higher than their station in life." Different kinds of fabric were used to reward courtiers and nobility, which also denoted their "station in lige" as well as in the court. An early Ratanakosin law clearly defined particular kinds of costume for dignitaries and members of the royal household.

In the early Rattanakosin Period, from the First Reign (1782-1809) to the Third Reign (1824-1851), the Court still adopted and observed Ayutthaya practices. Silk and golden threads were used in the weaving of fabric for the ruler class, both men and women. Women wore long robes and wrapped the upper part of themselves, expect for the occasion when they were to be in audience with the king. King Rama III, however, did not like wearing shirts himself. Courtiers during his time, thus, followed the royal preference.

The changes came with the enthronement of Rama IV (1851-1865). The king intended to develop the country to be "equal" to the western colonizing powers. He had a decree that all courtiers in audience had to wear a shirt to cover themselves. The king himself began wearing western clothes. Soon, the idea spread among courtiers and later to some commoners outside the palace. However, the general local dressing style remained unchanged.

Greater changes to modernity and westernized dressing style came in the Fifth Reign. After his royal visit to Calcatta in India (1871-1872), the king designed a shirt for courtiers to wear to the palace, called "Raj Pattern," which was similar to the Indian-style shirt. Court ladies led to fashion by wearing a long-sleeved blouse under the sabai (long scarf across the chest and over one shoulder). Long socks and shoes were also introduced.

The long silk robe, with pleated ridge along the middle of the front piece, was replaced be a shorter pha chong kraben. The former attire of long silk robe and silk scarf was reserved for more formal occasions. More European garments and accessories were imported.

In the reign of Rama VI (1910-1925), the fashion was changed again. It was the period of "long robe, white teeth, and a low chignon," which were belived to be "the court preference" for women. The robe was either ankle length or shorter, worn under a sleeveless blouse, the chignon was western in style. The "white teeth" was the king's attempt to stop traditional betel nut chewing, for hygienic reason. The practice was entirely forbidden during the dictatorail government of Field Marchal Plaek Pubulsonggram in 1939, who deemed the practice "backward" and uncivilized.

However, it should be noted that western fashion was mainly for people in the capital city and the upper class. Commoners and rural people still maintained the simple and practical dressting style after their ethinc traditions and beliefs.

In the Seven Reign (Rama VII, 1925-1934), there were not many changes from the last reign. After the 1932 political revolution from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy, however, the ruling class at the time wanted goverment officials to adopt western-style clothing. A dress code bill was passed specifically for government officials.

The Cultural Revolution, nevertheless, actually took place in the next reign (Rama VIII, 1934-1916) under the administration of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram. He deemed it the citizen's duty to follow the state preference. A decree was announced on 15 January 1941, stating the dress code for all occasions. He also stressed the western idea of wearing hats. The slogan for the period was "Hars will lead us to being a super power." After his government, people discarded the hats and the socks, and went back to the former dressing style they perferred. However, more ladies were wearing long robes and keeping their teeth white. Men were wearing western style clothes. The trend continued into the beginning of the present reign (Rama IX, 1962-present).

Another breakthrough concerning ladies's wear place in 1960. HM Queen Sirikit was to accompany HM the King on their state visit to European countries and the USA for six months. She had commissioned knowledgeable personalities to design a set of traditional Thai costume from available historical and archeological evidence. The set comprises 8 patterns, ranging from the least formal dress formal dress called Thai Ruen Ton, to that for the most formal occasion and for full decorations call Thai Dusit, as well as ther traditional dress called Thai Chakrapat, and the dress for the cold weather called Thai Sivalai.

Another change for men custume came in 1979, when General Prem Timsulanonda began to promoth a kind of men's shirt design, which was a gift from HM the King. There are three patterns: the long-sleeved with a scarf, the long-sleeved without a scarf, and the short-sleeved. The king has used these patterns regularly in many formal occasions to avoid wearing the western-style suit-and-tie, which is not at all suitable for a hot climate as in Thailand.

Clothing is one of the four basic needs for humans. It has developed from providing bodily protection to becoming the attire to denote social status in the more complicated spin of human society.