One thing that did change was the quality of the merchandise. Cheap and easy to make has also changed our culture to have style changes yearly. Since we had to wait for the seasonal changes I wonder how online shopping will change our sense of style and must have name brands.
Yearly style change dates back at least to the French Court. It was a sign of status to be able to declare all of one’s clothes useless even when they were obviously still good. If anything that’s actually slowed down in the TV era as yesteryear keeps being brought back over and over and re-influencing this year and slowing the cycle of change.