A Silent Whisper
Index Page
- Abstract
- Introduction
- 1.1 What are clothes?
- 1.2 The significance of clothes
- 2. Factors that Influences our choices of clothes
- 2.1 Where you from? (Cultural factors)
- 2.2 What do you believe? (Religious factors)
- 2.3 What is your status? (Social cast and expectation)
- 2.4 Am I wearing it right?
- 3. Post Modern concepts about clothes
- 3.1 Expression of individuality
- 3.2 What about ‘I’ ?
- 3.3 What about me?
- 4. Conclusion
Abstract
People accessorize their bodies daily to help them cope with elements like cold and warmth. Aside that, the question can be asked “Whether the way people might adorn their bodies with clothes can be a new way through which they intend to communicate to the world without actually verbally being outspoken”? Alison Lurie declares that, ‘For thousands of years human beings have communicated with one another first in the language of dress.’ (Lurie, A 1982 p3)
The aim for writing this dissertation is to investigate how clothes have become a medium of communication and what influences people’s choice of clothes and accessories, as well as how people are affected personally by their clothing choices.
For my primary research, I embarked on analysing a case study involving two people, myself and a friend. He is more into wearing only high-end fashion labelled clothes, whilst I on the hand am not fussy in my choices of clothing. Am more interested in affordable clothing which best compliments me in terms of exclusivity regardless of the price tag, designer or shop. As part of my primary research, I’ll also include some contents from an earlier comparison research that I did on how clothing relates to memory. In addition to these, references relating to specific quotes and pictures from related journals, articles, and books have been included.
Some of the outcome from the research revealed how people can send certain messages across to others through their choices of clothes without actually making any utterances of words. Those individual choices of clothes seem to be also influenced by the environment they find themselves in, how they think about themselves and about what they hear from other people in terms of what impressions and standards they expect from them.
The use of clothing as medium of communicating can therefore reveal or hide a person’s true identity, and this can be achieved individually in different ways.
Key Words:
Identity, individualization, social cast, religion, cultural (post modern), fashion and clothes (garments).
1.Introduction
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon as I prepared myself to leave for Manchester from Huddersfield for a yearly ‘Seventh day Adventist Student’s Society day. In knowing that this was a special occasion, I lined up my gears which consisted of a combination of formal and informal wear. A white cardigan jacket with a white shirt, accessorised with a red stripy bow tie made up the formal part of my look, and a light coloured 60’s like fitting denim trousers added the informal touch.
Feeling very satisfied with my look, I walked through the town centre to catch my train and I noticed people staring at me as they brought forth mixed reactions from laughter, a smile to a wink. As I boarded the train, I also noticed similar reactions from the passengers. I began to wonder if I had put on too much, but this was my choice of outfit and I was content.
Out of the blue, an elderly man who was sat across from me whispered and I quote; “Nice bow tie! I like the modern feel of it!”. A smile filled my face as I knew from his comments that my aim of wanting to achieve exclusivity and individuality was becoming a reality. All the same, I wondered the kind of ‘silent’ messages the other passengers sat on the train too were trying to convey to the world around them through their various outfits?
Most importantly, the questions that flew through my mind were; ‘What definition can be given to clothes and what significance do they have in our lives? Besides that, can people actually communicate to others through what they choose to wear and if that is possible, then what prompts them to choose that form of silent communication?
1.1 What are clothes?
Clothes according to the Oxford English dictionary are items worn to cover the body (English Oxford Online Dictionary, 2010 available: http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0156380#m_en_gb0156380).
Personally, I will define clothes to be the results gained after pieces of fabrics have been assembled together through a unique method such as stitching or weaving, and are afterwards used to accessorise our bodies in order to fulfil a purpose. These purposes vary depending on the routine our lives follow daily and our individual preferences. For some people, it involves the practices of going to school or work. All the same, there is one factor that stands tall from every other purpose, and that is; claiming an individual identity.
1.2 The significance of clothes
There is a saying that ‘Actions speak louder than words’ (http://www.goenglish.com/ActionsSpeakLouderThanWords.asp).
In the same way, this saying can be placed in another context by saying that; appearances speak louder than words. In other words, clothes can easily help us identify who we are or who we want to be. How people dress their bodies, either through clothing or any form of fashion presents an artistic message to the world that tells everyone initially who they are. (Kevin Almond, You have to suffer for fashion, Fashion & well – being?, 2009, p 197). This message is conveyed to either inform each other of the weather, seasons, or our emotions. It can also be a message illustrating protection or freedom.
A vivid example of expressing some form of feeling protected and comfortable in life can be when a person is wearing a three-piece tailored male suit to attend a red carpet big event. Most of the time, when men put on such outfit for such events, they can barely go wrong with that choice since it is some kind of tradition to have men put on such tailored jackets whilst the ladies put on presentable dresses. Such indulgences on these events and the messages the people try to send out, cause me to wonder whether the same message of a person feeling protected and comfortable in life can be conveyed and appreciated if a woman also decides to wear the three-piece tailored suit oryet still wear a different outfit to that known to be the traditionally seen as a red carpet or big occasion outfits. On the 12th of September 2010 at the American MTV Video awards, a famous singer called Lady Gaga caused a big commotion when she went on stage to collect her award wearing a dress, shoe and a hand bag made out of raw meat. From interviews conducted some of the celebrities who were in the audience as well as people at home who were either vegans or for animal rights, they felt offended by it. They questioned how far people would go in the name of fashion. When later asked while being interviewed on the American talk show Ellen what caused her to wear a dress made completely out nothing but meat she explained that she is a vegan herself but either ways the whole look “has many interpretations but for me it states that if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t stand up for our rights, then very soon we are going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones” (Ellen, September 2010, available : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I39_-R3gEzA ). Even though many who follow her know that she loves to always go for outrageous fashion looks, no one expected to see her in a raw meat dress that comes with a complimentary handbag and shoes.
Not only can clothes serve as a medium of our political endeavours but it can also serve as a trigger point for our memories to help us bring forth past happening that we’ve been through or experiences that we hoping to achieve. This can be either on the terms of the colour we chose to wear or the type of garment. Mostly we deem to have lighter and softer colours to represent happiness and holiness but as for the darker ones they serve the purpose of negativity. In 2008 while interviewing a family friend, Mrs Reid about her famous ivory wedding dress that she always talks about and what memories it draws to her whenever she sees it, I got to learn that when it comes to weddings in general, ladies usually wear white dresses as a sign of purity. This led me to asking her why she chose to go for an ivory one instead of white. She explained that it was for her 2nd marriage after she had broken off from an awful marriage of abuse. She didn’t want to portray an act of total purity but rather of modesty as she knew that she had final met her ‘Romeo’ with whom a brighter future awaited. But for Kenny, another volunteer within that study looked at things a bit differently. He was more into blue denim trousers and black t shirts with horrific graphics. What amazed me about him was he seemed to have the same kind of outfits for the whole week and if he made any changes within the dress code he still remained with darker colours mainly black. He explained to me that from his teenage years he endure load of negativity in his life. With the death of his father to being bullied, his discovering of rock music became his point of turn around. What the rock music did for him was inspire and filled him with confidence and embrace the ideology that we all meant to be different. He felt that to every rock song he listened to the words were telling him a story which he could place himself in so it gave him an opportunity to see himself in another way. To mark the break through, he decided to start wearing darker colours to represent how empty and alone he felt during his dark times, while associating the standout graphics with him taking a stand against being one with the masses. But as explained in the Encyclopaedia Britannica”Artists and designers have been studying the effects of colours for centuries and have developed a multitude of theories on the uses of colour. The number and variety of these theories demonstrates that no universally accepted rules apply; the perception of colour depends on individual experience,” (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/colour_theory.shtml ). So whatever perception we the society might create on basis of what we feel is ‘reality’ and ‘right’ can only boil down to be nothing but just an illusion of false judgements.
Most importantly, people’s individual identity is what needs to be maintained and not lost whilst trying to articulate certain messages through their clothing choices. As identity is knowing who someone is and having a social interaction with others whether in having a sense of similarities or difference from each other (Stuart Halls, Culture and identity, 2002, pg 26), there might be times whereby people would decide to change, compromise or even hide their true identity in other to be part of a group through following certain fashion trends.
2. Factors that Influences our choices of clothes
Nowadays people are enduring times whereby they’ve witness war on their finances, environment (global warming) and society. In the space of one generation there have been some radical changes to the typical experiences of young people, and some of the effects of these changes are evident in the extent to which young people now see their decision making as individual ‘choices’ rather than the product of structured constrains(Choice, pathways and transitions post 16, 2000, pg2). In the midst of all these changes, people therefore tend to somehow bare reflections of that in their clothing choices. Such reflections can be sourced either be through the culture from which people grew up with, their age, their emotions, their beliefs or even their social cast.
2.1 Where you from? (Cultural factors)
Firstly, culture can be defined as the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture). Within these cultures, the environment in which they are found plays a vital role in some of people’s social conducts. This suggests that for example in countries situated within higher altitudes such as Ghana, West Africa, people there will have a different sense of attitude towards things from those living within lower altitudes like Denmark.
In clothing and fashion sense, it will not be ideal for someone to wear a winter jacket through the streets of Ghana as the humidity of the environment would be too much to handle in such attire. Likewise will it be inappropriate for a traditional Ghanaian outfit to be worn just on its own through the streets of Denmark during certain times. This is because the various garments are made with specific functions in mind.
Taking a look at a United Nations summit whereby delegates from different countries and cultural background gather to share ideas, there are displays of the versatility of the fashion looks from various cultures being represented there. In normal circumstances it is usually possible to easily identify which continent each delegate is from. However, with our merging world nowadays it is becoming a bit difficult to guess correctly the origin of people at such events based solely on their outfits since they all tend to have similar professional looks mainly a suit and tye.
However, in the midst of all these merging cultures, it can be seen that there are certain garments with pure significance for each culture which will not disappear and will always be worn at special occasions or used to remember ongoing generations as a valuable piece from that cultures history. This lays emphasis on how the material culture of memory has been the focus of some attention by historian and anthropologists acknowledge the importance of the meaning of things in relation to time (Burman, B, 1999, The Culture of Sewing). It enforces the idea that wherever the new generation may find themselves settling, the influences from these traditional wears will stick with them and just a glance at those traditional outfits will sweep their minds down memory lane back to the land from which their rich culture hails from.
For some people it feels like it is always about having an individual identity which is the unique sense of personality held by each social actor in their own right” (cultural and identity, 2002, pg26).
2.2 What do you believe? (Religious factors)
Recently in January 2011, Queen Elizabeth II made a trip to the Middle East visiting countries that were populated by followers of the Muslim faith such as Qatar. From the news reports shown of her visit, her style of clothing was changed to suit the requirements on how a lady should dress within the Muslim faith. She had a veil on her head and was literary dressed almost like the other ladies living in Qatar even though she didn’t hail from there or shared their faith. Regardless of whom she was and her personal believes, there was an expectation of respect set before her to their religious requirements of ladies wearing a head scarf whilst in public around.
In the same way there are more of such examples to be found in the various religions that exist in this world now whereby people are obliged to dress in certain specific ways. Religious beliefs through the years have grown to be a major part in most people’s clothing choices especially when they are strong believers in them.
In January 2010 while on my placement, I was giving the opportunity to lead a 2nd year fashion class of the University of Huddersfield in a discussion centred on identity and memory. I showed to the class a selection of photos ladies and I asked which one would they each pick if they were going to church and why.
Most of the class had their eyes set for picture 1&3 from top as they believed that these ladies were had a dressing profile which best fit attending an occasion in church. As fashion students most of their answers were driving towards the cuts, colour and fabric presents but the reasoning that stood out for me was that of a girl who boldly chose picture1. She explained that the church is a place of modesty and reverence so for her the one that best describes these words is that picture besides it’s the kind of outfits that places you in the mind set of relaxation.
2.3 What is your status? (Social cast and expectation)
Clothes are not desired simply to hide nakedness or confer warmth and protection. Style , colour and quality reflect the wearer’s status, associations, self-image and attitudes as well as his more obvious characteristics like age and social class (G.R. Foxall, Consumer behaviour: A Practical guide, Croom Helm, London,1980,p.29). Your status within society bears a mark on the type of clothing line you wear. Policemen for example are mainly seen on our streets wearing uniforms and markings of authority. Because of this dress coding they are easy to spot in the midst of any type of congregation. But if we were to line up a group of them together and paid attention to the markings of their garments we will notice that there is a slight difference between them all. Some will bear high ranking authority than the rest. Since the beginning of time, society has always placed us within ranking whereby just like the police force there is always a group highly ranked above the rest and this is known as the social cast. But “there seem to be conflicting views among social scientist on the selection of suitable criteria for determining social cast” ( M A Hann, K C Jackson, Fashion: An Interdisciplinary Review, v16,no4, pg13, 1987). However occupation, education, income and power influences have been the main factors from which the various conclusions are drawn. Through the years this variation was very obvious when it comes what each social cast wore. The upper class in their domination wore the outfits crafted in beading and embroidery. The use of the more natural and expensive fabric has always remained their choice. The middle class followed behind the rich and also went for good looking options but with less price tag as that of the upper-class. The lower class with barely much to feed themselves wore what I termed as patch work. Because it was hard for them to always go out to buy now outfits like the rest of the social cast they remained with the option of patching up their garments whenever they tore.
But through technology and industrial revolution the gabs between the classes in terms of fashion are closing up. “The achievements of full-scale mass production, in which a limited set of standardized products are market as widely as possible is not appropriate for a specialized fields that had come to prize individuality and changes” (Fashion, Making clothes, 1999, pg 57). Now more of everything can be produced with a price tag able to suit all. Even so, there is still a slight difference with the quality of the garments on offer to each cast. On July 29th 1981 the year that the late princess Dianna and prince Charles got married, Diana was dress in all white lace wedding dress 25ft long train customary designed by Elizabeth Emanuel with the cost of £9000 then, might be slightly higher now. Comparing this wedding dress to that of Mrs Reid’s which she bought from a shop, you wouldn’t need thier any history lesson for you to pick out the differences even though they both have on garments serving the same purpose.
In a recording aired on the bbc entitled “The Look; Uniforms and functions”, an interview was done with one of the most successful fashion designer of our time Ralph Laurent on how his success of being able to sell his clothing line international came about. He carefully explained how that every customer regardless of social status is indulging in a personal dream of which they seek to be part of an aspiration. These aspirations come about through our involvement with the different mediums around us such as books and TVs. Most rich people dream about winning a unique award like a sports trophy while the less fortunate dream about being able to go to that holidays in the country side or abroad. As he puts it “my designs are mainly about things people really do and things that people dream about if it’s being like a cowboy or a hunter from Africa” (film, The Look, uniforms and function,Thu Jan 29). He dipped into this fictional world and used his findings as inspiration for his creation of which was very much embraced by all.
Moreover other designer picked up on his way of thinking and together started creating new identities for the public which could be purchased right of the peg. Many sociologists explain that having a collective sense of belonging to a group of individuals or people identifying themselves as being similar in mind sets with the other members of a group may cause them to go for what are wearing (Cultural and identity, 2002, pg26).
2.4 Am I wearing it right?
During the 2010 royal variety show held in London, it was unique to see that all the invitees, from MP’s, doctors, knights, lords, various aristocrats and even Prince Charles were clothed in black tailored suits while the ladies accompanied them in their various dress to kill evening dresses. The invited guests were no exception in this dressing phenomenal with the exception of the acts involve with the acrobatics. This is because it is by tradition that during occasions organised in the mist of the royal family, formal wear is the dress code regardless of your status. As a change from the traditional acts that are expected there, the prince decided to extend an invitation of performance to one of Britain’s controversial young hip-hop group N-dubz who through the eyes of the youths have taking the album charts by storm. They are mainly known for their x rated lyrics and their personal touches on their dress code. Dappy the lead rapper is known for always accessorising with loads of Jewery and a beanie hat with whatever outfit he wears while Fazer the 2nd rapper is known for his simplicity but yet still more focused on wearing outfits made from fabrics in exclusive colours like for their Christmas show he had in a Jacket made out of orange and sky blue corduroy. Tulisa the princess and lead vocalist of the group is known for wearing tighter outfits that focuses on allowing her nice body shape to stand out. With their personalised way of performing and dressing, they deem fit to be placed within the dress code category of street wear. With this in mind and seeing how each act that was performing was dressed, I was eagerly waiting for the look they were bringing to the table. Were they going to come on stage dress to look different from the masses as usual?
At last the time came when N-dubz, one the nation’s young hip hop group was announced as the next act coming on, I waited with the expectation of what will they be wearing. As their piano intro was been played, out came this hip hop group all transformed into a brown and blue-gray like checked tailored suits for the guys and a straight gray cover up dress for Tulisa I looked on very surprised and amused at the same time as I somehow thought they were going to come on stage in their hip hop wears. While the performances went on you could tell even though they were enjoying themselves and performing to their capacity, the audience were not moved as much as compared to their older peers of acts that came on before them. This wasn’t because they were out of place but to me it was more because with the ages of the audience out into consideration they weren’t that familiar with the music the youth turn to go for nowadays especially that of N-dubz that even though they were dressed in the formal wear just like everyone else it didn’t really change their opinions on how they reviewed their music. How ironic would it have been if while they performed they switch clothes into their street wears? I doubt that would have change the perception of the audience. May had even caused more commotion and much more unwanted publicity but what did caused me to applaud them is that they took the initiative to stand out of the masses that were gathered there. Instead of going for the easy black and white suits they chose a different colour and even though they had their shirts all buttoned up they decided to wear no tie which is normally expected especially if you were to wear a formal suit with buttoned up shirt. At the end of the night when the entire artists came back on stage you could easily pick out their youthful touch added on to the dress code for the night. A friend commented say “maybe when they wore the tailored suits, it reminded them of their school days whereby they had to dressed formally but with the motives of wanting to be different at school you would either wear your school uniform and tie in a special or different way to how you have been thought to that’s why they came on stage without their ties in other to set a new trend for maybe not themselves but for future acts to follow knowing that they can take the dress code schedule but make it their own”. This situation goes to show how sometimes even though we might have our own way of portraying the type of dressing stand that we comfortable with, we will find ourselves stripped of that and then presented with a new canvas of which we may chose to add our own touch to or accept and keep just as it is which shows the individual person becomes the reproduction unit of the social aspect in this world. Contemporary experiences and a diversification of the life-style have replaced older traditional and social relationships, which are known as individualization (Choice, pathways and transitions post16, 2000, pg2)
3. Post Modern concepts about clothes
Surely clothes more than ever upholds an amazing effect within its reams than we deem it to have. Within our fast paced world, presentation and packaging is very essential as we are more visual centred. We are more than ever enticed with the images we see on TV, internet and with the magazines. This has driving us to being followers of the celebrities we turn to see portrayed all around us. Within this ream, clothes have somehow taking its place amongst our communication weapons which mainly comes in handy for activist and protesters. But for individuals like me with no political ambition, but aim to be slightly different, this platform presents a perfect opportunity.
3.1 Expression of individuality
With governmental grants at its highs, the prices in shops on average low and people being able to afford most things on the high street now. The youth nowadays are identified by being involved mostly in the consumerisation of the symbolic goods within an economy(Fashion: an interdisciplinary review, Textile progress, volum 16, no 4, 1987, p12). Nowadays, the stress of owning the latest of everything is at its fullest. From the latest handset to even the latest makeup set to help us finish of the look we going for. We have become so much obsessed that its become part of us that we sometimes seize to function properly without it. Young people are what they consume because they consume what they want to be (Choice, pathways and transitions post16, 2000, pg6). In our present celebrity culture whereby most of us yearn to be like the people we see on television, a mass of clones are being created whereby we all tend to go for the same dress code and outfits in other to fit in with the profile we generated from the celebrities. Recently an experiment was conducted using 12 volunteer teenagers from the Bains High School in Poulton Le Faylde. They were a prime example of how the new age related technology as part of their identity but for one month this part of their identity was to be put on hold. Before the experiment took place, they underwent a series of self worth and self esteem examination. It emerge that all of the 12 candidates had percentages that were below average. Some of the factors that caused this massive drop was that most of the girls out of the group of ages between 13 and 15 had turned to copy cats trying to imitate the celebrities they see on TV and in the fashion magazines through wearing clothes and make ups which made them look older than their age and also tanning their bodies. The use of mobile phones and chat sites to communicate with each other has caused them to lose their social conduct so much so that even during lesson they feel the need to go on their phones rather than concentrating. They found it difficult to communicate in public and relate to other physically as they feared if people knew the real them then they wouldn’t be accepted.
However, after a month of alienating themselves from all own technology including their makeup sets and replacing them with social activities which causes them to be move from their comfort zone, they realize that life is meant for leaving and that there is no need to replace your life with technology. Their self worth and self esteem had improved by 80-90%. In the drift towards anonymity and alienation that follow the rise of industrial capitalism and urbanization, the communicative power of clothing emerge as an important tool, both for guaranteeing a sense of belonging and as an aid to identification(Fashion, Fashion & identity, 1999, page 217). Nowadays we see that it’s not just these young people that are infected by this virus but their parents as well. The older generation have turned to the use of plastic surgery and wearing of youthful outfits to help them reclaim their youthful years. The level of ages has changed. The ideology of who is young and who is old has also changed and for example it can be seen that middle-aged women wear clothing that can be assumed as been meant for teenage girls. Age limit is no more as we observe older women wearing tights leggings and mini skirt which are designed with their daughters as customers. It’s a shame that our increment in technology and knowledge is driving us towards stupidity.
3.2 What about ‘I’ ?
Within the midst of all this, it can be noticed that some few individuals have broken away from the celebrity pattern and have set up their own trend of clothing which gives them the exclusivity that they seek. Not everyone wants to walk on the street and come across their clone in terms of the clothes they wearing. For this reason, some tend to go for high fashion brands which majority of the population are not able to afford as ‘high fashion is considered to be an expression used with reference to the needs of a limited number of people with above normal means or taste’ (A.H. Daniels. Harvard bus. Rev., 1952, p29). Exclusivity is the key motives of these individuals as in this case you have no one to contend with. We then become our own person, whether we are aware of the latest trends or not but yet still this consumer behavior comes with its risks. The risk of losing our status, self esteem and our social approval through an incorrect buying decision. It may not necessary be a wrong buy in terms of just the look doesn’t fit in with the purpose for which it is intended for but rather “the price tag which may cause consumer to incur financial loss” (Fashion: an interdisciplinary review, Textile progress, volum 16, no 4, 1987, p12) On holding an interview with a friend who is also studying Fashion media and promotion an interesting concept emerge. He told me of how he went to the job center to apply for job seekers allowance while wearing a matching Gucci hat, belt and shoes. He thought nothing of it as he is used to looking his best always. On arrival to the job center he realized that he was overly dressed when he compared his outfit with others there. As he was been taking through the formalities he was asked whether if he had been looking for work and been to interviews and he answered yes. He was then asked if he went to the interviews wearing Gucci of which he answered yes. On conclusion he was lined up some interviews and also to tone down on what he wears as sometimes it can be off putting to employers when you wearing things from a highend fashion line with a big price tag. I became very interested in this concept as not long after he was employed as assistant stockiest at ASDA. I wondered if him toning down his appearance for the interview made him more appealing to the job. So our presentation of ourselves is one of the 1st things observed by people and their reaction on that 1st impression plays a very vital role wherever we are no matter how academic or talkative we. Well at least we both agreed on this concept.
3.3 What about me?
Just like my friend, I seek exclusivity from the masses. I want to be leader of my own. I want people to know that I have a fashionable background without saying anything. But being very cautious when it comes to spending, means I can’t look at high-end options to achieve my goal. Moreover those options would direct their attention to the fashionable background but rather to my financial status. Also with most people going in for that option in the name of exclusivity, it’s only a matter of time when it becomes an option of the masses. With these factors, I then turned to vintage wears through the charity shops. This is mainly because sometime I turn to find some outfits with unique design capacity and history attached to it. As a designer, I like to put my own mark on the design aspects of the garment through revamping and make it more modern. For me it feels like me stepping into the history that the garment carries and carrying it on with my own. Besides, am certain no one will be wearing the same garment when I have it on.
4. Conclusion
Clothes have through the ages become the hidden voice for all whether we are aware or not. Imagine when you meet someone on the streets the 1st thing you glance at is their presentation in terms of choice of clothing and accessories before you even check out their face. That’s because that presentation serves as a window for you to be able to take a peek in the world or identity of that person.
In our present postmodern world, the achievements of full-scale mass production in which a limited set of standardized products are marketed as widely as possible is not appropriate for a specialized fields that have come to price individuality and changes we make in our dress codes(Fashion, Making clothes, 1999, pg 57). Especially with designers being the fore frontiers of leading the public into the various dreams we wish you purse. With these choices on offer, you can always swap and twist your identity as well as people’s perception of you around, dependence on where you are by just making a few changes with what you wear just like my friend at his interviews.
However, people always change their identities wherever they are to accommodate or fit into the crowd they associate themselves with comes with a price. In terms of production and economy wise, designers and companies will gain increments with their diverse short term fashion cycle. However, when it comes to the social progress within fashion, we the people will make big loses in terms of losing the really ‘I’ in de midst of all the illusion we being offered. With pressure from our peers and media most of us will fall victims of compromising with our sense of cherishing an option that refers directly to our true identity, in order to move along with the majority who are followers of celebrities culture.
With all the different choices on offer now in our world, there is an existence of the so called ‘throw away cultural society’ whereby nothing has a potential longetivity. We buy things to enable us to achieve a specific look but after which we rid ourselves of it. Even though recycling is starting to make its mark on us, it’s still not enough. Maybe society needs to change its spending behaviour aswell. On the plus side, the options of people seeking exclusivity increases with the masses aiming for a certain look. If we are able to invent ‘the right look’ for the right price we become leaders not followers.
Fashion identity through clothing is truly an illusion that will always vary from person to person, based on the generation in which people are born, their ethnic origins and the influences from the society in which they live but one thing that is certain is whatever outfits you chose to put on plays a major roll in the presentation of yourself to the world. It does say a lot about you whether you intend for it or not so take the opportunity of have a limitless option and start to make your mark. Just like how Jennifer Hudson puts it in her song “All dressed in Love”, ‘if you can wear what you feel, what do you want to say?
References:
| Title | Make My Kids Happy: Tonight… |
| Description | …(Part 1). First of a two-parter. Why do British children have such low self esteem? In an experiment, 12 teenagers are stripped of their electrical gadgets, provocative fashions and make-up. Recorded Thu May 14 3:20AM from ITV1. 2009 This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence. |
| Created | 14/05/09 03:20 |
| Site | QG |
| Teacher | librcmm |
| Department | LCS |
| Rating | U |
| Duration | 28 minutes 55 seconds of Video with Audio |
The look
Part of Style on Trial. 4/6. Uniform and Function: A look at how personal identity can be bought off the peg, from Lauren to Chanel. [S]
Recorded Thu Jan 29 11:30PM from BBC FOUR.
This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.