Clothing Vs Clothing

Fashion has been a prominent aspect of a woman’s life throughout time. Women of different times and cultures have turned the routine of picking out clothes and putting together different ensembles into a sort of art, or a way to express and promote themselves. Many women also see fashion as part of their identity, or a way to manipulate the way people see them. What a woman wears can drastically change the way society views her - it can increase her chances of getting a job, or make her gain respect (or rejection) from her peers (Sika n.p.).

During our life we construct many different identities of who we want to portray ourselves as to the rest of society; fashion plays a vital role in generating who we are. With the ideas from Storry and Childs they state that “the way that we dress can either serve to confirm or to subvert various facets of our identities, such as our gender,

Every day, we wake up, and we dress ourselves. The act of dressing is often very thought out, making sure to match colors and patterns, dress for the season, and of course, we must choose the right shoes. With something that we do every day and spend a lot of time thinking about, how much do we really understand about our dress? As dress is the first message we send to those around us about who we are, what and we identify with, our gender, our career type, social status, or the types of activities we participate in, it is important to understand one simple question, why do we dress the way we do? Who made the rules for how a woman should dress, how a man should dress, and when do we learn these rules? I am going to discuss one aspect of our dress which I find to be perhaps the most important, children’s dress. The reason it is crucial to understand children’s dress is because we learn and create our first ideas about gender as kids. When parents dress their children, they are sending important messages to their kids that continue with them throughout their lives. Understanding just how big of a role the market plays, as well as parents, and young children themselves, can help outline the power dynamics that are set up in society, and allow us to understand why we dress the way we do.

Men could make the mistake of “thinking that women [are provoking] attacks against them by the way they dress” (“Rape Myths” para. 9). A woman’s intention when she goes out in her tight dress can be to attract the attention of the opposite sex, but sometimes that can go too far. On the other hand, wearing the wrong thing can affect a woman’s chances in being accepted in a social setting. For example, if a female celebrity wears something that strays away from what society would consider as “what’s in”, then she can be publicly shamed by social media. That celebrity could receive the label of a “fashion victim”.

How does somebodies attire effects other people’s judgments of them? More specifically, how does attire of women influences others judgments? These are questions that take root from evolving problems in the world today. It is hard to give an honest answer because it is an opinionated argument. However, appropriate attire policies is a growing problem for society, there is a growing demand for equality in male and female attire. The argument is expressed in an article written by Laura Bates called, “How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture”. The problem is that women are expected to dress in a way that is socially acceptable. Socially acceptable means that, females must dress in a way that protects and covers the female anatomy. This argument that Bates explains, expresses a pathos appeal because you are allowed to understand the point of view of those who have been victimized by dress codes. The article also gives an ethos appeal because the article makes a person question their morale value. Questioning whether dress codes are equal or unjust and sexist. Reading the argumentative peace it is obvious that Bates stands against sexist dress codes.

Why can't people be happy in their own skin and feel confident in what they’re wearing? Why don't schools let both boys and girls wear what they want? Of course, school dress code is more lenient on boys than on girls. Why can't girls wear crop tops to school without being sent to the office and being asked to change their shirt? And also not having to be getting judged by everything that they’re wearing. Dress code may have made a lot of people not be happy with their own body, and have low self esteem, because school dress code has made them not feel comfortable in their favorite shirt or shorts etc. Everyone should have the right to wear what they want, even though there is limits students. Now granted, students should also understand that there are things that are inappropriate, but they should atleast be able to go to school and feel happy that, throughout the day they can have a good normal day at school without the students having to go to the office.

Any girl that has ever attended public school knows about the struggle of a dress code. On those hot days as the school year approaches, girls pour over their closets trying to find an outfit they won’t get called out for or sweat to death in. All their dresses are too revealing, their shorts too short, and their shirts reveal way too much shoulder—or so the schools say. Girls have been attacked time and time again with dress codes. Policies are almost always directed strictly towards girls; some even specify for girls only. These dress codes are not only sexist towards women, but they limit female’s freedom of expression and their choice to feel comfortable, and they do not teach female’s to have self confidence.

Target has a wide variety of clothes that appeal to a wide variety of people. The main segments of their targeted consumers are women, men, and children. The sub-segments in women’s clothing are active wear, youth, or maternity. Active wear are for women who are looking for comfortable clothes to workout in. Youth are for casual or business casual people to wear on a day to day basis. Maternity clothes are for women who are pregnant and looking for clothes that are bigger. Men sub-segments include active wear and casual wear. Both sub-segments serve the same purpose as the women’s. Children sub-segments include infant, toddler, and school uniforms. Infant are usually gender-neutral clothing for all babies. Toddler clothing are for kids around

In our society, there are norms of what is considered to be feminine and what is to be considered masculine, but how are these norms constructed? Through the use of toys, books, and clothing, children are socialized into their “appropriate” gender. These objects provide influence over behavior and appearance, showing boys and girls what is appropriate for each gender. After some investigation it was found that the toys, books, and clothing that children use not only foster the norms of gender behavior and appearance, but also construct gender roles in their young minds.

Dress codes in middle and high schools are a form of discrimination against teenage girls in today’s society. Parents and students all over the country argue that dress codes are directed mainly at girls and are a blatant example of gender inequality. The idea behind the strict enforcement of a dress code is that it will teach self-respect and raise moral standards for the students. However, when the reason for many dress code violations is questioned the rationale is often to prevent distracting the male students. Young women across the country are being shamed and punished for wearing what schools consider immodest and being a distraction to their male peers. This discrimination against female students results in their clothes being strictly regulated and dress coded more often than male students’ clothes are. The enforcement of these discriminatory dress codes has become a form of public humiliation for female students. Theoretically, a dress code makes sense and should be effective. In reality, it does not affect how students dress but causes a distraction and interruption of a girl’s education.

In advertising, companies tend to use images in which they believe will help to promote and sell their product. One of the most common techniques that is seen in today’s society is the stereotypical portrayal of women, who tend to pose rather promiscuously as seen in Figure One. These types of images portray women as sex objects or as submissive housewives to their husbands. This comes into context with the advertising in which American Apparel portrays. American Apparel has drawn a lot of attention for their marketing techniques as well as advertising.

Clothing is mandatory in most places in the country. People often choose items they love, never stopping to think about what their choices say about their personality. Don't let this happen. As many places now offer custom printed items, a person can have an apparel item they love at less than what they may imagine.

Through clothing, toys, children are negatively influenced by the stereotypes that accompany them. In clothing stores around Canada, the apparel of young boy's and girl's is stereotypical. Seen immediately in clothing stores is the extreme contrast between the two sections. The girl's section is filled with an abundance of sparkles, sequins, flowers, and pink on all articles of clothing. The boy's section is the

The Years between the 1950’s and 1960’s was an explosive time in fashion. The 50’s represented an out coming of the new generation. People began to gain their own personal style and appearance, influenced by films and singers (“Vintage Fashion”). Their styles incorporated leather, jeans, corduroy, and the ballet shoes for the girls. Men’s wear began to drastically change. Men would wear a leather jacket, with jeans that narrowed at the bottom, and a simple t-shirt (Peacock 210-211). This was the first time in history that jeans were not just worn by the working class but by all men (“Brief History”). The man’s lust for flesh grew during this time, so women’s skirts began to get shorter and the bikini was invented. Clothes were made to glorify the female body and emphasize every curve. It wasn’t until the Barbie doll was created in the late 50’s that young girls began to have a separate fashion from their mothers. Young girls would wear sweaters with full skirts or pants