‘‘Fashion provides one of the most ready means through which individuals can make expressive visual statements about their identities’’. Bennet, A. (2005). Culture and Everyday Life. London: Sage. p. 96.
Discuss this statement with reference to individual examples.
As Bennet suggests in the above statement, People use fashion as one of the easiest and realistic ways in which they can express their personality and their true identity to show to others in their everyday life to show their own idealistic attitudes and values and to what kind of person they are. But can we as an audience truly make an assumption as to a person’s character from simply what they wear? Particularly focusing on the male identity and fashion masculinity;
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If Bennet’s original quote is believed to be true, it is evident here in Perry’s expression of his identity.
Is it easier for men to be fashionably forward than it is for women? Do men care enough for the media and retail market to give them enough attention to be fashionable? Josh Sims; a freelance style writer who regularly contributes to The Independent, GQ and Esquire, says “Whilst the women’s wardrobe has its classics - lasting styles often reinterpreted and frequently updated - there are arguably more of these in the men’s wardrobe”. Sim’s elaborates on the essential pieces that make up every man’s wardrobe in ‘Icons of Men’s Style’. Whether a man be fashion conscious or not, the DNA of his wardrobe will still stretch from a range of product from jackets, to shoes, to shirts, to jeans. Sim’s suggests that although women look for fashion, men maintain style through their numerous pieces in their wardrobe that make up their overall outfit. I think that whoever the man may be, his wardrobe will ultimately make up his persona and the type of person he is - much like what Bennet has stated previous. Even though a man may not deliberately pick his clothes to be fashion forward, I think that subconsciously every decision has been made for a reason whether it be a £325.00 cotton-blend white shirt by Alexander McQueen*, or an almost replica white shirt for £6.00 at George, by Asda**, the man in question has come
Some of the specific observations made by Morris in the article ,"The Year We Obsessed Over Identity," that I find relevant to my own life- what I have read, what I watch, what I notice in the culture around me is that society continues to look at women as weak individuals. At the beginning pf the article, the character played by Anne Hathaway is shown as weak when she starts to think that without her marriage problems and that without her husband she wouldn’t be the successful women she is at that moment. "And weren't the problems in her marriage a direct result of her being a succesfulwoman- she was there but never quite present. (pg.1) People are or can also be said to have been afraid of change. Yet, when it came to Obama winning the
In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens explores the perception that the value of a man increases with his attainment of material wealth. Dickens probes the truth of such a system of values through Pip's quest for material gain. This quest is the literal pursuit of a better suit of clothing but is conducted without regard for the kind of man wearing the suit. Thus Dickens poses the question: does it profit a man to gain the world at the risk of losing his soul. It is clear, we see, in Great Expectations, that the answer to Dickens's question is no.
In conclusion, the way people dress is indeed important. It has been important from the beginning of the ancient times until today. As much as we would like to believe that Hans Christian Andersen’s interpretation of “dress is not what is important,” there is absolutely no way that this is possible for us. We are shallow as a whole. Much like the Emperor was in The Emperor’s New Clothes. Works Cited
We come across many different cultures and fashion in our society. Some may indicate that the culture influences one’s fashion while others may oppose and state that each aspect stands alone. Fashion and culture fall into the following identity categories: chosen and assigned. Culture affects many parts of an individual, in some cases you can determine an individual 's culture by their speech and clothing; in addition to traditions and the environment in which they were raised. Whereas fashion may be impacted by culture and tradition, but it may also not interact with culture at all.
Clothing styles have always had a close connection to developments in clothing creation. The two are inextricably linked by public demand, fabric availability, and the wealth of people to afford them. Even back to the Industrial Revolution and Renaissance, when people began to have more clothing choices, one can see the relationship between what the people need or want and what the manufacturers create.
Fashion is very important in modern day society, and can be seen all around. Most of what people know about fashion today came from the fashion during the renaissance. From the vibrant fabrics to the spectacular jewels, renaissance fashion has been thoroughly threaded in the fashion of modern society. Modern day women often wear shorty, fun gowns, tightly fitting jeans, and lower cut tops. Popular fashion trends for men in modern society include saggy jeans, V-neck shirts, and stylish watches. “A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so unbearable that we are compelled to alter it every six months” (Oscar Wilde). Fashion in modern day society is ever changing, but most changes do not stray too far from the original product.
Coco Chanel was one of the most influential fashion designers of the Twentieth Century and she was the first significant female fashion designer. The fashion world was impacted by Chanel’s phoenix like return to fashion after her retirement in 1953. Chanel introduced men and women to practical yet elegant styles. Although Chanel has been deceased for forty-one years her undeniable influence on fashion and women’s roles in society will be remembered for generations to come. Coco Chanel was an iconic designer and continues to inspire men and women around the world.
Fashion reflects the attitudes of a society more than any other art form. Like art, fashion is a material record of the ideals that swayed the nations at the time of their creation. Through examining the styles, and tastes of a particular era, we can realize where the interests and priorities of a time lie. As Frank Parsons wrote in his 1920 study, The Psychology of Dress, "There is surly no better field in which to trace the devious paths of human thought than in that of clothes, where man has ever given free play to self expression, in a way which, thought not always a credit to his intelligence, is yet quite true to his innermost self, whether he will acknowledge it or
“BEFOR I CAN TALK TO YOU, PEOPLE SHOW THEIR SEX, AGE, CALSS, POSITION, WITH WHAT THEY ARE WEARING. ALL THIS IS REGISTERED UNCONCIOSLY“ Those words said by Alison Lurie in the language of clothes (1992), reflect perfectly the main point of my research. The society we are now living is an extremely conscious society regarding body image and the way we are presented to the exterior. We found an obsessive trend on wanting to look like celebrities by having certain items or looks and in relation to that a fear of not being percepted the tight way. This is where we found relation to how clothes are part of a conversation we haven 't started and are a form of expression. As there will be explained further on, we use clothes as a sign of our identity,as a way of representing ourselves and stand out from the crowd and also influence on how we appear in front of others making them (clothes) a huge part of our non verbal communication. This essay will discuss the ideas behind self -expression and the role of clothes has changed in that mater thought time.
The fashion industry is rapidly growing and constantly generating new fashion trends almost weekly. Fashion for some may seem ridiculous and unnecessary; but fashion is not just a meaningless usage of article of clothing or farcical materials sew together for coverage. There is more to fashion than meets the eyes, fashion is precious and significant. It is a reflection of self-image, it speak the ream about who we are and how we review ourselves. Not only is fashion the reflection of self-image but also the reflection of our history as Coco Channel have said, “Fashion is not something that exist in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Fashion
‘style, branding, colour and fashionability’ of the clothing as a tool for the audience to
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,
As stated before, psychology is a form of self-expression, and a form of visual communication. The way one dresses may put one in a fashion subcategory. These subcategories are thought of as a whole and are subject to judgment and discrimination of sorts. For example, a person with many tattoos and a vintage style of clothing may be viewed as a “hipster”, and hence the viewer may assume many things of the individual. The fit of garments say many things about oneself. Made-to-fit clothing on men in the business world is more respectable than non-tailored clothes. With women, skirt suits create the balance between attractiveness and masculinity in order to appear respectable, much more than the overly aggressive pant suit. One may see the effect of clothing when one researches on how to dress for an interview in order to make an impression upon the hiring manager.
Ever since their invention many centuries ago, clothes have been used as a way of communicating. The message communicated relies on a number of factors including the social background of both the communicator and the receiver, and the context in which the message is communicated. Although at times the exact message or symbolism one is trying to portray may not be clear, it is evident that clothing has long been embraced as one of the best ways to project one’s desired personal image to those around them.
According to Frith and Gleeson, men choose fashion trends that help them to manipulate their appearances in order to meet cultural masculine ideals. Generally, men believe that masculinity entails not caring about how they look (2004). However, they also seem to be concerned with meeting a cultural ideal with their fashion choices. Frith and Gleeson found that men made conscious fashion choices to either hide or emphasize certain body parts in order to attain what they perceived as the ideal body image. In addition, it appears that men value practicality over aesthetic (Frith & Gleeson, 2004).