Fashion as a Medium of Communication

As most of our popular culture, everything is always changing. What is in while we are teenagers will be ancient in 10 years. The same goes for the wardrobes of women. I think that the clothing options have had a positive progression because of the acceptance of female sexuality. In the early 1920s women were extremely modest by showing little to know skin in their daily lives. Women were expected to be made up all of the time and that is something that I couldn’t even imagine. Being a Marian girl, there is nothing I love more than throwing my hair up every morning with no makeup. As you move into the 60s and 70s women began wearing skirts, dresses, and girdles. YUCK. There is nothing wrong with a more modest look, the problem I have with clothing is that even when mothers were cleaning the house they were expected to be in dresses or other types of uncomfortable, but nice looking clothing. It has been cool to see how slowly skirts have gotten shorter and more skin is being shown, but the central issue is the mindset of seeing women as sexual object rather than a person. Although in our time no type of clothing is surprising, there is still a sense of judgement from men and even older women when you wear something that makes your look like a “slut”. It saddens me that people really can’t look past what you are wearing. I hope the future for women is going to be

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” (Fashion Quotes 1) The words once spoken by Henry David Thoreau are politically correct. People often look at Elizabethan‘s choice of fashion and ridicule everything about it from the hair, down to the stockings. As it appears, fashion has always been a broad topic of discussion in the world. Whether it is NY Fashion Week or a Macy’s fashion show, fashion is something that has always been an eye catcher. Fashion has been around for many years, and whether we know it or not, Elizabethan fashion has influenced the way modern fashion is today.

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.).

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

A lot of countries made their clothing for different reasons. For instance, Scotland made a fabric called tartans that showed what clan they are in, and Hawaiians production of clothing was part of religious significance. In the Middle Ages ties and belts were used more frequently because their clothes was oversized by modern standards. “With the Renaissance’s changes in art and society came more fitted clothes” (Source 2). They made their clothes more fitted by sewing multiple pieces of cloth instead of using just one big piece of cloth. Without closures like zippers it made it very difficult to get into their clothes. The wealthier people had their tailor customize their own patterns. “... height of 18th century, French fashion garments were truly works of art” (Source 2). The french started to ship in foreign pieces of clothes shipped from miles away and used silk-like materials. “... flashy fabrics fell out of use.. fit became increasingly more important in the 19th and 20th centuries” (Source 2). The flashy material went out of style and nobody really wanted to use it anymore. Instead of tunics and robes, men started to wear suits. Men and women were looking for a more fitted look

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.

“Why clothing?” is not a question that you would frequently think to ask yourself. It most likely is not something the average american would think about in the morning when we wake up. Clothing hasn’t always been a part of our daily lives. I believe we wear clothing because it is considered the norm for our culture. But the question is, is it really necessary? Clothing gives us a sense of who we are. It allows us to make statements and create an identity for ourselves. The clothing we decide to wear has a lot to do with the religion that we follow, our social status, and current trends.

“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

At the end of the 18th century there was one of the most significant events in the history of dress. Men gave up their right to all the bright, more elaborate, and more varied forms of clothing. They left all that to the women. Men abandoned their claim to be considered beautiful. They, instead, aimed at being useful in society.

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.

People also utilize fashion as a way to be judged - or not be judged. Some people dress in high-end, fashionable clothing to show that they take care of themselves and want to stand out in a positive way. Others may wear clothes that allow them to hide - plain jeans and tops that allow someone to blend into a crowd. This shows that both making a statement and trying not to make a statement actually do end up making a statement - although trying not to make a statement states that you don't want to be noticed.

Fashion is a manner and style especially clothes, shoes, makeup and hairstyle. When I came from my home country, I have not much knowledge about fashion, and even do not know more about fashion brand. I was learning from technology, school and start follows American fashion. In eighteen century, people were also very fashionable as we are mostly seeing in the old films and pictures. The fashion was started from Europe and England because on that time Kings and Queens were fashionable and spends money on luxury items. The Queen Elizabeth has famous because of fashion and style, because she is wearing bright dresses, necklace etc. The brands we are use now a day’s also established in many years back like Coach is in the fashion for last 75years. Now a day’s fashion is change every spring, summer and fall because people are more creative to do something different. Social media is the main source to develop the latest fashion between new generations. People are follows facebook, twitter, instagram because celebrities, models, and companies share their fashion with public. In the twenty century people have jobs and money that’s why they start spending on technology, and fashion, on the other side there are competition in the fashion industry so it’s difficult to compete it.

To gain knowledge of how we communicate to others through the way we dress, we have to first understand what identity is. Identity is what we choose to represent ourselves as, be that a gender identity, a sexual identity; it is completely up to the individual as a person to make that choice. Identity forms the basis of one’s pride and being accepted socially only adds to that ego and integrity. The psychology of the matter is the way we dress is more or less based on our moods, habits, inspirations, past, present and future. The character of a person is reflected in the way that they dress, Clothing can act as a simple glance into someone’s life, as we are already know that different clothing can represent different means of culture; Clothes are used a language to communicate with society and to commonly let them know what you want to be viewed as.

In a democratic society, people are free to choose what sort of dress they want, but the way we dress ourselves greatly depends on what the situation we are in. For instance, we put on evening suits when we present ourselves at a party of celebrities; on the field, we put on sports wear. Therefore, in elementary and secondary school, I suggest students should put on school uniform to give a consciousness to students that people should wear proper clothes in certain place in order to respect others. As Gilchrish said, "clothing is a way to show others that you have respect and consideration for the situation" (20).