High Fashions : Popular Fashion In Pop Culture

Clothing has its own meaning in communication. We are being judged by our clothing every time we come in contact with someone. Human communication is accomplished by two ways, one third by words and the rest by nonverbal communication (Hickson, 1989). Clothes serve to be protection, social identification, sexual attraction, and many other services. Someone’s clothing can be different compared to others. Their clothing is based on their age, gender, occupation, personality, and values. According to William Thourlby, there are ten decisions that people around someone make based on their clothing along (Hickson, 1989). The ten decisions are:

Clothing has existed for many centuries and has evolved over time. At one time, clothes were made very simple; over time the stages of developing clothes has drastically changed. The design and style of clothes changed as well.

Clothing protects, decorates, describes and gives the first impression of a person. It acts as an external symbol of

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.

“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.

Change is a theme that is ever-present in our culture and society. Often this change is reflected in the dress of its people. From the fashionable silhouettes of the 1920’s to the colorful 60’s, hip-hop look of 90’s up to the modern twist of today, social change and change in fashion has, in theory and practice, been linked. According to ask.com, Fashion can be defined as a prevalent style by a particular group at a particular time, and, therefore, may be linked to a specific cultural and historical context in which there is general acceptance of a given style or look

‘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,

Clothes are the way people express themselves in Western culture without the use of words. One can tell many things about a person based upon the way they are dressed. While many things may be erroneous when judging someone by the way they

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.

When you think of the word fashion, what do you think? Do you think about outrageous runway outfits? Cocktail dresses? Tracksuits? Whatever your impression of fashion, it is obvious that fashion plays an important role in today's society. We are judged by our clothing and appearance on an everyday basis, so why not make the most of our choices?

Although celebrity culture is typically associated with actors and actress, consumers may also rely on the trustfulness and credibility of politicians and first wives when deciding fashion trends. In the 1960s, fashion icon Jackie Kennedy took over the fashion industry (Joel 1). She appealed to many stay-at-home women because she was commonly known to have a “sophisticated simplicity” (Joel 1) approach to fashion. Her successor, First Lady Michelle Obama has instantly become a fashion icon herself as well. She is commonly seen wearing American designers therefore pushing “the American fashion industry into the international spotlight” (Givhan 1). People are often so draw to her style because it gives a glance into her personal life. As Givhan states, “Obama’s clothes have connected with the public in contemporary terms, in the language of Hollywood’s glamour, Seventh Avenue’s bold entrepreneurship and the democracy of the mass market” (Givhan 1). In March 2009, Michelle Obama appeared on the cover of US Vogue which showcased her “dress, style, and poise” (Gibson 40). Brett Schenck, president of Hart Schaffner Marx states, “It’s usually the frenzy behind the first lady” (Jones), but in the some instances, President Obama has also made an impact on the fashion industry. In the summer of 2009, designer Donatella Versace created a runway show that was designed and dedicated to him. The clothes she created where inspired by President Obama because it showcased “a relaxed man

shirt that many women wear today. The dresses worn by women were of long, sheer fabric with either a V-neck in the front or V-shape in the back with a fabric lip, resembling what one might see at a red carpet event today. Woman would also wear thin stockings or paint on their legs to resemble the stockings, resembling tights or pantyhose worn today, and high heels that were black in color with ribbon or accents that may be seen in business professional attire or paired with dresses today. Women’s hair was styled as short cuts with tight curls made on the sides and on the back of the head. Hats were also very commonly worn with these hairstyles, tilted to one side to reveal one side of the face more, resembling a fedora type style.

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.