This essay I am going to discuss contemporary youth culture, and how fashion and appearance are being used to communicate a certain identity. My main focus will be on trying to explain how they are characteristic for the post modern are and how they are distinct from “authentic” subcultures. Furthermore I will look into the central role consumption have in post modern youth cultures. When discussing these different ideas, I have chose to look into two contemporary youth cultures; the hipster and the clubbers.
Fashion and appearance are about showing who we are. Kratz and Reimer (1998) state how fashion is a cultural phenomen that we use to communicate to others our identity. This identity could be social and cultural, it can be showing
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It is not be denied that fashion is the most visible act of consumption, therefore also the most visible way to communicate thru consumption (Miles, 1998). Hipsters communicate thru fashion by not following the catwalk trends, the main trend within this culture is wearing vintage and thriftshop inspired clothes, often in unexpected combinations. Referring back to the codes of fashion, and how subcultures broke these codes, Hipsters can be said to do the same (hebdiges, 1979). This culture are trying do differentiate themselves from everything that they see as mainstream. It is clear that this craving after differentiation are a well know aspect within postmodernity, which could be explained by the impossibility to do so because there are no longer any rules, everything has already been done (Appignanesi & Garrat, 2004; Muggleton, 2000)
Drawing on this statement about postmodernity, It can be claimed how “indie” now have become mainstream, especially when it comes to fashion and style. Even though almost all subcultrual style did at some point become mainstream, the difference is that when that happened the innovators of the style, the subculture, turned away from that style. Today Kratx and Reimer(1998) argues how trends seem to last much longer, how “subcultures” stick to them, even after adopted by the mainstream.
Into –, subculture, refer to quote • Fashion, specifically between the 1950s and 1980s, played an extremely essential role in the construction of people’s identities and was often or not a way of expressing somebody’s personality and perhaps their current feelings. • Subcultures, especially post world war two, formed as individuals felt as though they were not part of the mainstream, consensual society. Fashion and style was very important to these subcultures as their alternative or quirky sense of style allowed them to be set apart from everybody else. • As time went on these stereotypical styles evoked certain ideologies and their fashion sense provided ‘outsiders’ with almost a ‘shortcut to meaning’ (Richard Dyer, 1979) of what the subcultures stood for, what their values were, and
In the introduction of Chapter 1 “Consuming Passions” “The Culture of American Consumption,” it talks about how American popular culture is grounded in consumption. With the media in our hand, it is a huge influence towards the advertising world. With how styles of clothing have been changing over time, this talks about how from the earlier times wearing a simple type of blue jeans can change between who wears them over the years. As stated, “ By the 1950s, however, blue jeans began to bear an additional class significance as “casual wear” for middle-class Americans.” (72). In 1970 these pants have then become a simple fashion wear. They have also been introduced as a hipster type wear. Then in 1980 through the early 2000s, baggy jeans were
The futuristic looks of 60s clothing were revived, as were the neon colors of the 80s, and the “hippie” style of the 70s (Korsnes n.p.). The fashion of the decade got many elements from previous styles, and many old trends were redesigned and made popular again. Thus, a lot of vintage clothing styles became very popular in this era. Because of globalization, designers based their items on various styles from around the world, causing the fashion of the 2000s to be more diverse, and become a mix and match of different styles. This increase in the variety of the styles made it easier to express one’s identity through fashion (Rindfuss
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.
While the 1950s stressed conformity, the 1960s gave full vent to those impulses. The 1960s was a period of transformational change, when long-held values and social norms broke down and were replaced with idealism and rebellion. It is also described as ‘’a breakthrough, a fleeting moment of glory, a time when a significant chunk of humanity realised its moral potential and flirted with its neurological destiny’’ . The young people did not want to reform the society, they did however want to overhaul it, remake it and if needed, destroy it . The sweeping social changes and prevailing attitudes of the decade were epitomised through the rejection of conventions and traditions associated with many aspects of life, including fashion. As Coco Chanel stated, ‘’fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening’’ . Many of these changes were prompted by the feminist movement, the space race and the Vietnam War. Evidently, new fashion trends emerged which reflected these new ideals. Some of the most prevalent trends included revealing clothing, space age designs and alternative hippie clothing.
Many subcultures inside the United states of America society have been different throughout individual cultures. This difference has made sub cultures seem planets away. Surprisingly, these subcultures offer and share regular traits that are alike. The most common trait that is shared within subcultures, are through style and fashion. In this article “false connections,” Alex Kotlwitz focuses and analyze around the idea of inner city poor, describing the role of both subcultures, white well living suburban kids verse the inner city poor kids. This referred to black American children. Despite to two cultures being different, culturally what more important. How they utilize the trademark of fashion; also within this understanding they have the
We usually pay more attention to the inner core of human beings, but clothing is not simply an outfit that covers out bodies—it indeed delivers a strong message to the society. A particular style of clothing marks the fashion of an era or a culture, but sometimes there is more historical context and material politics behind it. Clothing is not superficial; it represents identity and dignity of a group of people. According to Miller’s “Why Clothing is not Superficial”, clothing gives us “such dignity, glamour and refinement”, and they “actually were what made us think what we think we are” (Miller). It sometimes may have a unique appearance but it could be a powerful challenge to the public memory and hegemonic forces.
Most of the time our outwards appearance aims at at creating our very own handcrafted message. We want to portray ourselves to the world as a specific image. We choose our outfits, polish our
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
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,
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.
As a movement encompassing various elements of surf, skate, and hip-hop culture, the true origins of what is considered the modern-day “streetwear craze” are questionable. Streetwear is as much a distinct fashion movement, as it is a lifestyle, a culture promoting a sense of individuality, freedom of expression, and an anti-authority outlook. However, a general consensus
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.