Use of Psychology in Fashion Essay

While on a shopping trip, a group of my friends had decided to purchase the more expensive designer clothing. I, on the other hand, was attracted to my favorite attire – a generic tee-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts.

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.

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.

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:

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

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.

‘style, branding, colour and fashionability’ of the clothing as a tool for the audience to

        Clothing and appearance send a message to everyone, sometimes they can communicate our occupation, or in some cases an occasion we are celebrating. Clothing can communicate about some one's socio-economic status, as well as our values, and character. In some religions, people are clearly recognizable by the way they are dressed.

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,

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

“Real style is never right or wrong it’s a matter of being yourself on purpose,” G. Bruce Boyer. A person may wake up and try one set of clothing then another, and they are just not feeling it. By the time they notice, everything they own is on the bed or on the floor instead of hanging neatly in their closet. Clothing is connected to the person’s personality, mood, and memory, and it conveys in its own language, a message to the wearer and their audience. Hence, some days it is easier to select clothes and other occasions it appears as if there is nothing to wear in the closet. However, through purpose, thought, and choice, clothes gain entree into the person’s closet.

1. Go to a public place and OBSERVE the community of people in that place for at least 30 minutes; perhaps as long as 60 minutes. In your report, describe the setting and note the date and time of your observation. Describe the element of “community” that you observed.

“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.

Today, there are numerous researches that have been carried out in relation the influence of fashion on self-perception on different people. All these researchers are of the opinion that the way that an individual dresses has a major impact on his self-perception.

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.