In October of 1904 George Simmel, a well-respected German sociologist, published an essay titled “Fashion” in the International Quarterly. At this time, Simmel had finally obtained the position of professor and was acknowledged by intellectual communities in both Europe and America. Though Simmel does not explicitly connect his work to specific events and debates of the time period, there are multiple implicit connections including his discussion of the ego introduced by Freud, a quick mention of Bismarck and party leaders within constitutional government systems, possible connections to Darwin’s theory of man, and consistent mentions of socialism in relation to its opposition to individualism. What is most prevalent in Simmel’s work is a clear …show more content…
In an assertion that harkens back to Kant’s notion of the public and private spheres of man, Simmel argues that these two forces working in opposition to each other results in, “the individual and public mind” (Simmel 541). One force works to obtain unity and commonality in accordance with the society of the time while the other force desires individualism and distinction from that vary socialism. Simmel asserts that this antagonism is active in both external social relations and expression (ie. Fashion) as well as internally within the human soul and has been throughout history, writing: Whether these forces be expressed philosophically in the contrast between cosmotheism and the doctrine of inherent differentiation and separate existence of every cosmic element, or whether they be ground in practical conflict representing socialisms on the one hand or individualism on the other, we have always to deal with the same fundamental form of duality which is manifested biologically in the contrast between heredity and variation (Simmel …show more content…
This seems to be particularly important as the pressures of industrialization and urbanization in the late nineteenth century and early Twentieth century grew. Simmel appears to be attempting to find a place for intellectual freedom of the mind in a society where social assimilation of the newest fashion is preeminent and possibly capable of reducing intellectual differentiation. Despite being largely repetitive, Simmel uses effective evidence as he references primitive societies and certain historical examples. All in all, Simmel largely supports his paper by describing the inherent dualism that fashion externally expresses as simply a fact of life and part of social
In the article “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Patricia J. Williams, she begins by bringing up the point that her kid was said to be color blind in school. After being told by three different teachers, she took her kid to an ophthalmologist who said that his vision was fine. She realized that “he resisted identifying color at all by saying I don 't know when asked what color things were”. She learned that the teachers in school were telling the children that color didn 't matter in order to combat racism that was happening between the youth. She states that “this dismissiveness, however unintentional, leaves those in my son’s position pulled between the clarity of their own experience and the often alienating terms in which they must seek social acceptance”. The author is saying that these teachers are trying to say that they don 't see color in which they don 't see a problem existing.
In the 19th century play, FASHION, Anna Mowatt develops the character plot as a contrast and comparison between being “natural” and “artificial in a world becoming preoccupied with fashion, and being fashionable. In the head notes, it was stated that Daniel Havens said FASHION is “the ugly image of the American Dream gone sour.” (Watt and Richardson) Fashion has a complex definition. The word ‘fashion’ can mean anything from the type of clothes you wear, how you communicate with others, the place you live, how you present yourself, or who you associate yourself with. In FASHION, Mowatt took a comical yet sober look at the definitions of “fashion,” applied it to real life in 1845, and through her characters, provides a mirror with which an audience/reader can evaluate themselves. I do not believe updating this play would be difficult because America has continued down the fast and destructive path in an effort to keep up with the “fashions” of the day.
Clothing and personality are of importance because they go hand in hand by keeping an individual satisfied on an everyday basis. Everyone has their own attitude and sense of style, but regardless of the type of personality and clothing, they can affect the individual and those around them. Due to the denotation that society tends to tag along with divergent styles, affects an individual in the way that it can either construct a day memorable for affirmative or pessimistic reasons. Nicole Cooley emphasizes this idea in her article, “The Language of Clothes”, by relaying the experience of a little girl who found herself to be unattractive; consequently, composing dreadful days. There came a moment, though where this girl decided to wear her grandmother’s aged clothing, and through this she was able to see herself through her grandmother's eyes, now viewing someone beautiful and worthy of living (Cooley). Cooley expresses the fact that the clothing of one can affect their personality, explaining why so many people experience lousy days. A prime example being the little
Throughout history, there were many things that influenced fashion and the ideal body image of the time. Things such as politics, and changes in social roles were some things that had an influence on the fashion of the day. One particular shocking thing that had influenced on the fashion around the 1800s were sickness and diseases. Not only were diseases and sickness caused by different fashion trends, but it set the tone for certain ideal body images and also influenced the fashion of the time.
On the twenty-first of August, our Wearable History class took a trip to downtown Bowling Green, to visit Mosaic Confinement Studio. The studio had an old-fashioned vibe, and was like a vintage-garment haven. There, we were asked to choose a piece that we thought was vintage, identify the time period it actually came from, and also take some additional notes on the style and the garment’s details. After searching through multiple racks, the first piece I found was a lace blazer. It turned out to only be vintage-inspired, so I went searching again. I came across a few other pieces, but nothing was really jumping out at me. Eventually, I came across a lavender dress that immediately made me think of Julia Roberts in “Mystic Pizza”, and I knew I found my garment.
Fashion exists all around world ever since mankind started living on the Earth. The ways people live have changed as well as fashion changed drastically through out the human history and people are looking for fashionable and also comfortable garments that can be wear at any occasion. Simplicity and silhouette that allows the body to be comfortable while being active has also became one of the leading fashion trends in 1900s. Because of the relationship between sportswear and American lifestyle, its evolution drastically changed the fashion industry during 1900s.
Simmel combines ideas from all of the three major classical writers and was influenced by Hegel and Kant. When Simmel discusses social structures, the city, money, and modern society, his analysis has some similarities to the analyses of Durkheim (problem of individual and society), Weber (effects of rationalization), and Marx (alienation). Simmel considered society to be an association of free individuals, and said that it could not be studied in the same way as the physical world, i.e. sociology is more than the discovery of natural laws that govern human interaction. "For Simmel, society is made up of the interactions between and among individuals, and the sociologist should study the patterns and forms of these associations, rather than quest after social laws." (Farganis, p. 133). This emphasis on social interaction at the individual and small group level, and viewing the study of these interactions as the primary task of sociology makes Simmel's approach different from that of the classical writers, espe...
The Trickle-down theory, a well-known theory in fashion industry, has significant meaning in 19th to 20th century Europe. The American economist and sociologist, Veblen, published The theory of the Leisure Class by 1899, in which he discussed the split between the leisure class and the industrial class in the US critically. He concluded that leisure class treats dress as a sign of their status and possessions, furthermore, ‘Dress must not only be conspicuously expensive and inconvenient; it must at the same time be up to date’(Veblen 1994), by saying that, he refers to upper class was tend to create new fashion trend which was the top of the trickle-down theory. In the 20th century, Simmel, the German sociologist and philosopher, developed this theory further from a more sympathetic perspective. He drew much attention to sameness and difference amongst both classes in his book Fashion (Simmel 1973). The upper class gets self-satisfied and the proof of its priority by distinguishing itself from others, and working class follows the fashion trend which led by upper class in order to feel like he or she is ‘belonging to’ higher class. These opinions which were discussed by Veblen and Simmel were coined by a journalist in the mid-20th century, as ‘Trickle- down Theory’. During mid-18th to early 20th century, the trickle-down theory described the process of how fashion flows, and explains that fashion is a cultural and sociological phenomenon which includes the discourse of identity and uniformity, agency and structuralism. This phenomenon was not limited by geography, at the same period, in the other side of the world, similar situation happened in China which is a typical East Asian country....
Fashion plays an important role in the lives of billions all over the world; people, as part of a status craving society, turn to “fashion capitals” of the world for ways in which to dress and carry themselves. New York, Milan, and Paris are leaders among this fierce industry that the world lusts after. Fashion can speak volumes about ones personality, or also about the condition the world is in at the time. In France, fashion changed rapidly and feverously as the times changed.
Theorists working in the fields of sociology focus on society as a whole. Georg Simmel differs from classic theorists such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim, stressing the importance of the individual as a separate society and the way they deal with the development of modern society. ‘The Stranger,’ as defined by Simmel is “an element of the group itself...whose membership within the group involves both being outside it and confronting it.” (Simmel, 1908, p.144). This essay will explore Georg Simmel’s writing on ‘Individuality and Social Forms (1908)’ by focusing on one of his social types, the notion of ‘The Stranger.’ Furthermore, it will attempt to identify the theoretical points of ‘the stranger,’ relating it to the concept of fashion and individuality
George Simmel was born in Germany in 1858 and emerged as one of the major theorists of the turn of the century (?,?). His writings on philosophy and social sciences included one of the only insights, at the time, into the structure of fashion in society, Fashion, 1904. In this text he expressed his thoughts on society in relation to fashion and style, examining societal groups and how they used fashion as a form of segregation. He referred to the elite class as trend setters, differentiating themselves by creating new fashions, and lower classes as the mimics, in an effort to associate themselves with an elite identity. This cycle brought many different fashions over the 20th century and was described as the trickle-down effect. Although Simmels theory depicts various characteristics still currently valid there are aspects that no longer play a role in the transformation of fashion.
Köln: Taschen, 2006. Print. The. Mackenzie, Mairi. .isms: Understanding Fashion.
middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.
In conclusion, fashion will speak out a person’s social signal, people dress on designs that blend with their social class. Just as population, social activities and fashion are changing with time. Fashion has made clothing to be convinient, everything needs to be done with the least effort and spend the least time.
Fashion is a controversial issue in society nowadays. We live in a consumerism advanced era in which whether following fashion trends or not has become a debatable point. Many people believe that it is important to follow fashion trends. For example, Lord Chesterfield once said, “If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.” The question is why fashion should be an essential matter of concern to all of us. As far as I am concerned, each person should be able to decide if one wants to follow a trend or not.