Dress and fashion can be used not only to symbolize culture, religion or spirituality, but it can also be used as a tool of oppression as well as liberation. For many people, dress is an expression of personality, faith, choice and identity. It can also deeply affect one’s spiritual self and help connect the wearer to her inward self. Marco Pallis describes the significance and meaningfulness between dress and spiritual identity and how, according to him, clothing ranks among the most important but least analyzed sites of colonization. He is particularly interested analysing clothing as a component of spirituality. He writes that ‘of the many things a person puts to use in the pursuit of her earthly vocation there are none, perhaps, which are so intimately bound up with her whole personality as the clothes she wears (Pallis, p.9). The first thing that Pallis notes is how clothing greatly modifies the appearance of a person and even his/her facial Ramzi Taleb expressions and thoughts. The impression that clothing makes on the wearer is marked in that it affects how one feels, thinks, speaks and interacts with others. For Pallis, one’s choice of clothing, within the actual limits of the resources that are available to her, is indicative of three things. It demonstrates what she views as compatible with a normal human state and normal human dignity. It also shows how she likes herself to see and be seen and what type of attributes she prefers to exhibit. He also notes that the person’s choice of clothing will be affected by the view that she wants her neighbours to create of her. This social consideration and the previous aspect of self respect are very closely bound up and continually intersect (p.12). For Pallis, all of the pol... ... middle of paper ... ...d to believe that everything their parents taught them was wrong and their worldviews invalid. Another way that cultural inferiority was engrained in the children was through the dress code. Children had their braids cut and were provided with new, non-Aboriginal clothing. The school officials took before-and-after pictures, and these pictures were used as proof of their success in the cultural assimilation of the Aboriginals. We can see that the elimination of Indigenous clothing was seen as a clear affirmation of the success of colonization, which is in its essence, the eradication of one culture by another. Clothing played an important role in the ways in which Indigenous peoples were viewed, as traditional Indigenous clothing was a visual, symbolic marker of their spirituality and culture, the very thing the colonizers wanted to get rid of (Jaine, 1993, p.41).
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
This essay is one that seeks to discuss and educate you the reader about, “Whe Dem call Hot Dress ah jus excuse fi sho aff Dem badi.” In the contemporary trends of today (21st century), people become more and more independent and break out of their shells. Dress is defined as “an assemblage of modifications of the body and/or supplements to the body”, (Roach-Higgins & Eicher 1992).
Defying fashion can be as difficult and ambiguous as an attempt to defy art and sex. What is fashion? What can be defined as fashion? and what is the purpose of it. The definition of fashion has always fascinated many fashion writers and many have attempt to conceptualise it. In this essay, I will focus on the principles of fashion by looking into its history and trends to try and understand how it is defined and what purpose does it serve. In addition to this, I will look more closely into fashion and its relationship between sexuality and eroticism and how extreme fashion trends have affected us as consumers.
(30)” Members of the third estate began to adopt materials worn by nobles. “Fashion must be conceptualized as an instrument for the equality of conditions. It disrupted the principle of inequality in dress…” (31) Once fashion disseminated into the middle and lower classes, it disrupted the class distinctions it was meant to define; it generated social ambiguity and it permitted the citizen to violate the natural order. The role of fashion changed between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the fourteenth century, there were styles based on gender: fitted for men and long and close to the body for women.(20)Then there was a gradual shift in tastes and novelties. Women’s fashion shifted from one type of dress to different dresses depending on time if day. There were a variety of fabrics and laces, and then there were dresses in different lengths. Susceptibility to fashion trends was clearly rooted in gender; women fell prey to fashion and then exposed their husbands and sons.
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.
Colonialism played a large role in shaping North America. One significant outcome of colonialism in North American was the residential school system. Residential schools were a tool of Eurocentric colonialism to forcefully assimilate Aboriginals into white Canada. This system was mainly created to indoctrinate Aboriginals (savages) into the white European society (civilized). Therefore, I argue that the residential schools were the setting in which the concept of the civilized/ savage dichotomy was the most visible.
For the love of god, why? They were heinous the first time they were popular, and certainly they have not aged any better.
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.
Fashion is a form people use as a way for self expression. For me, fashion dictates how a person sense of style is; some may be bold and loud or simple and calm in which it also gives others an outlook on how their character may be. Although fashion is a way to express ones’ sense of style it does not tells us who the person is personally. Fashion in the society of the 1900s has changed female gender roles then and now by the way their roles changed during the time.
Social responsibilities are being practiced more importantly in our society, and fashion industry is also connected to this aspect. This is true because fashion industry is closely linked with global issues such as labor and trade, markets and its customers. Modern designers are trying to balance their ethical values with profits in order to capture customers, goodwill in society, knowing for its environment-friendly production, designing, manufacturing, purchasing and facilitating them in their endeavors.
It is quite evident as you walk around the streets of almost any city or town in America that the line between what was once considered the black style of dress and the white styles has become less and less evident. This is especially true with the younger kids in junior high and high school. The baggy pants and shirts with labels and bright colors that were once reserved for the inner city black and Latino kids, are now being worn by whites in wealthy suburban neighborhoods.
Clothing is something that defines a person, and allows society to have an outlook on an individual’s lifestyle and beliefs. Unlike criticizing other material things like a car, a home or even something as simple as a television set, criticism of clothing is very personal. This suggests that there is a high correlation between clothing and personal identity and values. (Breward, pg.1) Clothing in a sense has the ability to communicate thought. However, similarly to art interpretations, this does not mean that any two people will perceive these visual aesthetics similarly.
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.
To begin with, I shall look at what fashion is; it is a currently popular style or practice involving clothing, footwear or accessories. It mostly refers to the current trends in looks and dressing style of a person (Cumming 234). In most cases, fashion is confusedly related to costumes; when a person talks of fashion they are seen to mean fashion in terms of textile. Fashion is seen to originate from the Western world and it is copied by other places. In this paper, we shall look at how fashion affects lifestyles and the group of people who are affected most. The paper further investigates how media is used to transmit fashion from one region to the other. Although it has been seen to affect people’s lives many people have different perspectives on fashion and dressing.
Fashion is an interesting thing. It is often said that it is recycled. I have even heard people from different generations say “ I use to wear that back in my day”. I find it so fascinating, that I would sit and wonder if the clothes that I am wearing now was once the style of previous generations in my family. Through the years, fashion has been created, recycled and even it even faded away. Have the fashion trends throughout the generations of my family followed any parts of the cycle?