In an article presented by Sud Jhally, “Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse,” he mentions that consumerism is dominating our culture and also the hazardous acts of it (2000). To analyze these dangers in our culture, I have presented an evaluation that illustrates my consumption behaviour in regards to fashion. Through this interpretation, it is hypothesized that the consumption of fashion is highly dangerous. This is seen through the influence it has on emotions, class, alienation and the difficulty in attaining an identity. This is significant because in a capitalist society, consumption is a part of people's daily lives; being that so, it is important to be aware of the implications that it has. Since 1899 and to this day, it has been known that individuals no longer buy products out of need; instead, they purchase items like expensive clothing to improve their social status (Naiman, 2012). By 1998 consumer capitalism had grown massively. America and Canada accounted for thirty one percent of four Trillian dollars that was spent globally by private and public companies even though they only made up five percent of the population (Naiman, 2012). This portrays that needs are not the only thing that individuals consume for. Today, corporations, advertisement and the media are encouraging individuals to purchase fashion products with money they do not have. This provokes them to borrow money for consumption leading individuals to be in debt rather than accumulating wealth (Naiman, 2012). Correspondently, this has a major impact on the health of an individual. It could cause them plenty of stress because of the loss of money and still having the need so consume. Fang Ma et al. had theories involving the psychological motiv... ... middle of paper ... ...erre Bourdieu theory portrayed that the commodity of fashion provides a large separation between the wealthy and the poor and splits even young adolescents into groups. Although companies maintain an unethical workplace, consumers continue to still purchase their fashion products because of the way the company depicts itself. Locans theory supports this idea because he believes that capitalists succeed since they induce beliefs. Lastly, suggestions by Juliet Schor provide a bit of assistance to reduce these dangers. Living in a capitalist society today, these dangers could help individuals realize the implications of consuming fashion and as well as ways to prevent it. Some limitations to this research were that there were not as many scholarly articles as hoped. For further research, there should be more articles analyzed for more reliability and validity.
The chosen article is Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell. In this article he talks about consumerism, commercialism, and materialism. He argues the stand point of consumers and the role they live by every day. In other hands the critics, Academy, gives the consumers and overview description to their consumers.
There are many people who are driven by consumerism and many people who wish they can get in touch with that type of world. Consumers are often promoted to advertise more of the products that they are buying to get more people to buy more products. Hari Kunzru, author of “Raj, Bohemian,” creates a narrator who is obsessed with maintaining his individuality and free will in a world that is overcome with consumerism. Believes that the world takes away individuality when consumerism comes into play and how hard it is to maintain their true self. In her LA Times article “Teen Haulers Create a Fashion Force,” Andrea Chang writes about the phenomenon of teenage Youtube users who make videos that publicize their latest shopping binges. She expresses
It is interesting to consider Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption as it pertains to the modern day fashion industry, specifically the luxury fashion sector. In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen said “we all find a costly hand-wrought articles of apparel much preferable to a less expensive imitation of it;” however, at the beginning of the 20th century, couture clothing was exclusively available to those who were very wealthy, simply because of how much the garments cost. By the mid-1930’s, businesses were beginning to change their ways of thinking after seeing the enormous profit that the Walt Disney Company received once they licensed the making of Mickey Mouse novelty items. Christian Dior was the first of many fashion designers to foll...
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
Throughout each decade a particular lifestyle is associated with a fashion trend, as fashion is defined as a medium used to reflect an individual’s or a community’s way of life. This can be empirically elaborated as fashion being an affiliate of the lifestyle of a particular time in era. Using the following points, I will attempt to discuss how the lifestyle through the decades was represented by fashion, making the lifestyle in that time, a blueprint for fashion, particularly using the lifestyle in the 1920’s, 1980’s and the current time. Firstly the economic status as pivot tool for influencing the lifestyle in each decade will be discussed. Followed by the level of exposure and freedom in relation to the moral values of each decade. Then the social influence in each decade such as politics, music and peer pressure, on the lifestyle in relation to fashion will be discussed. Lastly a conclusion on the factors discussed and my opinion will be given.
Luxury goods are not the necessities but are very much desirable to people which is supported by a share of money income. They are not easily available and affordable for everyone but due to the coming up of competition in market this has been changed. Nowadays, every individual wants to raise their self high and wants to be different from everyone. Since, the times have changed luxury goods have become more affordable for middle class consumers. Whenever we open our social media accounts such as Instagram, snapchats or news on internet or be it the reality shows, it is full of rich people showing off their dresses, bags, accessories etc. Such news put an impact on our inner thinking about our need to look and feel good through rich possessions. Several manufactured goods have become luxury goods as they are designer, durable and better quality. These goods are considered as luxury goods by the consumers because they play a role of status and class for those who showcase or owns them. These items are not necessarily better than less expensive substitutes are purchased with the main purpose of showcasing their wealth. These kinds of goods are object of socio-economic phenomenon which includes watches, jewelleries, designer clothes and accessories, large
It’s no secret that some women believe fashion portrays who they are. Therefore follow every season’s new trend. This leads to spending money that they don’t have. Waller Lea, a journalist, suggest that “for some communities, purchasing knockoffs or generic products are frowned upon, forcing minorities to spend more money. Now businesses and companies are targeting minorities, causing more debt problems.” Addicted to retail or brainwashed? Opponents claim that fashion is simply a creative way to express themselves. There are others ways to express ourselves that are no based on our appearance. Through drawing, painting or through our thoughts and ideas. What happens when someone can’t afford expensive clothing or doesn’t have access to fashionable clothes? They are singled out and excluded from society for being different.
From this I want to argue that the world of consumption has a great influence on the way people create their identities. I shall explore important features of the nature and function of fashion, as it’s relevance offers models and materials for constructing identity. I then want to further my argument on whether consumption is seen as a passive process reflecting producer interests or an active process representing consumer interests, as this can determine how ones identity, or lack of, is perceived.
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.
Fashion in the 21st century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
The act of consumption has been the primary means through which individuals in society participate and transform culture. Culture is not something already made which we consume; culture is what society creates through practices of everyday life and consumption involves the making of culture. When attempting to understand certain acts of consumption it is necessary to observe the relations involved in production and consumption. Through technological innovation, the fashion industry has been expanded to play a prominent role in consumers’ purchasing decisions and styles are becoming less difficult to obtain. With the expansion of department stores and shopping being viewed as a leisurely activity, this has continued to transform the act of fashion consumerism. The functional interests feature a rational attachment to clothing items. Symbolic benefits involve status and prestige to fulfill the achievement for positive self-esteem. Further benefits include a provided experience for the individual consumer and the created use of imagery and desire used to enrich one’s life.
The world of fashion is an exciting one and people have become a part of it (Jennifer and Kim, 2010). Fashion is a word that can mean different things, to some people it means what celebrities or models wear on a public event. To others, fashion means the dressing style that people can wear it for their daily basis. Understand the definition of fashion is a basis of discussing the luxury consumption (Jennifer and Kim, 2010). Tortora and Eubank defined fashion as a way of behaving or some things and must be accepted by many members of group (Tortora and Eubank, 2005). For instance, the way of behaving include a wide variety of activities, such as the words people speak, the clothes people wear and the lifestyle people have. The majority of a
Fashion, psychology and the sociological perspective have long been perceived as mutually exclusive concepts. However, is there a possibility that a trinity exists in the former? To illustrate, it is evident that throughout history fashion has influenced society as a whole and has mirrored its aspects i.e. economical and sociological. Furthermore, this influence has developed to be perceived psychologically where individuals identify with fashion in the sense of translating visual information showing their personal views and attitudes. To that effect, what is fashion? Traditionally and in the literary sense, fashion is defined as ‘a popular trend, especially in styles of dress and ornament or manners of behavior’ . However,
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.
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.