How do you define fashion?
All members of human society are dressed or adorned, only some of them are fashionable? Is religious or compulsory dress considered fashionable? Aren't all clothes fashionable in some way, then why is religious dress not?
Personally, I don’t feel I can comment on the question of is religious dress fashionable. I asked my friend - Safa who wears a Hijab she follows the Muslim religion and feels that the hijab is more a requirement than a fashionable choice. The hijab is worn to create modesty and to be the opposite of fashionable, I then asked another of my colleagues who does not wear any form of religious dress and she said that it could be fashionable depending on who wears it, and we all came to an agreement that whether religious clothing is fashionable is depending on the wearer.
Fashion styles come in out, and seen as frivolous, superficial and transient. Fashion isn’t just that, fashion is more of a time capsule it’s very rare to see something in fashion that wasn’t seen 30/40 years ago, fashion is just old trends being reinvented and rethought - it’s a way of using modern perspectives to rethink old styles.
Is fashion just costume?
A lot goes into how people dress, I personally think about colors a lot, how does a certain color make someone perceive me for example - red shades would increase sex appeal, create danger and the opposite black would create a slimmer figure and make me be seen more mysterious.
The psychology of fashion is more thought of when creating costumes for stage and tv as the actors are playing a character so they have to change their own style to match someone else, you could also say off camera that everyday fashion clothing are costumes, a costume someone wears to try and fit in and to follow a trend.
Does fashion make you belong?
Fashion as mentioned before can be used a religious requirement, but why is fashion used and why do you have to dress the same? I think religious dress forms a sense of community - a sort of I wear this, you wear this and we’re both in it together type mindset. Religion to me is just a sense of wanting to be with other people and connect with other humans on another level. I recently read a book called a replacement for religion by The School of Life and they’re books touch on different arguments from BC to modern day about religion - is it just a cult or is it a form of connection. The main point I got from the book was that being with a group of people that believe in the same thing as you and want to do the same things makes humans feel connected and avoid the feelings of loneliness and isolation and
that’s what makes religion so appealing to so many people across the world.
Fashion in gender.
Walking across the street you wouldn’t bat an eye at a shirtless man (you probably would but you get my drift) it’s a normality, especially in hot weather. But a woman topless? that’s some sort of sexual act, it’s public nudity really. But why? are female nipples different to male… why are female chests sexualized into being an erotic sight. Understood that female chests are probably one of the most famous and most common fetishes. If you ask 90% of people are an interest in boobs at fetish they would probably stay no, everyone likes boobs. But when we were born, we weren’t like oh I love boobs or I love ass etc., it’s something that’s been commonly fetishized in magazines more that fetishes such a bondage. To me feeling any sexual attraction to a human body part or act is a fetish whether everyone does it or not. Female legs are a fetish, shirt skirts are a fetish, male arms are a fetish it’s all embedded into fetishes and what we find attractive.
I’m currently reading a book called Fetish, Sex and Power by Valerie Steele, I’m only on the first paragraph (very big old hardback book) this book was passed down to me from my older sister who explored fetish wear and fetishes through her fashion design back in the 80s. The book as you can imagine is quite outdated but it’s interesting to read about the 60/70/80s views on fetishization without modern views. There was only theory that was very confusing and to many sounds like complete bullshit even in the 60s. Freud a psychologist Writes about the ‘Phallic Women’. Its sounds just like it is, it’s very confusing concept to get your head around but the summary of his theory was that only male’s feel fetishizing thoughts and females do not, as they do not it is there job to fulfill said male fetishes. He says the male fetish comes from being born, being born from a woman (mother) he feels comfort to the female body, and hence why the female physique is so attractive to a male brain. Like I said its complete bullshit was he saying but it’s interesting to hear a man try and explain why he and many other males think it’s okay and acceptable to sexualize a woman.
He carried on explaining (this is we’re it just gets weird) that a fetish is a replacement for a mother's penis. He argues that boys as they grow up think that male and female have the same anatomy as so a female would have a penis (phallic). It’s a very bizarre thought and I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy Freud was on some sort of drugs with the random shit, he says in this chapter, but he mentions a woman without a penis invokes the fear of castration of his own genitalia, and therefore has a need for fetish to fill this fear of his mothers and therefore his own castration. (Like I said very random, weird and confusing theory but it’s interesting to think about regarding the modern-day view of fetishization of women and men.)
My first definition of fashion is self-expression and art. After researching more Into what fashion means I still feel fashion as being self-expression but also see fashion as a way to show your personality and your beliefs to the world, so say religion you wear the hijab for respect and to connect with other Muslims or other people of the same religion or culture, tattoos are a way to self-express but to also show somebody into your life so you could have a semi Colon which to some is just a tattoo but to some is a representation of a traumatic experience they’ve been through and someone seeing that many relate and from that a conversation is started and a community. The reason people use fashion is based on the person and it’s all up to personal opinion and what you want your fashion to do.
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