Source article:
Beach, Nancy. “You Are What You Wear.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Aug. 1979, https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/26/archives/you-are-what-you-wear.html.
I chose to include this resource as it is dated. This conversation of fashion and identity is not new, but something we have concerned ourselves with for decades. This woman writes in the late ‘70s of our social and individual connection with fashion. The author outlines the emotional motivators and connections to fashion, mentioning how women will refer to pieces of articles with emotions or “vibes” as opposed to brands or designers. She also outlines fashion’s important role in growing up. Beginning with how parents adorn their children with projections of how they want them to be, compared to grandparent’s gifts and the bias their garments might hold, to teenage years and the development of self and the reflection of their emotions, how that might be manifested through their personal style. She identifies the gender norms associated with fashion and shopping, and how men might miss out on the learning process of growing up and aligning your appearance to your identity because they perceive fashion as a feminie concern.
The author brings about how style can be a form of communication, from teenagers acting in rebellion to begin conflict with their parents for various reasons, to modes of identification to a certain group or culture. If one is unkept and does not care about their appearance, psychiatrists can use this as one aspect of a behavioral diagnosis. The author includes expert’s opinions that explain fashion as conscious and subconscious expressions of self and inversely, the wearer can adopt an identity to articles of clothing (such as a medical student adopting the identity of a doctor wearing a white coat). Fashion can also work as a stereotypical categorizer, suits for businessmen, uniforms for those in the military, identifiers of specific religions, etc.
This news article speaks to the deep relationship of fashion and individual and social processes. There are so many degrees of fashion that we can intrinsically look at to better understand people, groups, and cultures.
Word Count: 326
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/26/archives/you-are-what-you-wear.html
