How are fashion and appearance central to the construction of social Essay

How are fashion and appearance central to the construction of social identities Discuss, with reference to specific examples - Essay Example Fashion plays a very important role in this process, for it is a way to express our personality, to state our beliefs, to communicate our likes and dislikes. Fashion is a skilled architect for our bodies, using colours, shapes and textures to create pieces of clothing, which combined in a particular way produce, at their turn, a graspable, yet unique image of our identity. As Bennett states in Culture and Everyday Life (2005) â€Å"fashion embodies a range of symbolic values which are collectively understood within and across different social groups†. Therefore, by dressing in a certain way and creating a particular appearance for ourselves, we can send out particular messages about our character, education, financial success, interests and intentions, even sexual preferences. After all, in this fast and complicated world we have very few seconds to make an impression, this is why fashion is a key factor which will help us express all of who we are trough our style and choice of clothing. A piece of clothing can make one feel inhibited, or on the contrary, free and daring, nostalgic for the past or a visionary of the future. The right clothes can help us accomplish our goals and better interact with the people surrounding us. Therefore, given the complex nature of fashion as a central part of our society I will focus on three major aspects: feminism and the way fashion has helped women define and change their social roles and identities, youth and their use of fashion to make statements about their place in the society, as well as their personalities and in the end, intercultural exchange and the way one can create a unique style by combining fashion elements from different cultures. I will start with a short historical map out and thus begin with the Medieval times, since it is considered a period marked by darkness, rigid ideology and strict social delimitations. This is why fashion did not suffer any exceptions: clothes were used to set specific socia l boundaries and thus, dictate social identities. First of all, fashion was inspired at court and it included carefully tailor garments, which offered information about the social status of the person that was wearing the clothes. It included heavy dresses, which did not allow women the privilege of fast movement and which transposed into society as little involvement and obedience. The clergymen’s simple tunics were supposed to represent their penitence and modest life. The peasants’ poor dressing was a result of their placement at the bottom of the Feudal Pyramid of social order. As we slip into the modern era, towards the 18th and the 19th century, fashion still remains a wealth-dominated area. However, new social roles appear, such as public magistrates and the militia, which mark their social identity by particular clothing and uniforms. The tailoring business develops rather faster and cheaper replicas of high-fashion, designer clothes became more accessible for women belonging to lower social classes and disposing of smaller wealth. Luxury was not limited to the elite or the metropolitan any more (Breward, 1995). However, women continued to be restrained in movement by their clothes, which included the corset and the long dresses: women’s dresses were composed of large quantities of fabric and different occasions needed different kinds of dresses, factors which