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Savanna Sluyter
WRTG 10899
Moore
05/11/2012
fash·ion /ˈfaSHən/
Noun: A popular trend, esp. in style of dress, ornament, or behavior
A human body is nothing more than a canvas. Many people choose to express their own
personalities on the outside of their body. This is why we see so many diverse tattoos, hair
colors, and clothing. Clothing is basically art that we wear. The way we dress ourselves is one of
the most important aspects of self-expression. Also our clothing is essentially the most important
first impression. Tim Gunn states in Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible, “Even without thinking about it,
you immediately take note of clothing clues and judge the wearers accordingly”. While fashion
is a broad term, our culture, current trends, and personal style help turn a normal girl into a
fashionista.
Across the globe fashion styles are about as diverse as the languages those people speak.
From America where personal freedom allows us to where basically whatever we want, to Japan
where clothing is seen as the weirder the better, and then in a religion driven community such as
Saudi Arabia where clothing laws are not only in place but are strictly enforced.
While living in the Land of the Free, America makes a
lot of fashion statements as a country. We pride ourselves in
the ability to express ourselves with the way we look, but most
Americans tend to focus on more comfort than fashion. The
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simplistic and laid back feel is what you get from every young woman on campuses all over the
country. “In America, it’s not so much about what you wear, it’s about the way you wear it”,
says Charlotte, a student of the University of Birmingham, on her blog. Basically, each girl’s
personality is so different that it tends to show through the clothes. In America, it doesn’t matter
what you wear as long as you show confidence and exude your own individual personality.
Japan has always been a conservative country, but at the turn of the 19th century it
became revolutionized by modern media. They took Western trends and combined them with
their own age-old traditions and the result was Japanese street
fashion. Japanese street fashion is the ultimate form of selfexpression. Basically it involves the individual to become creative
and combine some of the latest fashion trends and customize them
according to local traditions or personal likings in order to come
up with something unique. From there the styles only get more
outrageous with the Harajuku Japanese Fashion. Harajuku station
is the epicenter of teen fashion. Teens travel all over the country to come and strut down the
street and show others their own personal, homemade outfits. The style is described as, “It is all a
matter of experimentation for the youth who utilize their creative instincts to mix and match
different kinds of clothing to come up with something outlandish”, in Country Facts.
Saudi Arabia is one of the strictest countries in the world with a dress code. Although
most laws are made more for women, an exclusively Muslim country prohibits any bare skin on
women and even cross-dressing among men. In public a Muslim woman must be accompanied
by a man and must always keep on a niqab and abaya. If the women refuse to wear it or wear it
in the wrong way then they risk running into the mutawa’a, or “clothing police”. These men’s
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jobs are only to walk the streets and demand that women wear their clothes properly, and are
armed with batons if anyone is willing to revolt. French
President Nicolas Sarkozy is currently introducing a bill
that will be voted on which would completely bar Muslim
women from wearing burqas in public places. He states,
“The burqa is not a religious sign. It is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission, of women.”
Even our own President Barack Obama said regarding the burqa ban, “I will tell you that in the
United States our basic attitude is that we’re not going to tell people what to wear.”
As the trends change from season to season, who actually decides, “what’s fashionable”?
As a teenage girl living in America, what is a must during every shopping trip is a quick stop to
pick up all of my magazines. Face it, our society is obsessed with clothing. Fashion magazines
such as Vogue, Glamour, and Allure have been dominating the newsstands for over a hundred
years now. “Fashion magazines are great sources of information regarding fashion trends and
insight into the minds of different fashion designers from around the world”, says Rachel Heller
when she was asked what the point of magazines was. “Fashion magazines open fashion lovers'
eyes to the wonderful and creative world of fashion.”
Another way to get our fashion fix is to look at modern media and surf the Internet for
those ever-popular fashion blogs. The best thing about blogs is that real men and women from
across the globe write them. As long as you have a computer, you are able to express your own
personal style and creative ideas to everyone in the world. According to Mark Etinger to become
a successful blogger you should follow five simple rules; have fresh content, a sense of humor,
recognize new trends, have lots of pictures, and a strong sense of community.
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If you like neither magazines nor blogs
you can learn a lot about fashion on TV. The
Fashion Police is an extremely successful show
that keeps normal people like us updated on what
celebrities wear. Joan Rivers is the perfect mix of
humor and foul language. Her awful jokes are
seen as constructive criticism. Even though I
personally hate all of the negative comments, I
still love watching the show to discover the
newest trends.
The obsession that we feel for fashion is so strong that before any award show, and
before any celebrities win anything, there is always that hour long pre-show that highlights their
glamorous dresses. The interviewer never fails to ask, “who are you wearing?” as their first
question. And the next day, there is more talk of who wore what than who won what.
We take everything we learn from the Internet, TV, and fashion magazines and we mix it
up to make up our own personal style. But elements such as your age, body type, and lifestyle
deem whether your outfit is appropriate or not.
The rules you generally hear when discussing age and style are usually common sense
ones such as no miniskirts after 30, don’t dress younger than your child, and if you are younger,
don’t strive to look older than you actually are. A young woman should really enjoy the short
years she has to enjoy wearing fabulous clothes and essentially feel beautiful. Because I am
young, I adore wearing 5-inch heals and low cut tops because I know that my body can take the
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pain and I still have the body for it. Old women always stop me to say, “Oh, I remember when I
used to wear shoes like that. Enjoy it while it lasts”. And trust me, I do.
Another element a woman has to keep in the back of their mind is their body type. No
one wants to wear anything that is unflattering on their body. Every woman is different, you
could be petite, plus size, tall and skinny, or have a very boyish frame. You must do research to
find silhouettes and colors that will flatter your body. Luckily, recently fashion designers have
become aware that the average woman is not a 5’7’’, 100-pound stick. The average woman is
curvy, voluptuous, and as Beyoncé would say, “bootylicious”. Therefore, they are now releasing
clothes that will be more flattering for everyone.
Your lifestyle is also a huge aspect for your personal style. A job can dictate your
clothing based on what kind of profession you are in. You don’t expect a lawyer to wear leather,
a mini skirt, or quirky tights but you equally wouldn’t expect a tattoo artist to be wearing slacks
or pearls. Even though you should feel some freedom in your profession, you should just keep in
mind how others will perceive you and if your attire is appropriate.
Basically fashion is whatever you make it to be. Don’t be afraid to go outside your
comfort zone to wear something that may be what you aren’t used to. Dressing up will ensure
that you get more compliments and in turn your confidence will shoot through the roof. Fashion
is my personal drug. There is no feeling that compares to putting on a good outfit, knowing I
look fabulous, and then just feeling beautiful the rest of the day.
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Works Cited
Charlotte. "British vs. American Style â Observations from a British Girl Abroad â
College Fashion." British vs. American Style â Observations from a British Girl
Abroad â College Fashion. College Fashion, 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/british-vs-american-style-observations-froma-british-girl-abroad/>.
Delaney, Justin. "Strictest Dress Codes - 5 Countries with Fashion Police." Gadling.com. AOL
Inc., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. <http://www.gadling.com/2011/04/13/strictestdress-codes-5-countries-with-fashion-police/>.
Etinger, Mark. "Five Things to Look for in a Good Fashion Blog." Five Things to Look for in a
Good Fashion Blog. Blog Writers, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://www.blogwriters.net/fashion_blog_writing.aspx>.
Gunn, Tim. "Why A History Of Western Fashion." Introduction. Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible.
New York City: Gallery, 2012. 1-2. Print.
Heller, Rachel. "Fashion Magazines Are Fabulous." Yahoo! Contributor Network. Yahoo!, 19
June 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/fashion-magazines-fabulous1585151.html?cat=46>.
"History of Vogue Magazine." History of Vogue Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.
<http://students.cis.uab.edu/juli305/finalpaper.html>.
"Interesting Facts & Information: Tourism, Travel, Culture, Language, Business, People. »
Blog Archive » Harajuku Japanese Fashion." Interesting Facts & Information:
Tourism, Travel, Culture, Language, Business, People. » Blog Archive » Harajuku
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Japanese Fashion. Country Facts, 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/japan/harajuku-japanese-fashion/1487>.
"Interesting Facts & Information: Tourism, Travel, Culture, Language, Business, People. »
Blog Archive » Japanese Street Fashion Trends." Interesting Facts & Information:
Tourism, Travel, Culture, Language, Business, People. » Blog Archive » Japanese
Street Fashion Trends. Country Facts, 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/japan/japanese-street-fashion-trends/1485>.
Jabaji, Rawan. "Policing Fashion in France and Saudi Arabia." PBS. PBS, 30 Apr. 2010. Web.
27 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/culture/policing-fashion-infrance-and-saudi-arabia/196/>.
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