ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND TASKS

Find an image of a garment on the Berg Fashion Library that represents

national identity to you. List five key elements that make your chosen garment
a signifier of a particular national identity. Explain your reasoning.

Find images of garments on the Berg Fashion Library that are worn for the
following reasons: modesty, decoration, to keep warm or to keep cool, and
health/hygiene and answer the following questions for each:

List five design reasons why you have chosen each garment for each category,
for example, a high neckline and long sleeves could be design elements of a
dress that evokes modesty.
What kind of person would wear each of these garments? What do the
garments tell us about the person that would wear them?
For students also taking a practical course or studying fashion design:

Using the Berg Fashion Library and the set class readings as inspiration, design
a new style of national dress or costume for the country in which you live.
Using the Berg Fashion Library and the set class readings as inspiration, design
an outfit that represents one of the following ideas and write a short paragraph
explaining your design to accompany it.
Modesty
Health or Safety
Power/independence
Luxury or frivolity

How do the three words (clothing, costume, and dress) differ?

What does it mean to be dressed?

What does it mean to be nude?

If you are not wearing clothes, can you be dressed?

Why would you be interested in these ideas if you were an anthropologist?

What difference would it make in using these ideas if you were an art
historian or historian?

About how much money do you spend on clothes a year?

Do you like shopping for new clothes?
Do you often buy new clothes?
Do you prefer to go shopping or just browse? Why?
Do you think men should be allowed to wear skirts?
What piece of clothing do you spend your money on the most? Why?
Do you read fashion magazines?
Do you sometimes wear a hat?
Do you think it is important to wear fashionable clothes?
o
Do you think it is important to be in fashion?
Do you wear jewelry?
o
If so, what kind of jewelry do you wear?
o
How often do you wear jewelry?
o
What is your most valuable piece of jewelry?
Do you wear the same color clothes now that you wore ten years
ago?
Do you wear the same size clothes this year as you wore last year?
Do you think people feel different when they wear different clothes?
Have you ever made your own clothes?
o
If so, what did you make?
o
Do you often make your own clothes?
How many pairs of gloves do you have?
What are some of the strangest fashions you have seen?
What colors do you think look good on you?
What colors do you think look good on your mother?
What did you wear yesterday?
What do you think of body piercing?
o
Do you have pierced ears?
o
Do you know anyone with a pierced nose?
o
Would you ever pierce your tongue?
What do you think of people who dye their hair green?
What do you think of women who wear high heel shoes?
o
Do you think high heel shoes are bad for a person's health?

What fashions that you see today do you think will be out of fashion
within two years?
What is your shoe size?
What kind of clothes are in fashion now?
What kind of clothes do you usually wear?
What's the most expensive piece of clothing you have ever bought?
What's your favorite color for shoes?
When was the last time you got dressed up?
o
Why?
o
How often do you get dressed up?
o
Do you like to get dressed up?
Where are some good stores to buy clothes in this area?
Where do you usually buy clothes?
Would you like to be a fashion model?

Questions on Styles, Clothing and Fashion-based Stereotypes

What would you think of a women who cut off all her hair and went around
bald as a fashion statement?
What do you think of a man who is bald for fashion's sake?
What do you think of women who wear short mini-skirts?
Do you think that the clothes we wear reflect what is inside us ?
What do you think of people who always and only wear black?
What do you think of people with tattoos?
o
Do you have a tattoo?
o
Do you know someone with a tattoo?
What do you think of people with body piercing?
o
Do you have pierced ears?
o
Would you pierce other parts of your body?
What would you think of a high school student who always wore very
conservative clothes?
What type of clothing do you wear when you are angry and you want
to express yourself?
What colors do you choose to wear when you are happy?
Would you dress the same as you do in your country if you went to
America for a visit?
Do you dress the same when you are depressed as you do when you
are very happy?
o
In what ways do you dress differently?
If you went out with a group of high school friends, would you dress
differently then if you went out with your grandmother and her friends?
In what ways does your Grandmother dress differently then you?

When you get old do you think you will dress like your grandmother
or grandfather?
Would you ever wear dreadlocks?
o
What do you think of the people who wear them?
Have you ever worn your hair braided in small braids.
o
Did anyone look at you differently because of it?
Would you ever wear contacts to change your eye color?
What is the difference in the people who choose to wear contacts and
the people who choose to were glasses?
What do you think about women who don't wear earrings?
What do you think about men who wear earrings?
o
What do you think of women who do?
Is it possible for women to wear too much make-up?
o
When is a person wearing to much make-up?
o
What do you think of men who wear make-up?
Is it possible to be beautiful without wearing any make-up, earrings or
other accessories?
Do fashionable clothes really change the way a person looks?
What differences have you noticed in the fashions here and in your
country?
What do you think of men who where tights?
What do you think about secondhand clothes?
o
Why do you think people buy secondhand clothes?
o
Have you ever been to a store that sells secondhand clothes?
o
Have you ever bought secondhand clothes?
o
Would you buy secondhand clothes?
When and where did you buy an article of clothing you're wearing
right now? Why did you choose it?
What would you think if the mother of the groom wore black at a
wedding?
o
What would you think if a bride wore red?
o
Should a bride's dress be long or do you think it could be the length
of a regular skirt?
What items of clothing do you consider provocative in this country?
o
What types of clothing are provocative in your country?
o
Do you ever dress this way?
What do you think of men wearing high heels?
What do you think of women wearing high heels?
Why is it acceptable for women to wear men's clothing, but not for
men to dress in women's clothing?
Is there a stigma attached to people who buy no-name (no brand)
clothing?

Are some people more fashion conscious than others? What

types/groups of people?
Have you ever bought imitation brand clothing?
What traditional clothes do people from your country wear?
o
When do you wear them?
o
Are they comfortable?
In your country do children have to wear school uniform?
o
Did you wear a school uniform?
o
Do you think wearing uniforms is a good idea?
What would you do or feel if you were refused entry to somewhere
because of what you are wearing?
Do you think dress codes should be adhered to if requested on an
invitation?
What would you wear to meet royalty or the President of your
country?
Would you go to a fancy dress party? Why or why not?
How much do you spend getting ready to go to school? Work? Out
with friends? To a party?
o
Do the times vary much?
What traditional clothes do people from your country wear?
When do you wear them?
Are they comfortable?
Do you think there's a difference between" fashion " and "style" ?
How often do you go clothes shopping?
o
Where do you like to go?
o
Who do you like to go with?
o
How much money do you usually spend?
o
Would you bring your husband/boyfriend with you when you go
clothes shopping?
What do you like to shop for the most?
Where is your favorite shopping centre?
What is your favorite brand?
Are you a shopaholic?
Do you go to many shops before buying one particular item or do you
just buy the first one you find?
Do you spend a lot of money on clothes your clothes?
Which type of clothes do you "collect"?
What's your favorite piece of clothing?
o
How much did it cost?
o
Where did you buy your favorite piece of clothing?
Have you ever felt uncomfortable with what you wear?
Did your parents ever make you wear something you didn't like?

Do you like to go shopping during the sales?

http://www.fashion-era.com/
http://www.fashion-era.com/sociology_semiotics.htm
What is Fashion?
For centuries individuals or societies have used clothes and other body
adornment as a form of nonverbal communication to indicate occupation, rank,
gender, sexual availability, locality, class, wealth and group affiliation. Fashion
is a form of free speech. It not only embraces clothing, but also accessories,
jewellery, hairstyles, beauty and body art. What we wear and how and when
we wear it, provides others with a shorthand to subtly read the surface of a
social situation.

Fashion as a Sign System

Fashion is a language of signs, symbols and iconography that non-verbally
communicate meanings about individuals and groups. Fashion in all its forms
from a tattooed and pierced navel, to the newest hairstyle, is the best form of
iconography we have to express individual identity. It enables us to make
ourselves understood with rapid comprehension by the onlooker.

Fashion as a Barometer of Cultural Changes

How we perceive the beauty or ugliness of our bodies is dependant on cultural
attitudes to physiognomy. The accepted beautiful female form that Rubens
painted is subliminally undesirable nowadays, if we are to be thought beautiful
in a way that the majority accepts in the 21st century.

Today an inability to refashion and reshape our bodies whilst constantly

monitoring the cultural ideal leaves us failing the fashion test. Those that pass
the fashion test invariably spend their lives absorbed in a circle of diet,
exercise, cosmetic surgery and other regimes. This includes the rigors of
shopping in search of the ultimate garb.

High&Mighty Menswear UK

If you are a big guy you may find it hard to find the best clothes to fit you,
Menswear UK specialise in trousers with upto a 38" leg and clothes upto 5XL.
They stock an excellent range of brands including Animal, Southbay and
Jacamo.

The Need for Tribal Belonging

Our reluctance to give ourselves a regular makeover through diet, exercise,
and consistently conscious use of specific dress styles infers that we have the
personality flaws of a weak willed human. We become in the eyes of fashion
aficionados somewhat inadequate and imperfect in the fashion stakes. Thus
we strive to keep a culturally satisfying appearance so that we feel better,
whereas in fact we are striving to stay in the tribe, whatever type of tribe that
may be.

Group affiliation is our prime concern with regard to fashion. As long as some
group similarity is identified within the group, our personal fashion whether
current or dated can belong to any tribe. It is the sense of belonging marked by
how we fashion ourselves that gives us the tribal connection. You are reading
an original 'Theory of Fashion Clothing', fashion history article by Pauline
Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com .

Rles
An innate characteristic of human beings is the desire to strive for
differentiation. The removal of Sumptuary Laws and rigid dress codes has
enabled the individual to use fashion as a means to identify clearly the many
different rles that a person plays in any one day.

Sociologists borrowed the word 'rle' from the theatre because, like actors
individuals play many parts and each part has to be learnt. Rles are
continually learned and rehearsed and relearned. They are also shared,
because like the actors on a stage, fluid interaction only occurs if all the
performers know the behaviour expected.

Class Stratification
The Edwardians were experts in the art of rle play. They had had sufficient
time to readjust to the new patterns of behaviour established by the Victorians.

The Edwardians were socially stratified into those who wore tailor made
clothing down to those who wore other people's cast offs. The poor simply
looked poor, because their raiment betrayed them. Whilst the rich and nouveau
riche displayed their wealth through an iconography of signs and symbols that
enhanced their body image in the eyes of those that saw themselves as
socially inferior.

Rle Set
Rles and activities are closely linked to what people wear. People are affected
by their rle-set, which includes boyfriends, girlfriends, sisters, brothers,
friends, husbands, lovers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, relatives, employers,
customers, clients, work mates, business colleagues, peer and age groups.

The people with whom a purchaser interacts affects the final purchase and this
applies to any fashion dominated item from interior furnishings to choice of
cars. Likewise the purchase of fashionable clothes, fabrics, or accessories
becomes a visual currency and speaks volumes silently. The tools of fashion
provide the signs and symbolism that function as an information service for the
rle-set.

People are so aware that others make judgements about them through their
clothes and accessories that many run up huge debts to appear to belong to a
particular lifestyle. Frequently the rest of their rle-set are doing likewise.
Members of the rle-set often encourage them. Only individuals with a strong
sense of self identity stick their necks out and admit to wearing items that
others might consider dubious or pass.

Occupation, Status and Purpose of Clothing

Those with high status occupations will wear the clothes they think others
expect them to wear. They will not wish to experience rle conflict by wearing
the incorrect clothing. It is from the clothes a person wears that we get our
first impression of personality. They provide mental clues to a person's status
and occupational rle, as well as being a means of conforming to peer group
expectations.

Clothes also have the utilitarian function of providing both protection from the
extremes of the elements, keeping us warm or cool or safe. They also act as
an aid to modesty or immodesty as the wearer so desires.

The state of a person's clothes is synonymous with self respect and is a sign of
respectability. It also adds another sign that the person has sufficient status in
society to maintain at the cost of time and money, laundering, dry cleaning and
repair. To be respectable some expense has to be incurred in the maintenance
of cleanliness and neatness. You are reading an original 'Theory of Fashion
Clothing', fashion history article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashionera.com .

Veblen's 'The Theory of the Leisure Class'

Thorstein Veblen the US economist who wrote the book The Theory Of The
Leisure Class in 1899 maintained that Dressing for status as an outward
expression of wealth is indeed functional, by the very fact that such clothes
prevent the wearer from engaging in manual labour. Also because of their
restrictive design they need the assistance of others to dress the wearer and
keep clothes in pristine condition.

Veblen devoted a whole chapter of his book to ' Dress As An expression Of The
Pecuniary Culture'.

He wrote '...our apparel is always in evidence and affords an indication of our

pecuniary standing to all observers at first glance...dress, therefore, in order to
serve its purpose effectively should not only be expensive, but it should also
make plain to all observers that the wearer is not engaged in any kind of
productive labour...'

Foremost in Veblen's mind must have been the fashions of the 1890s a decade
that gradually favoured increasing conspicuous consumption by the rich. A
century later the vogue for power dressing in the 1980s saw excessive
indulgence and conspicuous consumption in fashion. Fashionable behaviour
was the epitome of conspicuous waste, but the purest form of relief in a
stressed, angst ridden society.
Status Symbols
One of the most favoured forms of semiotic distinction is fashion, because
fashionable clothes, accessories and body adornment are easy for others to
observe at glance. Incidental items, particularly branded specific handbags
footwear, jewellery, accessories and new hairstyles act also as important status
symbols.

First - a fashion is approved by others.

Then - it is copied because of competition.

Finally - it is replaced as it becomes commonplace and has ceased to fulfill its

function of being distinctive.
The status fashion can be anything from a particular jewel such as solitaire
diamond stud earrings or the latest fad for long drop gold earrings to a brand
logo pair of jeans in a particular style and colour. The ability to decode trends
that are not deliberate and obvious is limited to a small group who adopt
consumer items early. You are reading an original 'Theory of Fashion Clothing',
fashion history article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com .

Wearing a Uniform
Some people instinctively know how to appear respectable to the majority
through their clothing. Others are less obviously successful in attaining
consistently reliable grooming. The rise of the Corporate Uniform adopted by
banks and similar institutions in the 1980s reinforced power dressing. It
indicated how important the uniform is as a means of distinguishing one person
from another instantly. Uniforms provide us with mental clues.

Occupational Uniform
Wearing an occupational uniform puts an employee in the position of being a
visual metaphor. We learn quickly to associate different uniforms with different
rle conceptions and different rle expectations. We connect the policeman or
security guard's uniform with authority, law, order and help. Likewise we
associate the nurses or paramedic's uniform with help, care, protection and
mothering. By contrast the jaunty overall and hat of the ice cream vendor with
the promise of pleasure.

When people put on a uniform they adopt what they think it symbolises, but
even people who don't wear a specific occupational or leisure uniform tend to
know vaguely what to wear. Those who adapt their wardrobe to "fit in" with
their company, succeed much faster in terms of upward job mobility.

Mass Youth Uniform

...(v4r)
Young people in particular adopt the uniform of their peer group. However the
uniform must be the peer group's uniform, not one imposed on them by adults.
Fashion in the form of a mass youth uniform can create a sense of belonging to
the peer group and a feeling of identity as the adolescent personality reaches
maturation.

For the majority, an old status symbol, be it a brand, a logo or attitude

accessory is old-fashioned the moment is loses favour within the group. An up
to date status symbol cries out to some "I must have it now". The mobile
phone as a belt accessory was a perfect example of this. As new products
develop, last year's non WAP mobile phone version is soon pass as a
(wearable) iPod or other electronic gadget gains more approval by being newer
and more novel. By being the latest in a line of personal wear gadgets it gives
unspoken signage about a person of the 'latest' style statement and therefore
again by association some deeper meaning about (spending ability or know
how) of that person. It is essential to have the latest fashion accessory, to gain
instant peer approval.

Mass youth uniform can also work against individual groups of wearers, as in
the case of banning Burberry caps in city pubs or clubs because of associations

with fighting and the anti social behaviour of some persons who adopt a
distinctive fashion which can become like a group uniform. More recently (in
UK in May 2005) youths wearing hoodies have been banned from shopping
malls such as Bluewater. By association all wearing of the garment was
banned as some youths hide their faces with the hood as they shoplift, or use
the hood to avoid recognition on CCTV after shoplifting or other
misdemeanours. You are reading an original 'Theory of Fashion Clothing',
fashion history article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com .

Mass Production and New Textile Technology

Between the First and Second World Wars mass production of clothing truly
developed. But it was not until clothes rationing was introduced in the UK that
production methods became more streamlined. Rationing of cloth and
haberdashery, along with strict specifications ensured manufacturers created
garments in a speedy, efficient, economic manner whilst attaining a certain
standard of quality control. By the 1950s increasing numbers of women
abandoned the little dressmaker and bought from the increasing majority of
chain stores.

Department stores like Debenhams continued to move with the times

experimenting with new fabrics and new looks. By the 1990s were using
designers like Jasper Conran to design ranges with style and flair.

A whole range of exciting yarns, new fashion fabrics, protective materials and
engineered fabrics became widely available after 1960. New materials and
fabric finishing techniques are at first exclusive and expensive. Initially they are
offered to the world of Haute Couture. A couple of years later they filter to the
mass market.

Youth Cult in the Global World

The youth cult of the teenager in the 1950s became a major force in the 1960s.
Other contributing influences were the glamour of the cinema, the television in
ordinary homes and a change in attitudes and values after the introduction of
the female birth pill. Global coverage of the mood of society was absorbed from
the cinema, television and fanzine magazines. The world had instant access to
the latest trends and fashions as fast as the picture could be transmitted.

Today what people see in their homes on television or when surfing the Internet
soon becomes accepted very quickly as normal and everyday. In the comfort of
one's own home the television monitor scales down the stark newness of an
idea, especially the impact of a fashion concept and this makes it easier for us
to accept more quickly when worn by others even if we can't see ourselves
wearing a similar item.

Fashion Cycles
The young have not always been dominant in fashion history. Until the Victorian
Era, a fashion look took between 10 and 15 years to permeate country areas.
Once rail travel improved mass communication between country and city, the
cycle of fashion speeded up so fast, that by the Edwardian Era in 1901, fashion
was moving in a yearly cycle.

Emancipation of Women and the contribution of all classes of women to the

1914-1918 war enabled and encouraged women to adopt more practical
clothing and to try out new styles in fashion, hair and beauty.

By the millennium everyday changes in lifestyle included fitness and health

pursuits, car and air travel and centrally heated environments in homelife. All
created a need for clothing fashion designed for the way we live now. How we
perceive our persona and what we want to say to society in a very visual
camera obsessed culture, is still expressed through our bodies, the way we
wear clothes, jewellery and body art.

Today fashion and beauty can be affordable for everyone. There is always a
range such as Avon that provides quality beauty, make up and accessory
products at a prices most can afford. Mass fashion is moving so fast that
fashion now moves in a weekly cycle and fashion trends are hot for a short
time only. You are reading an original 'Theory of Fashion Clothing', fashion
history article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com .

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