Tutor HuntResources Journalism Resources
Fashion`s Unheard Voice
We take on the perceived characteristics of the clothing that we wear, so much so, that it influences the way we think and behave
Date : 25/10/2016
Author Information
Uploaded by : Sunna
Uploaded on : 25/10/2016
Subject : Journalism
What we choose to wear can reveal more about us
than you would ever expect. In fact, you could describe clothing as a language
we use to express ourselves to others. Each piece of clothing is a word and we
put these words together to form a sentence that gives information about who we
are. The more words we have, the more sentences we can make and therefore
the more precise the information we portray.According
to studies in the 70 s, 75% of students as young as seven believe that clothing
communicates something about the wearer. By the age of fourteen, we believe
others form an impression of us on the basis of our dress. Even teachers have
been found to judge a child s intelligence on how attractive they look. There
are many stereotypes and judgments that we are prone to making within seconds
of meeting someone. For example, many of us instantly perceive those that wear
glasses to have a higher IQ than those without. It is often assumed that a
person dressed conservatively is sensible, self-controlled and reliable a
person dressed more daringly is perceived to be more of an extrovert. In the
same sense, dressing older than your age portrays you as a more mature person
than dressing too young. The trend
for dressing older or younger than you are comes into fashion with the changes
in the social roles and self-concepts of that society. Often, this fashion is
copied from what the latest generation of adults wore as children. They are
announcing that they refuse to step into their parents roles and prefer to
remain children. This attitude is clearly seen in the fashion of the 60 s where
young adults dressed in short skirts and bright colours, totally against the
norm of previous years where children dressed in mini versions of adults
clothing. The fashion of the era reflects the social changes and views that the
new generation had, where young people were individuals with their own tastes
and opinions. In contrast, the fashion for classic clothes that are
minimalistic, plain and neutral in colour can often reflect periods of economic
and social anxiety within a society. A good
example of how we use clothing in order to portray an image of ourselves is the
way we dress for job interviews. A business-like appearance is often thought to
represent success and employers often believe that a professionally dressed
person indicates motivation, skill and a hard-working attitude. An interesting
study in 1970 found that people perceived nurses as less caring when dressed
casually. This goes to show that how we dress gives off important information
about our personality, education, background and credibility. As well as
having an impression on others, our clothing can have an affect on ourselves too.
Because of its multi-sensory aspects, social factors and symbolic associations,
clothing can affect our individual emotions. Psychologist Kwon found that women
are more sensitive to mood, which has an affect on their clothing choices.
Negative moods have a greater influence than positive moods. A recent study
found that depressed women are more likely to wear jeans and baggy tops in
order to try and hide themselves. On the other hand, those with a high
self-esteem are more likely to wear attention-grabbing clothes that reflect how
they feel about themselves. This suggests that depressed women put less effort
into their appearance than women who feel happy and dress to match their mood. Most individuals have happy clothes
that tend to be well cut, made of bright, beautiful fabrics and are more likely
to be paired with accessories. The colour of our clothing also has a
significant impact on our mood. Every colour has a different effect and we can
use this to our advantage. A study conducted in 1993 found that colours such as
black and red have a positive impact on our hirablity. Moreover, women interviewing
for jobs that require warm characteristics, such as that of a teacher, were
more successful when wearing red, pink and pastel colours that suggested the
person wearing the colour was also warm. In 2004, researchers followed
contestants in combat sports in the Olympics. Contestants were randomly
assigned to either red or blue uniforms. Results show that red wearers were
significantly more likely to win over blue. This could be down to the fact that
we sometimes associate red with high levels of testosterone and dominance,
which can make the wearer feel more powerful and at the same time, make the
opposition feel inferior. These studies clearly indicate how colour can affect
our perceptions of others and ourselves. Tracey DiNunzio, founder of fashion
re-sale site Tradesy, explains how people s wardrobes can reveal what they
are like as a person. If you have a lot of logos you may be trying to hide your
real self, covering yourself in symbols of other people s concepts. If you have
a lot of old, unworn clothes you are likely to be the type of person that finds
it hard to let go of the past. On the other hand, new unworn clothing can
symbolise a person who has an ideal image of what they want their future to
look like rather than wearing the clothes now, she is buying clothes for the
lifestyle she desires but hasn t done anything about it. A wardrobe lacking in
colour could indicate an introvert who is most comfortable in a close circle of
friends and a wardrobe full of identical clothing of similar items in different
colours is likely to be scared of change. With these observations, DiNunzio
explained that simply by changing the way you dress, you could help yourself
become the person you want to be, as you will give off the impression implied
by the clothing.
The idea that what you wear affects your
mentality is called, enclothed cognition. A study of participants wearing
white lab coats found that the participants performed better in tests when they
believed that they were wearing a doctor s coat than when they were told they
were wearing an artist s coat. These results suggest that we take on the
perceived characteristics of the clothing that we wear, so much so, that it
influences the way we think and behave. In fashion, this is seen when designers
create a persona for their collections and women aspire to wear the brand to take
on the characteristics of the muse. If you associate Prada s collection with an
intelligent, powerful woman, you are more likely to act that way when you wear
the clothing yourself.
This resource was uploaded by: Sunna