*Remember that all of this is my own opinion, and I came to this write this essay and create this video through just a lot of reflection and thinking. If there is anything that I have said that is wrong, feel free to correct me in the comments down below. I also apologise if you can't hear me, or if anything ends up being out of sync, because my laptop and my iMovie is a dodgy mess. Okay. The songs I used in this video are: Fool For You - Alice Smith, Let My Baby Stay - Mac DeMarco and Worryhead - Summer Twins - I hope you enjoy!
CLOTHES AND YOU
> WHAT YOU WEAR CAN REVEAL ASPECTS OF WHO YOU ARE
For some people, clothes are a way of self expression, and they get excited when they get a new T Shirt or a new pair of jeans. For others, they just need something to wear during the day before they go to bed. Some people get incredibly excited getting dressed and love spending hours thinking up different outfits and others don’t. However, whether you’re one of those people or a mixture of both, the clothes you wear, or the clothes you enjoy wearing (because sometimes what you wear isn’t what you want to wear, but something you’ve been told/forced to wear) reveal different aspects of who you are. Think of Goths for example, their whole attire is just an extension of their personality. It allows people to see a part of who they are. Some people enjoy wearing all black one day, and then bold block primary colours another day. That is why I believe that if you are trying to figure someone out by what they wear, seeing them once isn’t enough. You need to see them on a sunny day, a rainy day, when they’re ill, when they’re going to an important event. When they’re going out for a meal, when they are in the comfort of their own home. You need to look at their accessories, the bags they carry, their makeup, every detail is a clue into who that person is.
> THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR, YOUR STYLE IS AN EXTENSION OF YOUR PERSONALITY. THAT IS WHY WHEN YOU WEAR SOME THINGS YOU FEEL GOOD AND COMFORTABLE, AND WHEN YOU WEAR OTHER THINGS YOU DON’T. THAT’S WHY PEOPLE SAY THAT “THIS DRESS ISN’T ME.”
Another reason as to why I believe that clothes show who you are, or are a way of self expression, is this. Think of Scout Finch, from To Kill A Mockingbird. She’s the classic tomboy. She hates dresses, loves jeans, hated acting like a “lady,” and loved adventure. She always hated the dresses she was forced to wear and loves wearing her dungarees and denim. Did you ever wonder why, she felt so uncomfortable and got so upset wearing those dresses? Yes, one part of it is purely due to childlike stubbornness (but even sensible people in their mid teens get frustrated when they can’t wear what makes them happy), but the majority of it, is because she can’t be herself in it. She can’t express herself and be herself and do what she loves in it. People know what type of person she is when she climbs trees and spies on Boo Radley and plays with Dill and her brother Jem. This is exactly the same with anyone else. Clothes have the power to empower and bind people; because whether you like it or not, the T shirts you wear and the leopard print skirts you try on, are just your personality being poured into patterns and fabrics. And how does it feel when you can’t pursue your passion, or just be yourself? You feel closeted and suppressed. That’s exactly the same when your ability to wear what you want is stopped.
WHAT ARE CLOTHES REALLY?
> CLOTHES ARE TECHNICALLY ITEMS THAT ARE WORN TO COVER THE BODY. SIMPLE PIECES OF FABRICS SEWN AND CUT INTO DIFFERENT SHAPES FOR YOU TO WEAR FOR PLEASURE AND COVERAGE.
Now, even though the clothes you wear are an extension of your personality, what are, they really? Well, the dictionary plainly states, that clothes, are: ITEMS WORN TO COVER THE BODY. That’s it. Clothes are simply fabrics that are sewn and cut into different shapes and sizes, to fit and cover the body. That is it.
So why is it made into such a big fuss? Well, firstly it can make you money, and it is also a form of art.
ART
FASHION AND CLOTHES CAN BE A FORM OF SELF EXPRESSION, AND IT CAN BE A FORM OF ART.
Art. Anything can be art. Drawing, writing, film, music, public speaking, science, everything. Everything in this world, can be used as a form of creativity and self expression. That includes fashion and clothes. For example, COUTURE. Couture, made to order, by hand one of a kind garments that are sewn by people. Not in a factory by people. How can you say that that isn’t art? People creating meticulously thought out designs with their hands. It doesn’t even have to be by hand. It can also be with the help of a sewing machine. It doesn’t necessarily matter. What matters, is that people are creative with it. People are creative with how they match items of clothing. The colour palette of an outfit, the shape, silhouette of a look on a person. For some people, fashion, style and clothes are just more than the literal definition of clothes. They are a medium where some people choose to express themselves. That is why, it becomes an issue when you start to put restrictions on this medium.
POLITICAL
> SO IF IT JUST AN EXTENSION OF YOU, AND IT IS ART AND JUST FABRIC, WHY DO WE PUT SO MUCH STIGMA AROUND IT, AND WHY DO WE PLACE GENDER ON CLOTHES?
The reason why I say that it becomes an issue when you put societal restrictions on fashion, style and clothes, is because it is a form in which all people express themselves. First of all, fashion is seen as something that is associated with girls and femininity (even though the forces that drive “what is new and in,” for the consumer (majority are women) are men).
Now to explain why fashion, style and clothes are limited to people (men especially) is because fashion is associated with women and femininity.
In our society, whether you would like to believe it or not, femininity is seen as something negative. Whether it be a girl who is “too feminine” and is told to “man up” or “grow up” or a man is seen to be leaning to the feminine side and isn’t taken seriously and is looked down on for not aspiring to be this overly masculine male. You can see this in high fashion. The androgynous, edgy woman who looks masculine. You can see it in films, where scruffy boyish girls are seen as something cool and appealing. When being a tomboy is cooler than being a “girly girl.” When being more traditionally masculine is seen as something better then being traditionally feminine. You can especially see this in the 90s and onwards.
Since femininity is subtly seen as something to not aspire to in women, then what about in men? What happens when a guy wears a dress? A lot of things happen. There is an uproar, and long lectures on how it isn’t “manly” and how they are “disgracing the family,” and all of that. But isn’t a skirt just another way of covering the legs or the thighs? Aren’t blouses and frilly tops just a variation of the basic T Shirt and long sleeved shirt? Why are some things feminine and some things masculine? Why are some colours masculine and some colours feminine? Why if people stray to a more feminine side they’re shunned? How are people meant to express themselves using clothes, fashion and style, when they are restricted within that medium. Remember, none of the labels given to certain clothes, wouldn’t matter if there wasn’t any stigma, or negativity surrounding them, and if all people are allowed to explore them without being shunned. But they are. They are, and it is an issue for people, especially men. It is an issue and one of the root problems is definitely misogyny, etc.
CONCLUSION
My simple conclusion about clothes is simply this:
> Clothes are simple - pieces of fabric to cover your body
> However, clothes, fashion and style, as simple as if can be it shouldn’t be seen as something “silly” and unimportant. This is because just like music, it can be a form of self expression and art for someone.
> Because fashion, style and clothes can be seen as a form of self expression and art, and is an extension of ones personality, it shouldn’t have restrictions, because that causes pain and frustration within people when they can’t express themselves in the way they really want.
> This whole medium shouldn’t be so complicated that it tears people up, but due to the misogyny and social stigma etc surrounding it, it can ruin some people.
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So guys, what do you think? How do you feel about fashion and gender? Tell me down below!
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