Fashion and Globalization
In a nutshell, people are convinced that an individual’s personality can be mirrored by the way a person dresses. It is a common notion that people are judged according to how one presents himself/herself through mere appearance and fashion style. However, this mentality is not reliable most of the times. The way a person dresses can not distinctly assess one’s true personality. It can not become a reliable tool of concluding one’s characteristics because the sense of fashion developed by a person can be influenced by various factors, and at times only comes out of necessity and pressures.
There are certain factors that affect the way that a person dresses up. At some certain points, it may be true that an individual’s personality can be reflected through his/her appearance. However, at most instances, people dress the way that they do because of the influences around the environment, influences of the current trends, and sometimes by necessities brought about by different circumstances. Hence, these influences make it quite unreliable to base on one’s outside appearances in trying to asses his/her personality.
As mentioned, external factors greatly affect the manner of dressing. An example of such factors include the geographical features of the environment wherein a person dwells. The outfit one wears may not mirror his/her personality, rather, it may suggest of the kind of environment that an individual lives in. For example, a person who lives in the tropics may wear something that is comfortable and repels the heat brought by the climate in the area.
The same way that a person may be covered with too much clothes on, not because of the person being conservative in nature, but rather because the place where he/she lives in is somewhere in cold areas. Hence, the climate and geographical location can also affect the way an individual chooses the way the he/she dresses up. Culture and religion are another factors that can influence dressing preferences. Most especially during the earlier generations, people are forced to abide by the norms of the society that they belong to.
Adherence to such policies was strict, and such, it can be reflected in the way people choose their outfit. One strong example of such are the Muslim females, wherein they have to wear long dresses and cover their face. They do this not because it is in their personality and preference to wear it, but rather, they are obliged to do so. Another influential factor in one’s dressing style can be attributed with the circumstances one is put under. For example, a person must reflect his/her job towards the way he/she dresses.
The external appearance of a person may then reflect the type of job he/she undertakes, but not entirely his/her whole personality. A person tries to make an impression according to his/her job description, and as such, it is a necessity that he/she dresses up in a manner that is appropriate to the responsibilities that he/she has. And it wouldn’t matter if an individual dresses up according to what suits his/her personality best. The most important part though, is to be able to enhance his/her appearance in such a way that the person becomes effective in his/her job.
One of the strongest factors that influences an indivdual for his/her fashion style is the changes in fashion trends. Majority of the population nowadays, especially the youth, have been influenced by new trends set by celebrities whom they idolize. They pattern their fashion style according to the popularity of certain styles, disregarding the fact whether it suits their personality well. And as such, it is hard to determine an individual’s personality based on the clothes he/she wears due to the fact that trends change from time to time.
Trends change as fast as the blink of an eye, and people would just don’t care about the styles that fit them, as long as it is popular to the majority of the people. In the era of globalization where everything changes fast, and the economies coincide to work across countries have contributed to the fast dispersion of fashion trends. This fact makes it easier to generate new trends and spread new fashion across the world. Nowadays, the emergence of a number of fashion designers/institutions and the current popularity of glamorous celebrities greatly contribute to the changes in the fashion styles and needs of the youth.
In this generation, youngsters are greatly influenced and lured to follow the trends set in the society. The increasing influence of gloabalized market over the majority of the population has made it easier to address such changes and trends. The changes in the fashion sense of the people is being translated as a means of gaining more profits and benefits for the emerging fashion designers in advanced countries. They use their power and control over other smaller and less developed countries to impose their influence in order for these coutries to follow these changes in trends.
In addition, glamourous personlities are also used to strengthen this influence over other people and in turn, makes marketability for their new products easier. In this light, the media outlets have been utilized to disseminate new changes in fashion trends has make it easier to gain influence over the people, especially the youth sector. The media is often used to influence target markets, specifically the youth, in order to sell fashion ideas and promote a new sense of fashio and trend (Taylor, 2000, n. p).
Fashion has become more of an indicator of the status, rather than a mirror of one’s personality. The clothes that people wear can reflect a lot about a person’s culture and status, but nevertheless is still not reliable in assessing one’s personality due to the fact that a number of factors highly influence the manner at which a person chooses his/her style.
Reference Taylor, Jordan. et. al. (2000). Fashion and Globalization. Globalization and Communications. Retrieved April 26, 2008 from http://www. ssn. flinders. edu. au/global/glob1002/2003book/chapters/kendolls. htm
Sample Essay of AssignmentExpert.com