We all agree that the way people dress has a complex relationship with their identities. People’s social status, gender, class, and religion can be expressed through the pieces they wear or the things they put on their bodies. Regarding what we try to present to people, others might not be able to read the message we reflect on ourselves through the clothing we wear because those fabrics do not directly ‘speak’ for us. Identities can be judged by appearances and yet, can also be misread into something else. Especially, when living in a modern city, without “tradition or established patterns for recognizing others” (Entwistle, J. 2000, pp.112), it is even harder for us to ‘read’ a person from his or her dressing in just a few seconds of glancing. Anonymity makes people mostly place their judgment or analysis upon how others look. As a result, in the 19th century, there were two contradicting ideas of fashion and identity developing: one is that someone’s character can be seen from their appearance provoked by the curiosity of people wanting to know the authenticity of others; and in opposed to discovering the truth behind people, an alternative desire formed along which is to hide or disguise oneself through fashion, to create identity anonymization. (Entwistle, J. 2000, pp.113) The two opposing ideas can be seen in Dandyism and The Romantic style. The dandy style was an older aristocratic way of dressing and it was about looking stylish and distinguished, the ladder was closer to our contemporary culture, which emphasizes individuality, expressing and representing the true self.
In the world of nature, animals can change their appearances under different circumstances, such as to attract and avoid other animals, or to camouflage themselves to fit in the environment. It is inevitable that as human beings, we attempt to control the way we look to make good impressions, to enhance our appearances or even status, or to make ourselves belong to a certain group. We have all sorts of fitness programs, diets, cosmetics, plastic surgeries, and fashion objects. These are all possible accesses for people to change their appearances and create identities. According to Entwistle (2000), our idea to create an identity is being affected by locations, classes, and cultural communities. The way we dress is a representation of our backgrounds and individual desires. Joanne Entwistle (2000) in her book Fashioned Body quotes: “Fashions are bonds that link individuals in a mutual act of conformity to social conventions” (Finkelstein, 1991, pp. 112). Starts here today
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Why imitate as well as differ??
People want to be accepted by a group of people who share similar ideas, values, and lifestyles. They want to be a member of a certain community. In the meantime, they also have the desire to look different from others. That is why people tend to wear something different to build their individuality.
The expansion of industrialization in the 19th century is where an unmeasurably massive number of populations arrived in the capitals of Europe. Countless peasants moved to London to look for work. The cities got more and more crowded and busy. At this point, fashion flourished hence impressions and judgments followed up. People are concerned about how they read others and being read by others. The pressure of being accepted and fitting in a certain group and the opportunity to stand out from a certain group were formed during the high growth of consumption. “Problems arise when the world of objects outstrips individuals’ attempts to come to terms with it; when subjects do not appropriate objects in ways that relate to their projections but confront the world as alien.” (Entwistle, J. 2000, pp.116)
How does fashion articulate identities? how are they deployed to mark out distinctions? How does the body become the carrier of social status?
Entwistle argues in “Modernity: Imitation and Differentiation” (Entwistle, J. The Fashioned Body, 2000, pp.117), that if one item or look is fashionable or described as ‘trendy or hip’, it differs from mainstream fashion and once it becomes commonly adopted, it is no longer a trend.
When talking about ‘differentiation’, Fashion can be used as a tool to identify or differentiate a particular group. Contemporary dressing code relies on the cultural norm.
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