Fashion
(your clothes reveal a lot more than you thought)
Book Club Fashion Discussion Area
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The Fashion Book
 A to Z of the fashion world. This book is packed with wonderful photos from the 500 most important fashion designers of all time. Each page includes a brief but deeply insightful commentary on the artist and the statements made by the example. If you love fashion, The Fashion Book will become your favorite book. (And if you like this book, you'll also love The Art Book, The 20th Century Art Book, The Photo Book, The Movie Book and The American Art Book.) |
| who knows of more good books to feature here? let me know |
There's a lot more to Fashion than shoes, hair, and just being in the swing!
What Fashion is Good For:
- Find out what makes you feel good and then clothes and styles help you do that and express yourself. It's fun!
- Send messages about your opinions and attitudes about life.
- Find or create clues about how you feel about yourself and life each day.
- Attract friends like yourself (or who at least like how you dress and present yourself).
What Fashion is Bad For:
- People get locked into cliques and styles. Instead of a tool, fashion becomes a controlling factor in your life. It can be difficult to escape and others who are also locked in won't let you.
- Advertisers are one group who wants you to buy into images. Don't let them manipulate you. Make conscious choices about who you want to be!
- People can get their whole identity tied up in this. Don't miss this red flag! You're heading for shallowdom and a less fulfilling life if you're not true to who you are on a deeper level!
- Fashion can be a vicious game if you choose to play. Other players may try to make you feel like you're inferior if you're not like them. That's where their power lies. But if you refuse to play, if you ignore them and go on being yourself, their power vanishes and you'll eventually win greater respect from your peers. You may get some ugly jealous stares and comments, but this may be a sign that you're winning and they know they're losing power over you. Start a confederation! Support each other in being yourselves. If you see someone different, let them be that way! You tend to treat others as you do yourself, afterall.
5 Keys to Rule Your Fashion
Don't be a fashion slave! use it as your own tool! here's how:
- Increase your fashion and self awareness. Write out five pages detailing who you want to be and how you can express that with what you wear (you don't have to do this all at once). Understanding yourself and what you want is the key, the only way to get what you want.
- Collect photos of what you want to be/look like/feel like. Move in that direction.
- Don't choose out of spite, just to piss off your parents! Define yourself by what you are, not by what you're not. If you don't, you're manipulating yourself and acting stupid. Don't be an idiot. Get what you want, and if you simply want something because someone else doesn't, then you're not much of an individual, are you?
- Remain flexible. If you get tired of one fashion and want to change, don't limit yourself! Be what you want, it's your decision.
Ask the Fashion Queen
Letter: i try to look bad so guys will leave me alone.
Answer: Hey, be careful. Dressing down can mean more than one thing.
Maybe it shows that you're casual and comfortable, but it may also show low self-esteem.
If so, you look like easy prey to players. There's a good chance that they also have low
self-esteem and in this case, likes attract. First, decide what kind of person you want to
attract, then consider dressing to their level. If you really want to keep guys away, the
strongest message (if you can pull it off) is sent by looking sharp and in control. This
sends a clear message of "I know exactly what I want from life, and it's not
you!"
Letter: dressing nice is so expensive. and it takes so much time
to keep up with the competition. But I have to, if I want to be noticed!
Answer: It's just a dance. It's called the Jonses two step. It's
competition. What's happenned is enough people have bought into the idea that you chase
sex by physical appearance. And as long as you play that game, then I guess it's true. But
if you don't like this dance, then you can change the tune all by yourself.
Just be yourself. Decide how you're comfortable and how you'd like to
represent yourself and follow that. But either be honest or choose well. If you're trying
to be who you're not: 1. you WILL become that eventually, or 2. you're a Fakie. Becoming
something different can be good or bad, so choose something that will make you happy.
The good news here is that other people want to feel comfortable and
they'll like your genuine beat more than the old competition dance. This type of decision
is the healthy way to go and a victory for fashion.
It's true that appearances matter. They affect our emotions. They send
powerful messages. So it's not wise to entirely ignore fashion. But you don't have to play
by other people's rules, either. If you want to be noticed by shallow guys/girls, by all
means, play their game and dress their way.
But if you want to attract people who will be true friends, who you can
really get to know and keep as friends forever and grow with and trust, then be yourself
from the outset!
Letter: I'm a fashion slave but i like it! Are you saying that's
bad? Should I be concerned? All my friends say this whole page is stupid
and you're a jerk, but I thought I should give you a chance to respond....
Answer: Being deeply involved with fashion is not necessarily bad.
Fashion can bring you happiness and develop your talents as much as any other hobby. And
of course it influences many other sources of power that can help you reach other
goals.
The danger you should watch out for (both in yourself and the friends
you choose) is if you're only concerned about outward appearances.
Ask yourself these questions:
How strongly do you judge people by what they wear?
Are you ever embarrassed by what your friends (or your mother) is
wearing?
Are there people you wouldn't consider hanging out with or even talking
to because of what they wear?
Fashion is a fairly legitimate tool for first impressions (we have to
start somewhere), but if you continue to rely on that without gathering further
information (like what they like to do, personality, etc) and without being willing to
change your opinions, then you are imprisoned by fashion, it controls you, and you're
losing (and in reality, something of a loser) because of it.
Reading Between the Threads How to Interpret Fashion Beyond the Obvious
The word 'Fashion' makes most people think of fancy clothes or only the fashion-conscious or runway model type, but there's much more to it than this. Becoming aware of the more subtle clues revealed by fashion can help you understand your peers and even strangers better.
The key is to pay attention to detail. You might start with the person's shoes--what do they like to wear? What story do they tell? Are they fashionable, casual, formal, or simply comfortable? What about the rest of their wardrobe--even if work requires formality, are the clothes loose and comfortable, is the tie loosened at the end of the day, or are they tight, form fitting, and sexy? Finally, what do they put on when they get home? How do they feel most comfortable, most like themselves?
Fashion in Literature
Notice the signals an author is trying to send by a character's fashion. You could write a paper using Fashion as a critical method, pointing out the role fashion plays in power, attraction, understanding, status, and whatever else you think up.