Fast forward evolution and we gradually see those clothes morph into Fashion; that is to say, purposefully created garments that selectively hide certain body parts for modesty reasons,to provide warmth when it is cold, to protect from the sun when it is hot, as a symbol of status and last, but certainly not least, as an outwardly reflection of the person that lives deep within.
James Laver (in “Taste and Fashion”) is claimed to have written
that Women’s Fashion goes through various stages; first it is perceived as grotesque, then becomes acceptable, then ordinary, and finally the rehash of “old school” Fashions becomes Fashionable again.
That seems like nonsense to me or most women would -today - be walking around topless with grotesque feathers sticking out of their heads like poultry plumage, masks to hide their faces, their hands both invisible and unusable, and heels so high that you’d need a five story high building-site crane to get into them.Frankly, observable evidence seems to suggest to me - ever the pragmatist - that mature adult Women make certain choices in their Fashions, and these seem to be made for three reasons; attractiveness / appearance, comfort, and to hide the odd shape anomaly (and not necessarily in that order; sorry Girls...).
Young people then actively seek to differentiate themselves from looking exactly like these mature adults (“old schoolers”) and will latch onto almost anything they can find that will both set them apart from their elders and at the same time draw acceptance from their peers.
HARD TALK
Art by Sherry from China
Long may their rebellious nature thrive but there is little sense in being rebellious simply for the sake of it.In actively seeking to be different, emerging generations almost invariably begin to look alike themselves.Blame peer group pressure, blame conservative adults, blame whoever you like, but there is little doubt in my mind that Fashion is a very important tool in the arsenal of young people, as it acts to both detach themselves from the older generation (a vital effort in the quest for progress) and, as suggested before, to show that they are “individual” enough to
This frequently comes at the expense of true individuality.Those who want to express their own sense of Fashion outside the constraints of both that “older generation”AND their “peer groups”, frequently find themselves as outcasts as they are readily re-classified as a poor social fit.
Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the tired old-school populist magazines where celebrities and innocent bystanders alike are torn to shreds for not meeting fashionista “standards”,arbitrarily set by self-proclaimed “experts” who consider themselves so “tuned-in” that they have the right to tell everyone else what to wear, what is wrong with what they are currently wearing, and how they should remedy their “mistakes” to meet the requirements of these self-proclaimed “intelligentsia”.Such social commentators clearly suffer from serious delusions of grandeur, are demonstrably
clue-less, soul-less, dim-witted idiots with a laptop, that deliver whatever tripe an equally opportunistic editor happens to be willing to pay for. The greater the injustice and bitterness, the higher magazine profits are expected to soar. Solid career building stuff in
the “big end of town” of the Fashion industry; completely devoid of scruples, morals and without an ounce of self-regulation.
Next time you visit your local shopping centre count the number of “big” Women’s Fashion outlets. Just for a laugh... How do they survive? What happens when a Woman become disenchanted with the Fashions that she already owns, and in who’s interest is it to strongly encourage an ongoing feeling of disenchantment ? So she diets and drops a size or two in clothes. There goes an entirely new wardrobe -out with the old; no longer needed. Put a bit of weight back on?
There goes another new wardrobe - out with the clothes that no longer fit. Is that dress and are those shoes no longer “in Fashion”? Why doesn’t anyone ask why that happens to be the case and who exactly decided that they were no longer acceptable for you to wear ? See how that particular cycle works and why super skinny models are so much in vogue? Perpetuating and exploiting Women’s insecurities is an all pervasive profit motive for unscrupulous big business. Dare I say gutter crawlers ?