Fashion Status
By Sabina Sung
Fashion Status – Are You In or Out?
From the very first loin cloth fashion has been an indicator of status. Throughout the ages all kinds of factors of fashion has dictated how one is perceived in society. The color of a cloak or the intricacy of a handkerchief all were a way of knowing where someone was in the order of a society. In the beginning when people first started covering up it was the possession of clothes at all that thrust someone to the top of the pecking order. If you were naked then you were low on the totem pole of social order and your fashion status was zero.
There are many different modes of fashion. There is a general fashion which is what most of us are privy to. What is meant by this is when you walk out on the street and look around what you see in general. For instance, low rise boot cut jeans. You wouldn’t have seen these in the ‘70’s or 80’s but today they are prevalent and all around us. If you wear more conventional jeans you may be seen as a little out of it but not necessarily looked down upon. Most of us reside in this paragon of fashion and definitely do abide by it. Why? Because it is the level of fashion dictated by the clothing manufacturers. Shouldn't it be your fashion status beliefs that drive the manufactures?
Then there is the higher level of fashion status worn by the rich and famous. This is a more acute level of fashion and definitely is more harshly critiqued. God forbid you arrive at a red carpet event in something that is out of style, you would be lambasted on many levels. Fortunately, most of us do not fall into this category and if those types of people want to play ball in that way then let them eat cake!
So, does fashion status really dictate how society views someone? The answer is not as easy as yes or no because it all depends on where you live how you live and who you associate with. The truth is on that general level, yes people will judge if you wear something outrageously unhip, but otherwise you are treated like everyone else, a victim of what the clothing manufacturers are telling us to wear at any given point in history. And, some things do come back into style. A good example is the bell bottom jeans return just a few years ago. Our parents were very happy then!
