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Throughout human history, one’s dressing style has been used for more than just covering up. People use fashion to send a message about who they are, where they come from, and what they stand for. Diana Crane (2000) holds that one of the indicators of people’s clothing is their social position in a societal structure. In the past centuries, fashion was a significant way for one to express their social status in a public setting. Depending on the era, various aspects of social identity were expressed through a certain way of dressing. Such aspects include religion, socioeconomic class, one’s occupation, as well as regional identity. The difference in clothing sends a message of the experience of being part of a certain society or holding a particular social position. Despite belonging to the same society, different social classes in a class society held different cultures.
Theories of Fashion and Social Status
American sociologist Torstein Veblen, in 1899 came up with the theory of conspicuous consumption to explain the expression of social status through fashion. The sociologist does so by highlighting three properties of fashion. The first one he says is the ability of fashion to tell the economic status of an individual. What people wear can be used to tell how wealthy they are. For example, in the contemporary world, some cloth lines such as Gucci and Versace are associated with lots of wealth due to their high pricing. Rich people tend to possess highly-priced clothes, and that way express their economic success. Secondly, Veblen points out that the functionality of one’s way of dressing also tells about their social status. For example, someone wearing an overall can easily be identified as a mechanic or someone with a handy job. On the other hand, a person dressed in a sophisticated manner to work expresses the fact that they do not do physical work to earn their living. Therefore, the less practical and functional one’s sense of style is, the higher in the social ranking they belong – the clothes of the rich as sometimes so complex that they require help putting them on. A good example of this point of view is portrayed in red-carpet events, for example, the Grammy Awards. Celebrities such as Rihanna and Cardi B appear in clothing so sophisticated that one can hardly sit or stand comfortably in it. The dressing, however, much depends on the individual’s line of work. Artists are mostly the ones who wear sophisticated clothes not just to show they can afford them, but rather to represent their art. Other professionals stick to regular clothing, despite being high in the social ranking. Thirdly, Veblen holds that the more up-to-date one’s fashion is, the higher their social status. The new fashion is likely to come highly-priced. As it becomes outdated, the style pricing lowers as the world moves to the next fashion. A person who keeps up with the fashion trend changes and never tends to wear the clothes of an already outdated trend comes out as wealthy. Fashion designs are leisure goods. A society that pays significant attention to that is most definitely the first world, with a large number of the population consisting of the elites and the wealthy who come up with the trends. Third world societies have problems more pressing than keeping up with fashion and are less likely to pay attention to it. Fashion trends, therefore, speak about the wealth of the people.
George Simmel, a German sociologist, also came up with a theory on fashion and social status. Simmel argues that fashion is a form of imitation and an attempt at social equalization, but due to its constant changes ends up differentiating the social strata. The elite and the rich come up with fashion designs and the rest of the people try to imitate them in an attempt of erasing social distinction. By the time the masses keep up, the people at the top of the social hierarchy have already discovered new styles and moved on. The distinction, therefore, remains anyway, despite the imitation efforts of the masses. The economic differences make it difficult for some people to change from one style to another as fast as the updates keep coming. Simmel also holds that people have the desire of climbing up the social ladder, and that is why they imitate the fashion styles of those in the classes above theirs. A good example is seen with hip-hop celebrities and their fans. Many of the artists live flashy lives that are admired by the masses. When celebrities wear a certain style, people tend to follow. By the time a fan collects enough money to buy the clothes or shoes he or she so with the artist, the rich celebrity has already moved on to the next newest fashion in town. Simmel also argues that demarcation plays a significant role in fashion. As the masses in the lower social classes strangle to erase the distinction established by fashion, members of the upper classes strive to remain distinct by moving to the next fashion style as soon as the previous becomes commonly worn.
The Pre-19th Century Era
Men’s and women’s dress codes before the 19th century expressed their social status, but the perception of their gender role was a principal message of the fashion designs. At the time, men and women were believed to be inherently different in terms of anatomy, intelligence, temperament, and physiology. Men were considered superior to women. Women were viewed as beings who remain childlike in body and mind throughout their lives. The gender roles of women were exclusively domestic duties, being a wife and a mother. Respectable women wore clothes, well-decorated clothes that covered almost their entire skin. Prostitutes wore sexually suggesting clothes. No clothes were defining a certain career for women, as women were mostly housewives. Women were not allowed to own property, and therefore their clothing depended on the wealth of their husbands. The social status of a woman depended on whom they were married to. Men, on the other hand, were leaders, soldiers, and occupied several other careers. Men in leadership positions upheld fashion that signified their social status, which mostly entailed heavily details expensive linens and jewelry. Soldiers wore armor that was quite heavy, signifying their strength, besides its protection purpose. The lower class, which consisted of farmers, laborers, and slaves, wore cheap linens which were often dirty, stained, and worn out. Their clothing made it easy for one to determine their social class.
The 19th and 20th Century
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed lots of social changes that also affected the fashion styles of people. The centuries saw the democratization of the women’s world, changing many aspects of their lives. The dress code of women in particular took a different path due to such changes. It began with the war against colonization, for example, the American Civil War, which saw hundreds of thousands of men leave their positions in society for the battlefields. Many of them died. Due to this occurrence, women had to fill in the positions left behind by men. Women stepped up and took over occupations that they could not be allowed to explore before the war. The job positions acquired women some power and freedom due to the financial gains and even the exposure of finally getting out of their homes. It was, however, until the 20th century that women began to experience real change. With the rise of the women’s rights movement, women did not only fight for political rights but also the freedom of dressing. For instance, the wearing of pants by women in public was not acceptable until the mid-1900s.
The relationship between fashion and social status did not just change for women but for the entire society. The two centuries also witnessed great economic development and wealth accumulation due to industrialization. Clothes became easy to produce, and therefore even those with not much wealth were able to access quality clothing. Fashion, therefore, became less effective in defining the socio-economic status of individuals in the 19th and 20th centuries. Other reasons separating the sense of fashion between different social groups, however, came up. For example, in the second half of the 20th century, major changes were witnessed in the music industry, which became highly influential. Rock, jazz, and hip-hop music was inspiring people to adopt certain fashions.
The 21st Century
In the 21st century, people are more concerned with their identity as individuals rather than an association with a certain social class. Nowadays people dress to express their lifestyle, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic background, fanaticism, for example, for soccer or a certain music genre, or support for ideologies such as environmentalism. With issues such as the rights of the LGBTQ community being on the rise, gender is no longer defined by dressing styles. Women now wear suits, trousers, and shirts that were formerly identified as men’s clothing. Men wear blouses and carry handbags. People are now more concerned about comfortability and freedom to make choices concerning one’s life, as long as they do not affect others. Even office clothes have relaxed from the strict official looks of the 1900s. People can now wear miniskirts, khaki trousers, and polo t-shirts to work. The new business culture is more concerned with the comfortability of the employees and the friendliness of the work environment than before.
While humankind mostly thought of wealth accumulation as the ultimate definition of success in the past days, the thought is changing in the contemporary world. A person wearing an uncomfortable expensive outfit will not be looked up to due to the high prices of their dress. There is an emerging new social classification in the contemporary world. It is based on the happiness of an individual, which is now considered the ultimate goal of human life. Those who have achieved happiness are considered successful. If a social hierarchy was to be established, those who have achieved total freedom would be at the top. Their clothing would therefore not be defined by prices, but rather by the comfortability and the representation of their identities and world views. Those still wearing certain clothing not by choice but rather because of oppressions such as religious and cultural bonds would be at the lowest rank of the new social hierarchy.
Despite all that, socio-economic status still continues to manifest itself in the fashion style of the people in the 21st century. Some people still purchase ridiculously pricey clothes just to be associated with the high class. On the contrary, however, some wealthy people still wear ordinary clothes, and that does not lower their social status. That means that although fashion can make one look, high class, it is not entirely what defines the social status of an individual, especially in the contemporary world. People nowadays gain respect for what they do to make the world a better place. The most honored persons in modern history are mostly those whose life achievements were humanitarian, for example, Mother Teresa, Barack Obama, Beyoncé, and the like. Although they might have worn expensive clothes, their rank at the top of the social hierarchy is based on their contribution to humanity. A concern is, however, raised when such people dress as if to undermine the rights and freedoms of others. That is now termed as low—for example, a celebrity wearing the label of a racist cloth-line owner.
Conclusion
Human history is rich in changes that have affected every aspect of human society. The fashion and social class aspects are no exemption. Over time, the factors that place one in a certain social class keep changing. The definition of high-class or low-class dressing, therefore, keeps changing as well. Social class divisions are no longer based on gender, economic status, or one’s type of occupation, nor on fashion. People who enjoy economic, cultural, and personal freedom are now considered the most successful and can therefore be ranked at the top of the new social hierarchy. Such people have the freedom to choose their clothes based on their comfort, identity, and ideologies. That is contemporary high-class dressing.
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