An Essay on how Dress and Appearance are impacted by the Society

There exists a strong inseparable correlation between dressing, identity and culture. However, modernity is fast changing the clothing and the fashion industry as people are spreading throughout the world embracing different cultures with different clothing as well. The fashion industry has evolved from the 18^th century with the introduction of the media marketing on fashions and introduction of different coloring styles. In the 20^th century, the industry advanced further and magazines were introduced in the fashion industry for marketing purposes. Appearance also changed significantly with the real bodies personified in various styles. The 21^st century the fashion industry is changing drastically with the internet marketing and emergence of new designs with social, cultural and gender influence. People have turned to the social media from the tradition magazines for the latest trends and information on the emerging styles on the fashion industry. Clothing styles are also influenced by the social events in which the wearer is attending, for instance, the partying clothes are different from the official clothes and there communicate the event an individual is most likely attending  (Durmaz, 2014).

The fashion and clothing has played a significant role in the evolution of gender through what is considered feminine and masculine with development of various clothes styles.  The media has a special place in this evolution through marketing and advertising especially on how it associates a certain style with one gender and not the other. For instance, in the 19^th century, jeans were more likely to be associated with the male gender than they are likely today.  Although the line between the male and the female clothing is still maintained today, the evolution of unisex styles that are worn by both genders have slowly eliminating the gender boundary in clothing. The dressing reflects an individual’s taste and perceptions and therefore represents the body in the interactions with the outside world. It therefore communicates the social economic status, life status and the circumstances through which an individual’s wishes to represent himself/herself. The clothing therefore is significant in communication the social identity in the w ay the individual would like to appear in the society. Similarly, clothing in the male gender reflects the concentration of power and emphasis on the prestige of an individual (Arvanitidou& Gasouka, 2012).

In addition to gender and appearance, culture is also evolving concerning the clothing industry.  For instance, the Chinese culture had their own specific dressing that was associated with individuals of different status and gender, however, currently clothing in the Chinese culture has been widely influenced by the western culture and this is completely changing its fashion industry. Fashion is product of culture and demonstrates in various forms the concerns of the society. This role of culture in fashion is fast changing with modernity as people embrace new emerging fashions that are not culture based. This is the case of change in fashion in the Chinese culture as the conservative traditional clothing is kept aside and people turn to the less conservative modern clothing styles. Traditionally, the Chinese clothing communicated the status of an individual in the society. Such details are not emphasized in the modern form of clothing as people have embraced a more western form of dressing that is entirely different from the traditional Chinese style (Wang, 2005). 

References:

Arvanitidou, Z., & Gasouka, M. (2012). Fashion, Gender and Social Identity. Retrieved from http://process.arts.ac.uk/sites/default/files/zoi-arvanitidou.pdf

Durmaz, L. (2014). The Role of Social Media in the Fashion Industry: How Fashion Blogging Encourages Two-Way Symmetrical Communication(Doctoral dissertation, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo).

Wang, X. (2005). CHANGING FACE: THE EVOLUTION OF CHINESE WOMEN’S DRESS AND APPEARANCE (Doctoral dissertation, Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Mass Communication in the Manship School of Mass Communication by Xiaolan Wang Master in Law, University of Science and Technology Beijing).