(EXCERPT FROM) THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY

BY WILLIAM JAMES

            In our excerpt from The Principles of Psychology, William James proposes that “The old saying that the human person is composed of three parts – the soul, body and clothes – is more than a joke.” [1] At first, I found this concept self-indulgent. But as I began to think about this idea, I realized that no matter your relationship to fashion, all people wear clothing. As a result, we all experience clothing as an extension of our own bodies. This is something that many people are in denial of. It is relevant to everyone in some way. Even if someone hates fashion and dress for comfort, that is an extension of their personality. If they were to dress uncomfortably they wouldn’t feel as if they were being true to their own desires.

James goes on to prove that “… if asked to choose between having a beautiful body clad in raiment perpetually shabby and unclean, and having an ugly and blemished form always spotlessly attired, would not hesitate a moment before making a decisive reply.” 1 I have never heard of this concept before but immediately when I read it, I chose the second answer, which I think shocked me a bit. This is a strange and loaded idea of human concepts of cleanliness and beauty. It seems that we have an emotional relationship beyond clothing that goes beyond how we want to present ourselves, and delves into the objects themselves. James describes it as “An equally instinctive impulse drives us to collect property; and the collections thus made become, with different degrees of intimacy… saturated with our labor”1 I think this interpretation is brilliant and still extremely relevant. It is the perfect description of why we feel a relationship with objects and leaves the concept without argument. This article just reaches the surface of an extremely complex concept of human nature and the role that fashion plays.

 

1 James, William. The principles of psychology. New York: Henry Holt, 1890, Vol. I, pp. 292-293.