Sean Dollete

Integrative Seminar 2: Fashion

Professor Eric Wilson

29 January 2016

The Principles of Psychology

Response to William James

 

“The old saying that the human body is composed of three parts – soul, body, and clothes – is more than a joke.” (James) Materialism has become so prominent with the rise of the obsession of owning meaningless things like the latest $2000 Yeezy Boost 350’s by Adidas which is simply just the most underwhelming, basic pair of beige sneakers. The author, William James, recognizes this obsession, beginning the passage with a sarcastic, “ The body is the innermost part of the material Self  in each of us; …”(James) displaying that the “material self” is now it’s own entity versus being just a part of an individual’s persona. Materialism correlates with fashion because when materialism increases, so does fashion. However, what people don’t see is that when materialism and fashion increases, style decreases. Fashion deals with the external; the relationship between what’s out in stores to what people are wearing. Fashion is when people ask themselves,” Does what I am wearing match what’s out there?”. Many people find themselves pondering that question because there is a perception that what is selling in stores and what the mannequins are donning on store front windows are what “fashion” is. This also goes hand in hand with the rise of technology and social media, and how that goes hand in hand with the obsession of the self and how the external is presented through “selfies”. On the opposite of the spectrum, people are forgetting about the essence of fashion and what truly matters: style. Style discusses the relationship with the internal. It’s all about the sense of self, identity, the perception of an individual. Style is when people ask themselves, “ Does what I’m wearing match with who I am as a person?”. Fashion distracts and takes away the focus from the individual where style puts the individual in the spotlight.

 

William James then proceeds to discuss that there is an impulse built into our systems that propel us to “collect property” or buy materials. Those materials, especially clothing, then become a part of ourselves. They are embedded into our lives and become so much of us because they help project our identities and personalities. Clothes say a lot about a person. It is a form of an individual’s self expression. Some choose to project themselves through the way they dress versus projecting it in words. Materials that are closest to us are those usually deemed “worth the wait” or “it took 6 months of saving and now it’s finally mine.”(James) “The parts of our wealth most intimately ours are those which are saturated with our labor.” William James emphasizes that the items that usually aren’t easily attainable and that require a period of time before actually acquiring them due to lack of finances are the ones that we as humans hold near and dear to us. Personally, if I see something I want that I can’t get because I can’t afford it, I will work harder and more hours to save up money to get it. As an added bonus, it comes with a sense of pride and accomplishment to have something knowing that you worked really hard to possess it. It’s this feeling of overcoming something and reaching a goal that provides us a special sense of satisfaction and bliss that is incomparable to any other feeling.