At the beginning of this semester, my interpretation of the word fashion was too wide, but now I realized that I cannot define what fashion is.

According to a book by Susan Kaiser, “Fashion is never finished, and it crosses all kinds of boundaries” (Kaiser, 2012, 1). Now I really agree with this quote. Fashion is in a state of flux and fashion is a major part of any society. Also, fashion is the mirror of what society likes and is thinking. Fashion is constantly changing and the latest fashion is disseminated among people very quickly and designers are at the very center of the conflict. After taking Intro to Fashion Studies class, I took great pride in my work and I realized that I am in the middle of the change.

Through this assignment, I finally realized how I like black and bags which are made by leather. My major is bag design, so I always use leather in my class when I create new bags by myself. In the class, professors teach students about the leather and some advantages of leather, so I think this is why I buy bags without noticing the fact that I buy leather bags pretty often. Having a leather bag is really good because this will last for years of constant use. When I go to school, I usually wear black big bags which I can put a lot of things inside of the bags. Light and strong bag is the best choice when I go to school. Also, black backpack is very convenient when it rains because I can easily walking with an umbrella. On the other hand, in my no class day, I carry a little bit light and colorful patterned bag. It is refreshing to carry this gorgeous light bag.

When it comes to choosing a bag for the day, I tend to think, “Where am I going?”

When I go to school, I pick a large and convenient bag.
On a no school days, carrying a pretty and small bag is preferred.
When I go to church, I tend to pick a neat and neutral color of bag.

According to the book by Susan Kaiser, “Time and space are both abstract concepts and contexts: the process of deciphering and expressing a sense of who we are (becoming) happens in tandem with deciphering and expressing when and where we are.” (Kaiser 2012, 1). I like this quote a lot. I believe that there is a time and a place for everything.

‘H&M New Autumn Collection 2016’

https://youtu.be/8-RY6fWVrQ0

There are some common stereotypes about women. When most people portray women, the people usually use some words, “cute”, “feminine” and “friendly”. Even though I am a woman, when it comes to describing women, I do tend to use similar words. A society was too rigid to apply that stereotype to a woman but things are changing and we have to get rid of “the image of a woman” stereotype. According to the book by Susan Kaiser, “Gender is socially constructed and culturally created and represented” (Kaiser 2012, 127).

I want to talk about one of the most biggest fashion brands, H&M asks us what it means to be “ladylike”. The campaign, directed by Gustav Johnston makes people to think about the question and they also try to break down the walls of prejudice. The video is set to a remake of Tom Jones’ 1971 hit “She’s A Lady,” by Lion Babe. The video displayed the perfect fusion of Image and sound go perfectly together here. In the video, there are some women who help me to throw out the prejudice.

A woman who had her hair shaved just like a man
A woman who does not shave her armpits
A woman who has a muscular body

I could see what the fashion brand wants to talk about through the video. It was interesting that H&M one of the most powerful influencers in fashion, created this campaign, which accepts the diversity of meaning about women.

intersectionality-map_yun-jung-choi     <——- Click!

FOREWORD

Christopher Breward

Week 1. Explain what each of the two aphorisms means (in your own words) and explain why you agree or disagree with them.

Fashion is intensely personal, in the same way that poetry is intensely personal. It is a medium through which personal stories can be told, memories re-lived and futures foretold.

-This aphorism means that fashion is strongly personal. We can guess other people’s personalities and preferences through their looks. Also, sometimes people express how they feel each day through their outfits. One study shows that people who often feel down prefer wearing dark clothes than lighter while people who are drawn to the color red are likely to be outgoing, cheerful and impulsive.

 Fashion does not define. It is instead a term that demands definition.

-The aphorism means that people cannot say what fashion is exactly. I strongly agree with this aphorism because “fashion” cannot be described in one word. For example, I believe that fashion is to me a way of expressing who I am. If there are one hundred people, they have one hundred different answers about what fashion is. In the world, we all have all different ideas and point of views.