The below quotes are the aphorisms from Christopher Breward’s Fashion Studies that I chose to investigate this week:
(1) “Fashion can be about confirmation, of self and others. But it is also about anxiety, ambiguity and worry. As an aid to understanding psychological complexities it is unsurpassed.”
(2) “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.
In quote (1), Breward addresses the psychology of fashion, and what it is able to display about a person. Fashion is a way of showing who someone is to themselves and to others. This is a complex process though as what is chosen to be displayed isn’t alway the truth, rather what one wants the outside world to perceive. This becomes a unique perspective as by studying what one wants others to see, it brings into question what causes this false representation. This false representation is key in discovering the true anxiety and deeper insecurities of a subject.
As a whole, and as I understand this quote, I would say I agree with it. With that being said I don’t believe that the core of fashion is covering ones “anxiety, ambiguity and worry”. I do think that a lot about a person can be learned by what they choose/don’t choose to wear. This is interesting to me as I never thought about the “psychological complexities” that can be monitored by something as mundane as what someone chooses to wear on a daily basis. However, I think the fact that it is something so routine that gives it more complexity.
I felt the most connection with the quote (2). I feel that fashion at its purest is meant to be a personal narrative of your past present and future. A celebration of what you’ve done, are doing, and where your ambitions lead. To me that is an empowering idea, to me that is why I love fashion. The last couple words of the aphorism say “… and futures foretold”. This reminds me of a popular phrase “dress for the job you want, not the job you have”. To me, the connection between these to phrases is the control and confidence fashion is able to give you over a situation. A reminder that how you dress matters and is crucial in shaping your mindset about where your at and where your going.
