Learning Portfolio Post #1 (300-400 words total)
Choose any two of Christopher Breward’s aphorisms from his foreword to Fashion Studies, which you read in Week 1. Explain what each of the two aphorisms means (in your own words) and discuss which aspects of the aphorisms you agree and disagree with (and why).
1.“Fashion is not necessarily spectacular (though it often conforms to the theory of the society of the spectacle), it can also be demotic, ordinary, mundane, routine and humble. It is the stuff of the ethnographer and the anthropologist.”
When people think of fashion, they think of stunning, dazzling things like runway shows and supermodels or fashionable lifestyle that appeared on fashion magazines. However fashion is not only represent those glittering moments, it covers every aspect of the society and life and it differs from place to place, from person to person. Fashion could be mediocre and quiet and unglamorous.
I totally agree with the discussion of fashion’s appearance and attributes. Fashion lots of time is linked together with a glamours and fashionable image, from fashion icons to supermodels. It is a lot of time related with something new and cool. But we seldom noticed the uniforms we wear to go to school or the suit we wear at the office are also part of fashion. Even the ordinary clothing is differed from culture to culture, time to time. And they offered huge help when it comes to the anthropological and ethnographical research. In order to get out of the illusion of fashion, it is more important for us to learn fashion in a comprehensive and thorough perspective.
2. “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.”
Fashion is a way that people confirm their identities. But at the same time it can reflect the anxious, ambiguous and worrying part of people’s inner mind. As a result, fashion is a great approach to help understand psychological complexities.
I agree with the argument of fashion as a confirmation of people themselves. We can usually tell a person’s taste, job, and even personality by seeing one’s outfit. Since the outfit reveals a lot of information from its color, silhouette, textile, pattern. Picking and choosing the clothes we want also means we are creating an image of ourselves for appearing in the public. It is the image that how we want others to see us. So at this point, feelings like the anxiety of being accepted by others, the ambiguity of our own identity and the worry of looking not slim or cool could be revealed through fashion. For example, some people have the strong desire of carrying luxury bag, fine jewelry to make them look rich and prestigious.
