Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Lubaba Abbas Kazmi
Brittany Dickinson
Fashion and Culture
Why Fashion Matters by Frances Corner
Page 45
28 Trendsetter, Trendshirker
For most people fashion is a form of self-expression or painting an image for the world that tell more about you than anything else. The style of dress can be a visual manifestation of where we stand, according to our culture, emotions, politics and history. However, it can also be seen as a social norm. For example, a woman wearing a hijab is identifying herself as soon who adheres to religious and cultural norms. But this however could also be a judgmental assumption. My friend from Parsons once asked me to model for him as he created a barcode shawl for immigrants. He asked me to do my everyday makeup and told me that I have a very “Pakistani look”. While reading this passage from the book, I thought about how I dress also communicated this to him without words.
My mother always used to say, “adopt to the vicinity, blend in as part of it”. When I travel to countries like Iran and Iraq for religious pilgrimage, I wear a black abaya which covers the woman from head to toe. When I’m in Pakistan I wear anything, I want to but limiting the skin I can show even on hot summer days when the temperature goes up to 45 degrees Celsius.
Fashion for me can also be a drug-free boost at times that could make a terrible day seem lighter. Fashion trends come and go. Different societies interpret them in different ways. Some people would like to try all the new trends while some restrict themselves to their own styles, some would also try new trends and reincorporate them in their style.
