Style – Does it Need to Be Present in Every Clothing?

Fashion is a mode of individuality and autonomy in a certain period and context and in a certain cultural milieu, of fashion, footwear, clothing, cosmetics, hairstyles, body language, and attitude. In its broader usage, the word simply implies a style defined by the fashion industry that what is popular at the moment. However, it also covers an array of practices associated with dressmaking, where designers, manufacturers, and retailers try to influence the culture, by creating new styles or responding to current ones. The way in which these practices influence dressing is often discussed within fashion studies, with scholars comparing the way the culture is represented by popular culture, how individuals interpret and respond to it, and how the fashion industries themselves shape and react to it.

How do we view fashion? How do we see fashion industry? Within a culture, the fashion industry shapes who is considered beautiful, and who does not, through what they wear, how they dress, what they are told to do, and how they relate to others. Fashion has been shaped over centuries and through the work of artists, craftsmen, and advertisers, as well as by people who just like to wear them, as in the case of fast fashion. It has always been about influencing the culture through what is visible to the eye.

What is popular today? In the United States, popular fashion is a term referring to fashions that are popular among a group of people who generally do not identify with any other group. They may share some common characteristics, but their differences lie in the ways in which they dress, in the types of materials and/or embellishments used in their clothing, in the ways in which they present their appearance, in the meanings they ascribe to words such as “hot” or “ugly,” and in the cultural roles they fill. Popularity can be short lived in many instances. A trend may be seen as fashionable for a season, before fading into irrelevancy. Thus, trends can be considered as a short lived phenomenon in fashion.

When people go into the stores and look at the available clothing options, they want to buy something that is not only fashionable, but also that fits their body type and that they would like to wear. To get the best deal on clothing, a shopper searches the stores for the clothing style she prefers, one that will flatter her body, accent her curves, and complement her facial features. This is not easy. Not all clothes fit everyone and not all bodies look good in the same types of clothing. Yet, it is important to purchase clothes that make you feel good and look your best.

High fashion is the art of taking clothes that already exist in the market and making them better. People who belong to the high fashion world either create new clothes from scratch or they simply adopt an existing outfit and give it a new spin. High fashion designers usually create clothes for women, but they also create attire for men. One can say that high fashion is basically women’s fashion dressed up for men.

Another question that often arises is how fashion must exist without style. After all, the purpose of dressing is to look good and to be complimented. Dressing to please and looking good often takes precedence over how the clothing looks. Thus, it is safe to say that style is not an element that must be present in every piece of clothing that is put out on the market.