...surgery and other regimes. This includes the rigors of shopping in search of the ultimate garb.The Need for Tribal BelongingOur reluctance to give ourselves a regular makeover through diet, exercise, and consistently conscious use of specific dress styles infers that e have the personality flas of a eak illed human. e become in the eyes of fashion aficionados somehat inadequate and imperfect in the fashion stakes. Thus e strive to keep a culturally satisfying appearance so that e feel better, hereas in fact e are striving to stay in the tribe, hatever type of tribe that may be.Group affiliation is our prime concern ith regard to fashion. As long as some group similarity is identified ithin the group, our personal fashion hether current or dated can belong to any tribe. It is the sense of belonging marked by ho e fashion ourselves that gives us the tribal connection. RlesAn innate characteristic of human beings is the desire to strive for differentiation. The removal of Sumptuary Las and rigid dress codes has enabled the individual to use fashion as a means to identify clearly the many different rles that a person plays in any one day.Sociologists borroed the ord rle from the theatre because, like actors individuals play many parts and each part has to be learnt. Rles are continually learned and rehearsed and relearned. They are also shared, because like the actors on a stage, fluid interaction only occurs if all the performers kno the behaviour expected.Class StratificationThe Edardians ere experts in the art of rle play. They had had sufficient time to readjust to the ne patterns of behaviour established by the Victorians.The Edardians ere socially stratified into those ho ore tailor made clothing don to those ho ore other peoples cast offs. The poor simply looked poor, because their raiment betrayed them. hilst the rich and nouveau riche displayed their ealth through an iconography of signs and symbols that enhanced their body image in the eyes of those that sa themselves as socially inferior. Rle SetRles and activities are closely linked to hat people ear. People are affected by their rle-set, hich includes boyfriends, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, friends, husbands, lovers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, relatives, employers, customers, clients, ork mates, business colleagues, peer and age groups.The people ith hom a purchaser interacts affects the final purchase and this applies to any fashion dominated item from interior furnishings to choice of cars. Likeise the purchase of fashionable clothes, fabrics, or accessories becomes a visual currency and speaks volumes silently. The tools of fashion provide the signs and symbolism that function as an information service for the rle-set. People are so aare that others make judgements about them through their clothes and accessories that many run up huge debts to appear to belong to a particular lifestyle. Frequently the rest of their rle-set are doing likeise. Members of the rle-set often encourage them. Only individuals ith a strong sense of self identity stick their necks out and admit to earing items that others might consider dubious or pass.Occupation, Status and Purpose of ClothingThose ith high status occupations ill ear the clothes they think others expect them to ear. They ill not ish to experience rle conflict by earing the incorrect clothing. It is from the clothes a person ears that e get our first impression of personality. They provide mental clues to a persons status and occupational rle, as ell as being a means of conforming to peer group expectations. Clothes also have the utilitarian function of providing both protection from the extremes of the elements, keeping us arm or cool or safe. They also act as an aid to modesty or immodesty as the earer so desires.The state of a persons clothes is synonymous ith self respect and is a sign of respectability. It also adds another sign that the person has sufficient status in society to maintain at the cost of time and money, laundering, dry cleaning and repair. To be respectable some expense has to be incurred in the maintenance of cleanliness and neatness.Veblens The Theory of the Leisure ClassThorstein Veblen the US economist ho rote the book The Theory Of The Leisure Class in 1899 maintained that Dressing for status as an outard expression of ealth is indeed functional, by the very fact that such clothes prevent the earer from engaging in manual labour. Also because of their restrictive design they need the assistance of others to dress the earer and keep clothes in pristine condition.Veblen devoted a hole chapter of his book to Dress As An expression Of The Pecuniary Culture. He rote ...our apparel is alays in evidence and affords an indication of our pecuniary standing to all observers at first glance...dress, therefore, in order to serve its purpose effectively should not only be expensive, but it should also make plain to all observers that the earer is not engaged in any kind of productive labour...Foremost in Veblens mind must have been the fashions of the 1890s a decade that gradually favoured increasing conspicuous consumption by the rich. A century later the vogue for poer dressing in the 1980s sa excessive indulgence and conspicuous consumption in fashion. Fashionable behaviour as the epitome of conspicuous aste, but the purest form of relief in a stressed, angst ridden society.Status SymbolsOne of the most favoured forms of semiotic distinction is fashion, because fashionable clothes, accessories and body adornment are easy for others to observe at glance. Incidental items, particularly branded specific handbags footear, jeellery, accessories and ne hairstyles act also as important status symbols.First - a fashion is approved by others.Then - it is copied because of competition.Finally - it is replaced as it becomes commonplace and has ceased to fulfill its function of being distinctive.The status fashion can be anything from a particular jeel such as solitaire diamond stud earrings or the latest fad for long drop gold earrings to a brand logo pair of jeans in a particular style and colour. The ability to decode trends that are not deliberate and obvious is limited to a small group ho adopt consumer items early.HYPERLINK http.qksrv.netclick-1259693-3216122 earing a UniformSome people instinctively kno ho to appear respectable to the majority through their clothing. Others are less obviously successful in attaining consistently reliable grooming. The rise of the Corporate Uniform adopted by banks and similar institutions in the 1980s reinforced poer dressing. It indicated ho important the uniform is as a means of distinguishing one person from another instantly. Uniforms provide us ith mental clues.Occupational Uniformearing an occupational uniform puts an employee in the position of being a visual metaphor. e learn quickly to associate different uniforms ith different rle conceptions and different rle expectations. e connect the policeman or...
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