Language, Fashion, or Consumption at Different Stages of Life - Essay Example

Essay Indicate how at different stages of your life you have used language and/or fashion/consumption to construct your identity and the effects of that construction (in terms of context and audience reception). Fashion is a cultural phenomenon concerned with symbols and meanings adding up to instantaneous mode of immediate visual communication. Fashion is a sensitive phenomenon in postmodern consumer society. Today, fashion is growing and changing at an unpredictable and exponential rate than before. This has led to fierce competition in life, social and gender identities. The pressure for every individual to find a place and voice in society has led to changing and production of complex fashions. Fashion is vital in construction of one’s identity, especially in cosmopolitan environments like in cities where there is a lot of mingling with different cultures, and one has limited moments to impress them (Bennett, 96). When I was below ten years, I did never used to care about my outlook. As I grew older, I began admiring my age mates who were sensitive on matters of fashion. For instance, I had a friend by the name Julie. She was always neatly and smartly dressed. I guess she used to dress this way because she had elder sisters whom she looked up for in dressing. I began to realize that whenever we went to social places, Julie was given a lot of intention while I was given less intention, especially from members of the opposite sex. At first I felt jealous and resorted to abandoning Julie’s friendship. I hooked myself with yet another friend by the name Liz. Liz was not different from Julie in terms of fashion trends. The same trend of my friendship with Julie recurred with Liz. This time I resorted to focusing on the cause of the problem. After careful evaluation, I discovered that fashion makes statements about people’s identities. I decided to change my hairstyles, wardrobe; ranging from clothes, accessories and other physical items to match the modern fashion. Within two months, I was able to notice a difference in my socialization with other people. I started getting a lot of attention from people, especially those of opposite sex. I discovered that even my self esteem had gone up as compared to before. Previously I could rarely walk into any social place comfortably, but since the change of my fashion, I could confidently walk into social places like clubs, I could enter public offices comfortable and express my self confidently whenever there was need and even my academic performance improved drastically. Clothing not only portrays fashion, but it also portrays protection, practicality, and functionality. It is important for one to dress according to the occasion. There are a lot of immediate assumptions drawn up about one’s identity through mere dress code. One’s dressing defines his nationality; their economic position, their social class and one’s age among other gender characteristics. Thus, fashion is about identity. Identity is the social representation that goes beyond the relationship between an individual and the social world. Today, I am 16 years old and in high school. My fashion trend is totally transformed as compared to five years ago. I like reading literature on fashion trends to update myself on latest fashion. I always try my best to change my fashion to match current trends despite the financial costs involved. I have also been of great help to my close friends on fashion consultancy. During my holidays, I do fashion consultancy where I fetch money to pay my school fees as well as for my upkeep. People have different reasons for the need to express their identity. These ideas revolve around ethnicity, sexual orientation, economic class, age, race, individualism, recreation, and social status among others. With my creative use of fashion, I have been able to confirm and subvert the above facets about my identity. Consequently, I have been able to transmit my cultural coded visual messages. I concur with Bennett (111) that the fashioned body literalizes the character of the wearer, his or her sexual preference, educational achievement, taste and economic status among other fundamentals. I have significantly emphasized my sex and gender, which have consequently defined my fashion and identity. Through my regular change of fashion, I am defined as female. According to Bennett (117), women’s fashions change frequently from season as compared to men’s fashion, which changes mush lesser from one season to another. My feminine nature defines me as a fashionable consumer and passive sex as compared to masculine figures who are culturally constructed as producers of the society’s active sex. My fashion has embraced function and practicality, which has creates an important aesthetic appeal and design of my feminine nature. I am distinguished from male personality because men’s fashions have a lot to do with functionality and practicality instead of aesthetic appeal as females. This allows the male personnel to work towards the fulfillment of their duties as breadwinners. Today, my fashion and clothing have been instrumental in my socialization process into my proper sexual and gender roles (Bennett 121). Fashion has taught me what is and what is not socially acceptable. The major benefit I have gained for fashionable construction of myself is self confidence and self esteem. Both of these have been very important to my health and general welfare. My every day looking good has always made me feel good and appreciate myself. My boost in confidence has also been vital when dressing for success, especially when attending interviews and business meetings. For instance, I am a fashion consultant; I have to be the reflection of my clients through my fashion construction. Self confidence gained through fashionable dressing has often helped me to make good impressions to both my clients and friends. Every day I dress for success whether I am going to my business, school or staying indoors. I do not do it to impress anyone, but I do it because it is the right thing to do. In addition, I have made it a routine in my life. My desire is to always add my self esteem, self confidence and put myself in the position for success. I believe this is only achievable through fashionable construction of self. I recommend that everyone who feels like dressing for success should go a head and do so. Works Cited Bennett, Zelner. Fashion provides one of the most ready means through which individuals can make expressive visual statements about their identities: Culture and Everyday Life. London: Sage, 2005. Print. Read More