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Animal print fashion, does it make your roar?
Animal print fashion has been around since the early 1930s, but this was before it was “fashionable”. It was a sign of virtue. The ownership of animal print throughout the home represented high social status. With some hunters believing they could gain the power of the animal from the respective print. Presenting the ideology that wearing cheetah skin could make your speed similar to a cheetah’s seems slightly ludicrous. Nowadays, the general consensus is that this is not true. But this has not stopped people wearing it and demand is still prevalent. But does our choice of animal print fashion offer “powerful” and “sexy” connotations in the eyes of society?…
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Do we buy designer clothes to boost our self esteem?
Designer products. We all rely on fashion to show our identities and what we enjoy. We can feel a sense of acceptance and have positive or negative reactions from others, when wearing certain clothes. Mostly all of us love designer products, and idolise new collections from top fashion designers. Designers all over the world have captivated most of the population with their exclusive products. Clothing, jewellery and a range of accessories – we all want the latest thing! Although, what do these products give to us emotionally and financially? Quality or quantity? 14 million tons of clothes are chucked a year. Maybe more. And this has doubled since the early…
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Should we ditch the work uniform?
The debate surrounding work uniforms is an ongoing battle. There are pros and cons for each side of the argument, but will we ever reach an agreement? When it comes to the creative industries, like fashion, built on self expression and individuality, can and should bosses dictate what workers wear? The Icons of Uniform Dressing “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society” – Mark Twain Some of the most successful people swear by a uniform. Steve Jobs, Karl Lagerfeld, and Vera Wang are just a few of the individuals opting for a work ‘uniform’. Along with creating Facebook and becoming one of the youngest…
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The World Explained In Color
Do you ever find yourself wanting to wear a certain color as soon as you wake up? Are you ever affected by a colleague at work wearing a bright hue like red? Or do you consider yourself totally impartial to color, much like Andy Sachs is to cerulean blue from the movie The Devil Wears Prada? According to an overwhelming array of psychological studies, we are all affected by the color we choose to wear in addition to how we perceive others. There are even socially accepted colors to wear to a wedding, funeral or a job interview. And how we choose to interpret those social norms is a reflection upon…
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A Hairy Situation: The History and Modern Tropes of the Hairy Woman
By Madalena Juma It’s lockdown. Naturally, you might have let things go. You’re eating whatever the heck you want. Maybe not exercising as much. You don’t have the pressures of the outside world looking in so maybe you forego your shaving/waxing routines. Who’s going to see? Time passes, and now you can’t remember when you last shaved. Suddenly- you are aware. Aware of all the… foliage growing. You panic. May even go into a mini crisis. Women aren’t meant to be so hairy, surely?? What you see before you isn’t shown in the media… Even adverts for female razors (bar one or two- check out Project Body Hair by Billie!)…
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Fashion Marketing and Negative Body Image: From Love Island to Photoshop…
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of fashion – without it, the products wouldn’t sell! The fashion market is extremely competitive, with new youth-targeted fashion brands constantly launching online with the biggest challenge being to stand out. As a result, brands are looking for new ways to engage their target audience through more creative advertising techniques, however these are not always positive in the eyes of the consumer, leaving us feeling inadequate when it comes to our body image. Love Island is a huge marketing success story Why do marketers care about Love Island? Around 58% of viewers are female More than 50% viewers are ages 16 and 34 (also known as…
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Does Clothing Size Impact Our Self-Esteem?
Does size matter? Every item of clothing has its own label with the sizing of the garment, there are a number of standard sizing systems around the world for various garments such as tops, dresses and trousers. Clothing size should not be an issue to anyone, size does not matter but in the fashion industry size and body image is an issue. I must admit I was one for trying to fit into size 8 and 10 clothes and refusing to go into a size 12 as it affected my self-esteem. Body image Body image plays a major role in the fashion industry such as on catwalks, fashion weeks and…
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Body Neutrality: the Freeing Mindset?
Our toxic, image-based society teaches women to value themselves and others in terms of kilograms and pounds. Shouldn’t we work towards finding peace with our body, without the Instagram standards of beauty looming over our consciousness? Body neutrality is a middle ground between the pressures of body-hate and body positivity. A newer, progressive stride towards inclusivity, it moves the mental energy away from body consciousness and self-criticism to reach a personal harmony. But is it a workable ideal? Body Positivity & the cycle of self-Sabotage Body positivity seemed like the answer to the immense pressure of finding self-worth in appearance. It existed within a ‘Fat Acceptance’ movement that accelerated with…
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Will Our Lives Ever Be Not Filtered?
Do fashion brands and magazines think about the impact of using the same size models? Do they consider the effect this has upon teenagers and young adults? Why is Photoshop used to remove natural imperfections that make us who we are? In almost all magazines there is some sort of diet recommendations for those wishing to lose weight, however, do you see many about gaining weight? Social media and photoshopping ‘imperfections’ There are many teenagers/young adults who aspire to look like Victoria’s Secret models, the models for fashion brands or more commonly nowadays social media influencers. Not all are aware models bodies undergo Photoshop to be made as the ‘perfect’…
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Learn how to embrace yourself and be body positive
Through this article I want to share more about how we can use fashion to cultivate a positive body image and learn to be proud and embrace your own skin (if you don’t already). This issue is not confined to women, I will also touch more on the topic of men and their body image and share some tips we can all implement to spread more body positivity. We are all unique, let’s celebrate our uniqueness. Enjoy! Body image In 2019, one in five UK adults felt shame because of their body image. For me, that is quite troubling. Body image is how we think and feel about ourselves physically,…
