Research Project: Fashion Trends
I can say the most important things I want people to know are that the fashion trends of today’s teens in America has changed in some ways, but have also stayed the same when compared to the trends of my parents teenage year. There has been a big boom in body modification throughout the years that may be caused by society judging individuals harsher by what their appearance is and the want to stand out. Finally, “old school” fashions such as skinny jeans and leather jackets have come back to become a trend, but the difference now is that young adults are wearing these cloths in a different manner to give off a different message.
Deborah Tannen wrote "Marked Women, Unmarked Men", showing the reality that appearance and "trendiness" matters. Deborah observes, "If a woman's clothing is tight or revealing (in other words, sexy), it sends a message -- an intended one of wanting to be attractive, but also a possibly unintended one of availability." This ties in with my idea that women have so much pressure on them and they want to fit in so they look to wear the latest trends and have the latest procedures done to impress.
Deborah's "Marked Women, Unmarked Men":
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/tannend/nyt062093.htm
Comments
i see all the time how my
i see all the time how my parents styles are coming back but in what ways are we wearing them different? and what messages are we trying to send now that are different from in our parents ages? With body modification are you mostly addressing tattoos or other things as well? I agree with everything you are saying though. this is an interesting topic.
Nicole, I think the ways
Nicole,
I think the ways that today's teenagers and young adults are wearing the trends of the 1960's (my parents decade) are more scandalous and revealing. Especially with girls, the skirts are shorter and the neck line on shirts has dropped. With this being said, i think the message that many teens (especially girls) are portraying is that they are "advertising" to boys. The boys of today are also sending messages to the girls by wearing tighter shirts to show off their muscles. With regards to body modification, I am focusing on three main subcategories: Piercings, Tattooing, and Plastic Surgery. I think all three of these are very relevant to today's society and the need to be "perfect", which was not seen in the 60's where lashing out and having self expression had just begun. Thank you for commenting on my post because it helps me add information to my paper that i may not have and it adds a second opinion.
Fashion Trends
Nina,
I think your topic of modern fashion trends is an interesting topic to research. Have you asked your parent if they felt the meaning of fashion has changed? For example, did teenage girls wear tight and revealing clothes when your mom was a teenage to appear sexy? Did your dad wear a leather jacket to be on of the "cool" kids? I agree that women are more affected then men by fashion trends because they are the ones who are expected to stay up with it. Are there any studies done or articles you've found that say how men feel about staying up to date with the fashion trends? I expect men not to feel as great of pressure to stay trendy but I'm sure there are some guys that do feel some pressure no matter what to dress to impress.
Also, when you say some trends have stayed the same, do you mean the skinny jeans and leather jackets are still in style? Or is it the constant pressure the current trends put on people that has stayed the same?
Olivia
Fashion Forward
Nina,
I really appreciated your post. I too find that modern society is focused on body image and appearance, especially in clothes. If I don't wear a certain outfit or something that people may not find "nice" I feel judged. Which happens often since I love a good pair of sweats.
I really liked this quote you put in. "If a woman's clothing is tight or revealing (in other words, sexy), it sends a message..." I absolutely agree with that. It is seen all the time on television and ads of clothes trying to give a certain message. I don't necessarily agree with certain clothes and I do think that there is a certain time and place for them to be worn, but a lot of times people are judged for what they are wearing even if it is somewhat tight.
I look forward to reading more from you!
Sydney