SS-16: Togas to Trends: Tracing the Evolution of Fashion and Self-Expression
Fashion is an art form beyond clothes; it serves as a means of communicating ideas, values, and aspirations.
Our attire acts as a medium through which we announce our story, showcasing who we are, what we stand for, and where we belong or aspire to belong in society. It is a unique form of expression that is more visceral and impressionistic than words on a page.
As Richard Thompson Ford, a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and author of Dress Codes—How the Laws of Fashion Made History, explains, fashion transforms our sense of self and shapes our understanding of our place in society—a concept known as "self-fashioning."
Clothing can alter our self-perception, influencing our learning, development, and sense of possibility. Essentially, we become what we dress for: our clothing trains us to inhabit specific social roles, instilling confidence or eroding courage, promoting good posture or inducing slouching, and offering comfort or causing discomfort.
Our clothing becomes part of our bodies, reflecting and shaping our personalities and helping us fit into various social roles - or making it hard to do so.
We don't just dress to impress others: our attire reflects our deepest commitments, aspirations, and sense of self. People often refer to a favorite item of clothing as a "signature"; what we choose to wear can be as personal as our name. Yet, we often take these most conspicuous elements of social standing and personal distinction for granted.
Fashion is a unique mode of expression that cannot be mirrored or conveyed through language or any other medium. While it does communicate messages, its significance surpasses literal meaning; it operates on a more visceral and impressionistic level than mere words can convey.
Let's explore some historical examples from Western culture to gain insight into the evolution of fashion and its impact on our choices today.
Before the introduction of tailoring, most elite European clothing was draped—such as the ancient Roman toga or the medieval gown or robe. Trousers were rare in the ancient world and were considered either the garb of laborers or exotic attire from Eastern civilizations like the Persians. According to historians Glenys Davies and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, "leg coverings, shaped to fit the waist and the legs were a distinctive feature of ‘barbarians’ according to Greek and Roman understanding."
During the early centuries and the Middle Ages (1100-1400), dressing was more about the role than individuality. If one was not part of the nobility, clergy, or royalty, their clothes were mainly functional, undistinguishable, and empty of symbolic meaning.
Up until the Renaissance, the church advocated for modesty, particularly regarding women's attire. It condemned the use of cosmetics, bright colors, or jewelry and advised women to veil themselves. Sumptuous dress codes were frowned upon.
In the 1300s and 1400s, many cities like Pisa and Milan mandated that female prostitutes wear bright colors and trimmings like ribbons as a sign of their profession. The intention was to distinguish them from honorable women. For example, in 1400, Florence prostitutes were required to announce their approach with bells attached to their hoods. Additionally, during the 1400s, Jewish women were mandated to wear earrings to signify their Jewish identity.
Joan of Arc was famously burned in 1431 for wearing men's clothes, deemed inappropriate for a woman. However, her conviction was later overturned in 1456 when it was realized she wore men's clothes out of necessity, not for perverse gratification. She was later beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920, becoming one of the earliest fashion icons.
During the Renaissance, fashion elevated clothing to a significant medium of visual expression.
New technologies, wealth, and people contributed to the emergence of fashion in the modern sense, characterized by its relentless pace and exhilarating creativity. Fashion not only transformed the body itself but also became intrinsically personal and unavoidably mobile, unlike other art forms like architecture, sculpture, music, and painting. It made a statement about the individual who wore it and moved with that individual, making fashion both seductive and difficult to control.
This era marked the dawn of individualism, with fashion as its chief propagandist.
A figure like Queen Elizabeth I (1574) was known for controlling dress codes and individuality. She defended the regulation of more prosaic (dull, ordinary) attire as a matter of national security. She insisted that expensive imports of textiles, furs, and finished garments upset the trade balance, aiming to maintain social hierarchy and preserve the elite's power. The reality was the more merchants could afford these clothes, the less power the monarchy could have.
In 1637, at the height of the Renaissance, Rene Descartes's 'I think, therefore I am' marked a significant shift, taking away control from the Crown and Church to the individual human consciousness. Figures such as Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo's dress also became a mode of self-invention and self-fashioning."
In 1791, lawyer Samuel Simon Witte argued compellingly against imposing a national uniform before the Danish Academy. He passionately advocated for the significance of self-expression through clothing as one of the greatest achievements of Western civilization. Witte emphasized that fashion was more than a mere indicator of social status; it was a powerful tool for self-creation and personal expression.
…." Through which a person portrays, shows, and announces himself and through which he is presented... It can express, indicate, and illustrate all moral and personal characteristics and feelings, such as grandeur, dignity, noble or humble origins, power, wealth, courage, pride, innocence, modesty, virtue, and age…. The costume and its fashion have a greater control over the character and mores of a people than do all the laws and police regulations; a power that is to be granted it all the more in that the costume exerts its effects silently, without force"…. - Samuel Simon Witte.
As Witte eloquently articulated, fashion is a unique mode of expression that cannot be replicated or conveyed through language or any other medium. It is a deeply personal choice, reflecting our innermost beliefs, aspirations, and sense of self. In the Western modern era, we continue to possess this power of choice, allowing us to curate our outward appearance in alignment with our deepest commitments and values.
As we reflect on Witte's insights, let us consider two fundamental questions:
How can we deepen our understanding and connection to our self-fashion?
How do we want to utilize fashion to communicate our ideas, values, and aspirations to the world?
In contemplating these questions, we embark on a journey of self-discovery and expression, recognizing the profound impact that fashion can have on our identities and society's collective consciousness.
As a stylist and image consultant, I aim to help my clients discover their voices, stories, and values through their fashion choices. For more, visit my website: www.susanaperczekstyling.com
Fantastic, so well researched, thank you!