Fashion plays an
important role in the modern society. But people have different attitudes to
fashion. Some are indifferent; they do not care what they wear. Others,
especially women are very choosy and particular about what to wear and like to
spend a lot of money on clothes.
The styles of clothing
have been influenced by different factors, such as geography, religion, climate,
poverty or wealth. The way we dress also depends on our taste, on the season
and the proper occasion. We should know what kinds of accessories complement
the dress and what colors match each other.
The fact, that our eye
is easily fooled is used also in the fashion. Vertical stripes make us taller,
while horizontal make us broader. The pattern of our clothing can be also checked,
flowered, dotted, spotted or geometric.
Another aspect is the
color. If we have overweight, we try wearing small patterns or plain dark
clothes. These make us look slim. Unlike the dark colors, the light ones make
us broad.
The color of our
clothing also can influence our feelings, our mood or express our personality. For
example green is calming, so the surgeons wear green suits. Grey is an
anonymous color worn by people who don’t want to be noticed. While white is the
color of purity and strength, while red and black give a feeling of danger; that‘s
why they are popular among sport cars.
Styles, cuts, designs
and particularly the length of clothes change very quickly because dressmaking
has become big business nowadays. Fashion often reverts to older styles; what
is out of fashion, funny or ridiculous now, may look romantic a few decades
later.
There can be a whole
range of distinctive features of clothes.
We could note various
types of neckline (high or low, oval, V-neck, with collar or collarless) and
various cuts of sleeves (inset, batwing, dropped shoulder). The dress may have
a classic line, A-line or be bell-shaped, with a slit, or straight. The
waistline may be natural, high or low.
There is also a
variety of materials the dress can be made of - natural materials such as
cotton, wool, linen, silk, corduroy, lace or denim and the vast collection of
new fabrics based on man-made fibers.
Deciding what to put
on, it’s very important what season it is, what the weather is outside. When
it’s hot, everyone feels better in clothes which are light and airy. In summer
people wear, for example, shorts, T-shirts, short skirts, sandals and nice
sunglasses. But when it’s colder people prefer warmer clothing; anoraks, fur
coats, warm trousers, cardigans, gloves, mufflers, and boots. When it’s raining
outside the best things you can wear are your large umbrella or a long raincoat
with a hood.
On special occasions
we like to be dressed properly. When we go to the theatre or to a ball we
prefer to be dressed up. Women choose from various evening gowns of many
colors. They wear high heels and jewels. Men dress in dark suits with shirts of
different colors and a tie or bowtie.
For sports we put on
sports wear and trainers. At home we like to feel comfortable, so we prefer
leisure wear. To school we wear something practical and plain, like jeans and a
sweatshirt.
Most important is to
put the clothes together so they are well combined and look natural, that they harmonize
together.
The look is also a
symbol of identity; rockers wear black leather, businessmen wear grey suits…
Special kinds of
clothes are uniforms and costumes.
Uniforms are worn
particularly by professionals such as the police or health workers. It is still
a tradition in some schools to wear a school uniform.
Costumes reflect the
style of past time. Apart from the theatre they are not seen very often, only
on special occasions.
Scotsmen are well-know
for their national costume, which consists of a kilt, knee-length woolen socks,
a cap and a sporran (a fur covered bag). The kilt is made of tartan – a kind of
woolen cloth with stripes of various colors which cross at right angles so as
to form a pattern.
Fashion concerns not
only clothes, but also hair style, make up and accessories, such as shoes,
handbags, gloves, belts, hats, ties, scarves, glasses and jewelry.
Hair is an important
part of our image. It is said that it is the most versatile part of one’s body
and this proves to be true, as you can cut it to lots of shapes or let it grow,
it can be decorated, and you can change its color by dyeing or bleaching it. You
can also straighten curly hair or curl the straight one.
Hair is a strong
symbol of group identification; punks wear spikes, skins are well recognized by
their stubbles, Rastafarians wear dreadlocks...
Many people, like
hairdressers, fashion designers, models and dress-makers for example, make
money from fashion.
All in all, fashion is
a never ending human effort to make us look better or just different.
(trendy,
smart)
(brooch,
bracelet, necklace, pendant, ring, ear-ring, tiara)
(lipstick,
face powder, eye shadows, define the eyes, mascara)
(crew
cut, trim, pony tail, permed, dandruff, fringe, bald)
(coat, jacket, fur, trouser suit, evening dress
with a slit, jeans, cardigan, tracksuit, polo-neck sweater, high heels,
mittens, handkerchief, waistcoat, trunk)
(crease-resistant,
water-repellent, durable, color-fast, shrink-resistant, washable)
(staples,
collar, frill, deep cut, veil, tassel)
