Style, Language And Self-Image
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» PoiSoNeD_CaNdY replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:45pm |
 Coolness: 91800 | I beleive that one's personal style is a form of self-expression in the same sense that dance or language is. Humans have a fundamental urge to express themselves, to exteriorize the content of their minds, to connect with each other. No species is as advanced as humans are when it comes to the ability to communicate. Thus, clothes became not just a source of warmth, but a means by which one's personality can be bared to the outside world.
Style, however, is alot like language in that it is an imperfect means of expressing one's self. People who have poor language abilities find it difficult to share their thoughts and risk being misunderstood. It takes practice to be able to encode one's feelings effectively in language, in such a way that others can understand. Similarly, when it comes to style, many people have difficulty exspressing their true personality in clothes. Oftentimes, people dress in standard 'uniforms' (ex businessmen in suits)because this is the easiest way to avoid embarassment, even though uniforms do no express much of anything. This can be compared to someone with poor language abilties who engages in standard conversations (ex hi, how are you, have a nice day) without trying to 'personalize' their language to achieve true self-expression. People also establish their identity through peer groups, and use both style and language as a means of establishing themselves as a member of the peer group and excluding those who don't belong. Each subgroup develops both a unique style and a unique variation on language (ie slang) as a means of establishing a collective group identity, and exspressing the collective personality of the group to outsiders. People who see themselves as embodying the collective identify of the peer group express this to others by embodying the style and language of their chosen peer group. People who seek to belong to the peer group but are not accepted by others may nonetheless mimic the style and language of others, earning the term "wannabe" or "posuer". I beleive that while conforming to a peer gourp's style is a means of collective expression, it is clearly not self-expression insofar as everyone has a distinct mind unique to a certain degree from the collective mind of the peer group. Low self esteem is another barrier to self-expression through style. People with an unfavourable self-image may not want to express their true selves through their style, because they feel that revealing their true self will lead to rejection by others. In almost all cases, these people seek to create an outward image of themselves which is inconsistent their true personality. In other words, they express, through style, what they want other people to think their personality is, and not what their true personality is. I beleive that brand-name clothing fulfills the role of allowing people with low self-esteem to express to others the image of themselves they want others to see. If you examine how clothing is advertised, what is emphasized more than the clothing itself is the favorable image which the marketer hopes to associate with the clothing. Thus, attractive people are used to model the clothing, and famous, desirable people are payed to appear wearing the clothing (ie product placement). A blatant example of this is the Nike commercial "Be like Mike". No attempt is made to hide the fact that an athletic shoe is being associated with a succesful basketball player. In order for brands to be succesful, the general public must assoiciate a product with an image. This can be compared to language: a word only has purpose once people associate the mouth-sound with a certain meaning. Thus, marketers spend millions of dollars bombarding the public with images meant to give "meaning" to a particlar brand name. Returning to the issue of low self-esteem, these people seek to express, through style, an image of themselves inconsistent with their inner self. Once a marketer establishes the link in the minds of the public between a product and an image, the consumer will buy that product if the image associated with the product reflects the image the consumer would like others to have of him/her. In summary... 1.People have a desire to communicate to others either (a) their true identity, if they view that self highly or (b) some other self, if they would rather people see them as some other self. 2. Marketers associate brand names with images of identity in the minds of the public. 3. People who like the personality-image associated with a brand name will co-opt that personality as their own by buying the product. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lady replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:47pm |
 Coolness: 182640 | whoa! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Screwhead replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:49pm |
 Coolness: 685700 | Putting socks on your arms still makes you a retarded emo fag. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» PoiSoNeD_CaNdY replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:51pm |
| Coolness: 91800 | haha everybody else puts socks on their arms but i put socks on my FEET! cuz im special |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lady replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:51pm |
| Coolness: 182640 | ha me too! that makes 2 of us! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» PoiSoNeD_CaNdY replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:52pm |
| Coolness: 91800 | yah but i INVENTED putting socks on feet! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Screwhead replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 5:58pm |
| Coolness: 685700 | Yeah, well, I invented wearing socks on my...
uhmmmm.. Oh, never mind... The ed Hot Chlli Peppers invented THAT... |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» lakester replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 6:00pm |
 Coolness: 59790 | i love the ed Hot Chili Peppers. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» cactain_steef replied on Thu Nov 13, 2003 @ 10:28pm |
 Coolness: 154785 | haha ilov the ed
ed is actually IN the now! i think he gets back in december |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Zz.ee.vV replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:13am |
 Coolness: 194135 | i invented wearing glove
on the instrument of love yo. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Whatee_Guye replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:23am |
 Coolness: 51655 | I invented the whateeeeee
my hat, my style even if someone else says they invented it, i dont care cuz i make it look good (as opposed to) |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» hayley replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:25am |
 Coolness: 82755 | Originally posted by LUNGCAPTAIN PUFF...
haha ilov the ed ed is actually IN the now! i think he gets back in december what the fuk usaying lol!!! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:27am |
 Coolness: 201335 | I like what you posted.. But I can say in defence, I sometimes wear brandnames because I like the design... I like my adidas, and my snug sweater....
But then again I am often seen with an alligator clip around my neck. Or eriks hand-me-down trenchcoat kept together by safety pins... |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» hayley replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:37am |
| Coolness: 82755 | style is something that si to often confused with fashion. Style is unique to each individual. Style is something we all create to suit ourselves.
Although it is very superficial to cast judjement upon someone based on theire style, it isn't comletelly wrong as a form of classification. Style very often ifdentifies a person to either the type of music they listen to, their religion, their socio-economic background, etc. I know that wen i look at people, althoug it shames me to admit it, very often its there style that first catches my eye. Its an important factorin maintainning diversity and creating individuality in a very homogeneous society. Amen |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» ashtraygirl replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:57am |
 Coolness: 89595 | you always have such long posts.. it makes my head hurt |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 2:01am |
| Coolness: 201335 | just look at it as 27 small posts |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» ashtraygirl replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 2:05am |
| Coolness: 89595 | TOO MUCH To HANDLE |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Bunnytronix replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 2:21am |
 Coolness: 152620 | But at least there's a three point resumé at the bottom.
I went through the whole middle age ecstasy thing. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» lakester replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:02pm |
| Coolness: 59790 | Originally posted by JIGGAWAT...
Originally posted by lungCaptain puff...
haha ilov the ed ed is actually IN the now! i think he gets back in december what the fuk usaying lol!!! whatever she said was just as comprehensible as everything you say. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» toebee replied on Fri Nov 14, 2003 @ 1:30pm |
 Coolness: 87175 | Here I am, stuck in this FUCKING uniform...
I feel so special and unique. |
Style, Language And Self-Image
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