fashion and status 初稿.docx

Definition(1)Fashion: a style that is popular at a particular time, especially in clothes, hair, make-up, etc. for example(找几张照片)(2)Status: an accepted or official position, especially in a social groupComments:Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”Coco Chanel“A respectable appearance is sufficient to make people more interested in your soul”Karl Lagerfeld“Fashion is what you adopt when you dont know who you are.”Quentin Crisp“It is ever so much easier to be good if your clothes are fashionable.”L.M. Montgomery,Anne of Green Gables The connection between fashion and statusYour appearance announces the outcome other people can expect from you. Fashion is a powerful form of non-verbal communication that conveys more information than words can ever convey. Besides, words can be false or an exaggeration. Like body language, image gives powerful information that is extremely useful.Man from the earliest times has worn clothes to overcome his feelings of inferiority and to achieve a conviction of his superiority to the rest of creation, including members of no own family and tribe, and to win admiration and to assure himself that he belongs.” - Lawrence LangnerClothing designed to show the social position of its wearer has a long history. Certain modes have indicated high or royal rank. Many societies passed decrees known as sumptuary laws to prescribe or forbid the w earing of specific styles by specific classes of persons. (For example, In ancient Egypt only those in high position could wear sandals; the Greeks and Romans controlled the type, color and number Of garments worn and the sorts Of embroidery with which they could be trimmed. 下面每句话的例子我就不一一赘述了，可根据你找的图片简短描述一下)As a result, it was assumed that the people you met would be dressed as lavishly as their income permitted. (For example,)Photo ASuits(For example, which of the two young men in Photo A has the highest status in an office? Unfortunately, the “fashion” look the man on the right wears, carries little weight in terms of status. Dark shirts with matching ties may be in fashion, but they will not give you a high-status look. Dark shirts are too reminiscent of the Al Capone look. White shirts, on the other hand, are very formal and professional in nature; they suggest you are either a top executive or deal with top executives.Dark suits also lend higher credibility and power to a man. Light-colored suits are acceptable in the Deep South, but when working globally, a dark suit will give you more stature. AccessoriesYour tie is also an important tool for increasing status. In general, stripes and small repeating patterns look highly professional, while abstract patterns and floral prints look less authoritative. Photo BWhich of the young women in Photo B looks the most important and successful? Chances are, you did not choose the young woman in the middle photo. She wears no accessories and no makeup, both indicators of status and authority. The woman in Photo B, left, has a more finished and professional than the woman to her right because of the necklace she wears. She would look more authoritative with earrings. One “accessory” that young professional women overlook is lipstick. Like other accessories, it also signals that you have more authority and credibility than your peers (Photo B, far right). Accessories not only increase status, they enable a youthful-looking woman to appear more worldly, experienced and credible.With the addition of either earrings or a power necklace, the woman in the photo to the right would probably have won your vote in terms of status.Why do we care too much about the way we look rather than who we really are?The first thing that anyone we meet finds out about us is what we look like. The only thing that someone we pass on the street knows about us is what we look like. The first thing that people use to judge us is what we look like.Kevin Hogan, PhD., in his book “The Science of Influence” says that our brains instantly judge people within a group as either high status or low status. He notes that both humans and animals are wired to be attracted to the more higher-status individuals in any given group. So, when it comes to image, the devil is in the details. Dont let your image down by being oblivious to the signals you are sending.Given that, it is perfectly reasonable to care, even to care deeply, about how you look and what your appearance says about you. Theres nothing wrong with that. Your appearance is a good way to convey information about yourself and who you are to the rest of the world.Our physical appearance is the first point of contact with the world. If you do it right it could be a wholesome portrayal of your unique personality. If you do it lopsidedly itll become a journey of shallow reward seeking behavior, never ever feeling satisfied.Getting preoccupied with appearances serves a purpose:1.Easily acquiredFeel-goodfix.2. Immediatelychanging others opinions about you.3.Diversion tactics, to make the other avoid lookingbeyond the cover. (Empty/torn/poorly written pages inside, in real life)4.Elevated sense of self, based on public opinion. You only have to pander.5. Escape into aprojected image of glamour and popularity.6.An active seeking of a mate.In short, its all about other people. When you have no other source to derive a meaningful sense of self from,we look to others to provide that for us. Thats bad and dangerous and we need to avoid it. We can apply it to the other choices we make in our lives, not strictly pertaining to our physical appearance only. But that doesnt mean that putting some effort and thought into your appearance is bad. All things in moderation, right?Do I know myself?We Cant Judge People By Their AppearanceA 1924 guide to good manners clearly suggests this: An honest heart may beat beneath the ragged coal, a brilliant intellect may rise above the bright checked suit and the yellow tie, the man in the shabby suit may be a famous writer, the girl in the untidy blouse may bean artist of great promise, but as a general rule, the chances are against it and such people are dull, flat, stale, and unprofitable both to themselves and to other people.Take one look at the faces: These faces of beautifully diverse people provide a glimpse into the complex issue of identity. They test our judgment and help us better understand the surprising difference between appearance and self-identity. It tells us that We need to look beyond the surface, to make decisions based on the persons background and not the color of their skin.Reasons for We Cant Judge People By Their Appearance(1) TV taught us to see clichesFor so many of us, TV and movies told us life would be one thing . but then it was dramatically something else. So often were just dressing the way the movie said to in a way thats entirely disconnected from who we are as individuals.( For example, theres a long argument about entertainment being an escape from reality, but the fact is TV and movies affect us and inspire us and in general shape our expectations. They are our window into the world beyond the house where we grew up (IF we grew up; Im still working on that one).)(2) Its impossible to dress differentlyWhy does everyone dress the same? Because once something is in fashion. However, those are the only clothes you can buy. And standardized clothes cant help you see people how they see themselves . Take glasses for example. Just because someone wears glasses it doesnt mean that theyre a genius. How does having poor eyesight make you smart? It doesnt make you stupid, but you definitely dont need to be clever to need glasses.(3) We