In today’s society, fashion is everywhere and more prevalent than ever before. Being a fashion enthusiast myself, I can’t imagine someone not having some sort of input on the subject. I mean, everyone really does have a style if you think about it, even if you say you aren’t into fashion or don’t care about it. Every morning you have a handful of choices of what you’ll be wearing, and whatever option you pick says a lot about you. You probably don’t think about it when picking out an outfit, but what you wear is how someone will read you. Almost like how they read a book.
If they’re someone who isn’t as into fashion they might read you like a book cover. Simply glancing over and not paying much attention. On the other hand, if it’s someone like myself, they’ll take the time to look at the summary of your outfit and go through everything you’re wearing piece by piece. Maybe sometimes even going into not only the piece itself, but the brand and labels behind them. You become a book.
Considering we are in a time of “fast fashion,” there’s so many varieties of styles you can choose from. Therefore, we can really get some sort of an insight of what you are like more than ever before. In the past, every era kind of had their own “phase” and the majority of the population would follow that. You couldn’t really read someone that much compared to now, most people were pretty much the same. For example, the 70’s were all about boot cut denim, the 80’s brought in bright colors and high-waisted bottoms galore, and the 90’s was strictly low-cut skinny jeans. Now you can walk in to a store and buy any of the above. Of course at those times you had a small handful of outcasts that didn’t follow the trends, but again, majority of people all pretty much looked the same with what they wore. Today, right now, there’s nearly an infinite amount of style choices you can choose from.
How do you read someone? Well, you probably already do that subconsciously. You could argue that you don’t do this because you don’t judge someone based off what they wear but the two aren’t necessarily the same. Really think about it, if you’re in a large group of people and you see someone wear your favorite TV show on a graphic tee or have on all athletic clothes when you’re someone who works out all the time, you’re most likely going to gravitate towards them. If you see someone wear a really thick sweater with a pattern of over-crowded, clashing floral print, you might think of an elderly women, something vintage, or even a couch. If you see a guy wearing boat shoes, pastel shorts, a short-sleeve button down, and an expensive watch you probably have some thoughts in your head about what kind of family he comes from and perhaps even what his personality is like. However, now imagine a guy with the same expensive watch, but with long sleeves, suit pants, and Gucci dress shoes. You’re probably thinking he’s going to or from something work related when in reality, this could just be what he decided to wear to get coffee and go to the movies in. The list can go on and on. You never really know, but with how fashion is marketed to us, these are the thoughts that pass through our mind when we see certain things.
Next time you walk into a group of people, you should really try to pay more attention to this habit. Try to read a couple of people around you. Look at the girl across the room who’s all dolled up, read her accessories and you’ll get an idea on why she possibly wanted to pair them with her shoes. Is that necklace something possibly passed down in her family? Look at the guy next to you in the joggers and zip-up. Is he a gym enthusiast or using it as lounge wear? What do these pieces really say about them? And for the most fun part, look at what you’re wearing. Picture it on someone else. How do you read them? Probably not how you read yourself. Fashion is just a simple glimpse, not the whole story, but you can turn it into the most provoking summary for someone to want to read more about.
– Reynelda Hani
Oakland Arts Review 