In this week’s research on gender-inclusive/unisex clothes, I came across this article by Kimberly Chaslain-Campbell in the Atlantic. I will get more into the ideas in it tomorrow, but today I want to focus on fashion as expression.
Here we are: Fashion is a form of expression. Yes, by this example, you could say, “Duh, you express your gender through your clothes.” And then I would tell you, “Please sit back down and let me finish.” Through fashion we can express to the world, “This is how I want you to view me.” We can make choices to try and manipulate a random stranger’s first impression just by the quality, shape, and fit of the clothing that we wear. All of that does play into constructions of gender, but it plays into all our social categories. Hello discussions of how to dress in the quiet luxury aesthetic, also know as, “How to look rich.” Hello Elizabeth Holmes and your intentional co-opting of Steve Jobs’s style to assert yourself as a credible tech CEO. And it is so good to see you, white coat giving me the confidence that the person in front of me actually has a medical degree.
This is probably not lost on you if you love a makeover show, but clothing is just another form of communication, whether we like or not. So, what do you want to say?
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