What is Fashion?

Fashion is something we deal with every day. Fashion is revealing. Clothes reveal what groups people are in. In high schools, groups have names: “goths, skaters, preps, herbs”. Styles show who you are, but they also create stereotypes and distance between groups. For instance, a businessman might look at a boy with green hair and multiple piercing as an outsider. But to another person the boy is a strict conformist. He dresses a certain way to deliver the message of rebellion and separation, but within that group the look is uniform. Acceptance or rejection of a style is a reaction to the society we live in.

Fashion is a language which tells people a story about the person who wears it. Clothes create a wordless means of communication that we all understand.

Fashion is a state of mind. A spirit, an extension of one’s self.

Why is it important? Fashion is a means of self-expression that allows people to try on many roles in life. It’s a way of celebrating diversity and variety of the world in which we live. Fashion is needed to keep us safe, tell us apart, express our bodies, and for our own enjoyment. One very important thing in fashion is change which is necessary to keep our life interesting. Fashion is a way measuring a mood that can be useful in many aspects, culturally, socially, even phychologically. At the same time, fashion shouldn’t be taken too seriously or you lose the fun of it.

“Glossy syndrome” is a serious problem. It is one of the major illnesses of the modern society. Some people aspire to change their appearance and style and forget about truly important qualities such as individuality, mind, intelligence.

Fashion is not a sense of life – it is just a medium for self-expression.

4.2. 2^nd reading for more detailed comprehension. Answer the questions.

1) What do clothes reveal?

2) Do clothes separate people into groups or do they unite them?

3) What message do some young people deliver by their garments and accessories?

4) What does fashion give people?

5) How should fashion be taken? Can it be a sense of life?

5. Oral Practice