LANGUAGE OF DRESS
In 60s and 70s, tailors were very much in
demand. Ready-to-wear clothing was not
available in small towns, and in fact, nobody liked to wear readymade dress in
those days. To discover a good tailor and get dresses stitched properly by them
was an uphill task. With lot of hopes
and dreams, one used to give the fabric material along with a page torn from
the magazine, which carried the photograph or sketch of a latest fashionable
skirt or top, in it. Seeing the
photograph, the tailor would nod and say he would stitch it the same way. He
used to enter the details of measurements in a long note book, which had turned
yellow with the passage of time and the pages at the corners had curled by
constant usage. He would ask us to come after a fortnight. Since we were in hurry, that fortnight seemed
to be like a quarter year, stretching endlessly. When the particular day approached, with all
possible positive thoughts we used to go to the shop to get the dress. On
climbing a spiral staircase, we used to enter into the shop. On seeing us, he
used to grin sheepishly. Taking the
receipt from us, adjusting his spectacles, he would look again into the long notebook
to get the number of the bundle stitched. After a long search in the cupboard,
he would finally pull out the bundle as if he had accomplished a mission. With
all eagerness, we used to open the bundle to see whether it had been stitched
the way it was instructed. To our surprise, the outcome is entirely different
and the tailor would explain that design was slightly altered to fit
properly. What an audacity! As he could not digest the new fashion, he
had stitched it the way he knew. In spite
of the measurements given correctly, dress used to be either too short or too
long in the end. Since then fashion has
evolved differently and with great speed, now more and more people are becoming
aware of trends. Fashion channel on T.V highlights the latest trends around the
world and shows how fashion language has changed over years..
Those who are avid
followers of fashion are well acquainted with fashion magazines. Vogue magazine, started in1892, is one of the
oldest fashion magazines and has been popular throughout the world for its rich
photographs of ladies in fashionable dresses in glossy papers. It is a great credit for one to appear in this
magazine. Usually, fashion has been associated with actors and the rich. Actors
dressing in different way create their own fashion language. In semiotics, Roland Barthes says fashion works
as a language – coded language, a sign. Dresses when decoded speak out the
truth and classify people as rich, poor, elegant, conservative, artistic, flamboyant
and so on.
Fashion is a popular style at a
particular period and that is associated with culture. With the passage of time, fashion has evolved better
and better- design wise, material wise, and aesthetic values too have changed. Fashion is a trend in a particular
time and it keeps changing time to time. To be on the bandwagon, it is
essential for one to move with the time and accept the trends that are latest
and fashionable. The word fashion is
applicable to all fields.
One
could assess the personality of a person by the way he or she is dressed and
how it is carried on. Dress denotes character, taste, attitude, sophistication
and elegance of a person in detail. Some persons look amazingly beautiful and
dignified in simple attires and command respect. This is possible because their attire reflect their
philosophy of life. It does not matter whether one looks trendy or not, one has
to be graceful and dignified. Every human being, basically, desires to be
loved, respected and complimented. For that, one has to make efforts to choose
the right dresses with right colors for the right occasion. The colors of the
dresses indicate the qualities of persons. Persons who are very active usually
prefer bright primary colors. Those who
are usually sober go for brown and grey colors. Highly elegant people always blend
their dresses with grey, black and white shades. Colors indicate the psychology
of a person. Dressing is also an art and it comes in hand while working out on combinations
of materials, colors and trends. Preference for colors vary as one ages and maturity
reflects through the dresses one wears. Apart from dressing elegantly, one has
to be comfortable in the dress.
Observing the latest trends
and its adoption by en masse has made me to reflect seriously on this
particular issue. In the present condition, everyone desires to look one’s best
with all the readily available dresses and accessories. T.V. is the main source
through which everyone gets a dose of fashion and latest trends every day.
Films play a key role in setting up trends and dictating
en masse. Window shopping and online shopping have
facilitated people at great lengths. Fashion trends keep changing very fast as
consumers are willing to consume more and more.
Mass production means identical items in huge quantity. By using
identical objects people all look alike, like Xerox copies.
To
be fashionable, there is no need to purchase all the fashionable things that
land in the market, try them, and present oneself as a big goofy. Age, body structure, nature of a person, job
status, education, religion and family background - all
these play key roles in selecting dresses. One has to visualize how a dress would look on
one when it is worn on. A conscious effort will definitely will bring
some changes in one’s tastes and selection of dresses. In Bollywood ,Simi Garewal,
Shabhana Azami, Rekha, Deepika Padukon
are remarkably well dressed and have
left their indelible individual statements on the
viewers. One can combine readymade garments and accessories in one’s own way with
personal creativetouches and can make individual statements.
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