Tuesday, September 24, 2019

IDS 402 Discussion on Historical Issues of Wellness

FASHION AS FAILURE


Melissa Dawson posted Sep 24, 2019 8:21 PM
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From the earliest days of human civilization we have relied on visual clues to identify enemies, allies, strangers and social peers. Clothing materials could tell others about the environment you came from: seal furs for those living near the ocean, wool that shows you keep flocks, leather indicating you had access to deer hides. Gradually these differences would become both more regulated and more subtle.

         For this discussion I am going to focus on women living in the British Isles as this is the demographic I have the most experience with, and knowledge of.

After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 the male Normans were easily recognized amongst the Saxon and Celt men due primarily to their hair styles. The Normans favored a very short, almost bowl-shaped, hair cut that was made to fit under their battle helms while the native groups in Britain rarely cut their locks. For women, the length of the sleeves on an outer gown were symbols of status as extra material would indicate someone who did not need to perform a lot of manual labor, and the more extreme tippets were worn by the conquering Normans. In the 13th century gowns became more form-fitting and laced up the sides. Again, the tightest gowns were worn by women in the upper social classes as being tightly laced into clothing limits ease of movement and makes working in the fields or with livestock very challenging.

         By the 14th century the ruling houses were solidifying the Sumptuary Laws.  These were the rules that dictated which groups could wear what items, it also limited who could wear specific colors and fabrics. As fashion become more complex the gap between what the working classes wore and the ruling/aristocratic classes donned became more and more obvious. Now it was not just about color or materials (rough linen versus silk), but your clothing and appearance sent a public message about who you were in society, your power, wealth and status expressed through what you wore.

         By the mid 19th century the availability of mass media in the form of magazines were touting the “right” and “wrong” ways to dress, look and behave. Of course there had been this social tension on women for hundred of years, but in a more subtle manner. There were Ladies at Court and in large Estate Homes who would compete with their peers over who had the largest hairdo, the most expensive lace trims, the tallest shoes or the “best” complexion based on whatever the current Queen looked like. It was a form of kissing ass where the goal was to emulate the most powerful woman in the country as a way to indicate you aligned with her and her realm. However, it was a game played by relatively few women, the working class and peasants were just glad to be able to afford a new gown each year and less concerned with outdoing their neighbors every day.

         But the Victorians took things to the extreme in fashion, as they did in almost every aspect of life and design. Now it was not just about emulating the Queen, but women were spending more and more time and effort trying to conform to whatever the latest magazines said was the “best” way to look. And some of the ways women went about trying to be “in fashion” were extreme and deadly. Lead, arsenic and bleach was used on the skin trying to get a certain luminous glow – they also poisoned the wearer and could cause death. If you did not have natural curls there were blazing hot devices and chemicals that claimed to give you the perfect hair texture – that is if the chemicals did not burn off your hair or you did not get blisters from the hot iron rods touching your cheek. Is your fiancée a fan of Rubenesque women? Then stay indoors, eat fatty foods and give up riding or walking to pack on those pounds. Is his favored look the monastic ascethetic? Then limit yourself to only herbs and water then use a stick to rid yourself of any food you had been forced to eat by a concerned parent. The 1890s Gibson Girl, the Flapper, WWI America’s Sweetheart look, Poodle Skirts and saddle shoes, Twiggy, the power suits of the 1980s, up to the recent trend for necklines plunging to the navel the expose the entire sternum.

         We tend to think of Anorexia, Bulemia, body modifications, piercings and dying our hair wild colors as modern issues done by women under 30 who are looking to define themselves. But it has been going on for centuries. But why? Why the need to believe that in order to be popular, successful or happy we must look a certain way? According to who?

         Unfortunately for most of our modern history it has been men who have not only dictated what women should wear and how they should behave – but then lead the charge in criticizing them for trying to follow the trend and coming up short by their standards. Young women especially in today’s culture are overwhelmed with “should” and completely impossible to reach standards. Even the models do not look like the models thanks to PhotoShop. And so a young woman’s self- esteem, emotional health, financial status and social integration are placed at risk because their jeans are not a specific brand, and their hair the wrong color or they are actually wider than a piece of copier paper.

         This undo influence and pressure disrupts not only their own psychic Wellness but that of society overall. Instead of developing their talents, learning about the world and how they want to be a positive influence with it – too many girls, and women, are expending their energies on the superficiality of “fashion” and gaining male approval. Of which I have found no supporting document to show that either pursuit has ever enhanced a society’s Wellness. And in fact our overall Wellness may be enhanced by letting go of many of the Labels others try to attach to us.
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