Fashion= Superficiality ?

[Dubuc]

Hi everyone. 1st, I dont know if its the right place to post this, so feel free to move it admins

I have a question for u guys. HAve you ever been told you were a superficial person because you were dressing well and because u loved fashion?
I've been told that a few times now, even in my Medecine interview!! and I was wondering what you think about that statement in general.

For my part, I find this insulting, since it all depends on the person. I hate being told I look too superficial at first look only cuz I dress well and being told that I am finnaly a nice guy after talking to me .. I mean wtf! Anyways, post your opinions!!!

 

[Plastic'sWife]

Oh my gawsh! THE STORY OF MY LIFE!...
So check it, I belong to this Catholic teen group, where we meet once a week and I am so sure that I am judged because I have fashionable things and like to dress well and spend hundreds on purses... I can so relate to this. And yes! it is insulting...
another common misconception is that fashion = materialistic.. that is SO not true.

 

[ShannonMc]

Yes, by my mother. She gets really mad when I talk about clothes or fashion - she thinks it undermines my intelligence, whatever. I personally love clothes, I love being a woman and being able to express myself through what I wear. I know there are more important things in life but you can't be serious all the time.

My husband indulges me, he thinks it's funny. He just rolls his eyes when I come in with shopping bags but I think he appreciates that I want to look good.

Interest topic, can't wait to see what everyone thinks.

 

[mouko]

I get it all the time. Aside from just wanting to look nice. What I usually tell them shuts them up.

I'm a designer. I am an artist. I'm in a field that is based on superficiality and aesthetics, good or bad, it's all about how something looks. A painting or illustration I do. Clothes I design, so it is in my artistic nature to judge something by how it looks, especially my clothes.

This of course doesn't make me a bad person, I just think people are too sensitive when people call them superficial.

Either way, people have different priorities in their life. Some put importance on things such as cars, music or bands...Whatever. Mine is fashion.

 

[jssy4eva]

when i was in high school i had to be very selective with my friends....my family is quite well off and even though i do work part time, my mom and dad tend to buy me things when i do well in school and stuff like that, in grade 10 these two girls started to be friends with me....thet were always askin to borrow stuff , which didn't really bother me to begin with,but it got to the point that they started only comin over just to borrow clothes and shoes,and then one day they both stopped talking to me,so my mom went to both their houses and got my stuff back and the girls, realizing that we had caugt onto their game,went around school that they said that i was too stuck up and that i looked down on ppl who didnt have a real gucci purse or came to school in miss sixty jeans and 200 puma sneakers and that i was an airhead...i think that just cause i like fashion and expensive thimgs does not mean that i am a ditz...i work hard and my parents work hard and thet treat me and i treat myself....no one should be punished for being succesful

 

[utopia]

yep this is in the right place, and an interesting topic imo.

I definitely feel as though I am percieved to be a bit superficial for dressing the way I do...especially in the circles I run in. I don't really run with the "fashionable" crowd, excepting a few. I know my friends don't see me as superficial, but sometimes I feel like they think my interest in fashion is.

I think mouko hit it right on the nail. like mouko, I am an aesthete. I study art. this is part of who I am. because I am an aesthete, I find joy in surrounding myself with beauty and interesting colours, textures, shapes, etc, which is why I love fashion. it doesn't mean I'm superficial - I'm involved in charity work, I am very religious, and I'm actually pretty practical when it comes to my clothes. I don't really even spend much money on my clothes. but fashion is the icing on the cake, and I like my cake with lots of icing.

 

[Curious]

I suppose there is an argument for fashion being superficial, but so are a myriad of other "hobbies" such as football, watching tv, etc. and no one ever points fingers about those. I'm referring to football as a spectator hobby. If you're actually playing football, I think that's different. But watching football isn't really going to change your life...

Personally, I think fashion can have a profound impact on your life. Try attempting to get a job in sweatpants?? No one's going to ask you about football in an interview, but they're damn sure going to notice what you're wearing!!!

So, my take on this boiled down is:

- If this is coming from your parents, then it's probably just general interest in your welfare. They probably just want to make sure that fashion is not ALL you're interested in.
- If this is coming from your peers, I'd chalk it up to jealousy. And, honestly, what difference does it make to them??

 

[iconemod]

It depends, if people consider fashion as consumism or as Arts. I live and wear fashion as a mix of both, but the artistic spirit dominates, so zero superficiality.
Everytime I open my mounth to say anything about fashion or a look, my friends stay spellbound and say I'm quite deep in what I say.. and they are not idiots, neither.
It depends truly on how you breathe fashion, if you buy it or if you create it, maybe you can also muse it eternally and never get to the heart of it.

 

[fouroclock]

When I first saw this thread, I said to myself, "Yes, t'is true." But thinking about it, there is intellgence and art behind fashion. Fashion isn't superficial and stupid if you see a piece of clothing and be astounded by it. If you take just a normal person and told him to design clothes, I don't think that person will be any good.

 

[travolta]

It depends, if people consider fashion as consumism or as Arts. I live and wear fashion as a mix of both, but the artistic spirit dominates, so zero superficiality.
Everytime I open my mounth to say anything about fashion or a look, my friends stay spellbound and say I'm quite deep in what I say.. and they are not idiots, neither.
It depends truly on how you breathe fashion, if you buy it or if you create it, maybe you can also muse it eternally and never get to the heart of it.

this is a good point. i think if you desire fashion simply to consume it then i think you're always going to be chasing it and you're never going to get anywhere. i think many things can be art if you view it as so, fashion included. fashion gets a bad rap because there weakness in trying to get it to define your identity, and then fashion can get restrictive, but it also can be a beautiful thing.

 

[Lilliana]

Fashion is in a literal way very superficial. it is about looks - how you want to look on the outside. it has nearly nothing to do with morals. but so has interior design, landscaping, architecture, a good part of art etc etc
But is a person who is interested in fashion superficial? maybe, maybe not - depeneds on the person, her/his interest says absolutley nothing about his/hers morals.
Humans love beauty - in art, nature, other humans or clothes - it is an personal disposition which one does prefer and how much one does care about it.

The common assumtion that fashionable people are superficial is nothing more than a prejudice. and it might also have some bit of thruth in it, there are a lot of vain and shallow fashionistas around, but nevertheless it is nothing more than a prejudice and as a such condemnable and silly.

 

[tiffany]

I'm sure I have been viewed as superficial - I often get sceptical looks from people when I talk about collections. I suppose it's because it's easy to perceive fashion as solely about image and not about expression. I enjoy fashion because I find it to be something beautiful, creative and inspiring, but I suppose that many people would think me superficial for seeking out beauty this way

 

[Venusia]

I don't have the exact quote, but Virginia Woolf said it beautifully in A Room of One's Own: we live in a world dominated by male values and as such, things like sports and football are "important", but fashion and shopping are considered "trivial". For example, look at the space devoted to sports vs fashion in daily papers.

Humans have always loved adornments, it's a very natural thing. People who act superficially towards fashion, eg who dress to impress, will do that in other areas of their life too, like buy certain cars and join certain clubs, live in certain areas etc. The superficiality stems from human behaviour, not from fashion per se. There's nothing superficial about wanting to distinguish yourself, through clothes for example, it's a deep seated human need.

 

[Dubuc]

Yeah I agree with most of you! Everytime im getting called superficial, I can feel a bit of jalousy, maybe
I love fashion because, like most of u said, its a way to express myself toward my look. I love looking good, making a good first impression. When I see a nice piece of clothing, in a store or on a person, I can see the work on it, the art, the beauty of it and it makes me feel good AHAH Also, for me, its a way to look a bit different from the others. I hate seeing like 5 times the same shirt in a day, I hate it when its all the same.
Lets admit that weare a BIT materialistic cause we think that things, cloths and look is important for us, but being superficial is a more deeper thing. O my opinion, it means that I do not think that emotions, interior is important in my relations and this isn't just me at all ( even if I love fashion ahah )

I love your answers people!!! Everybody is soooo respectfull here, i love it
OH AND BTW!!! I'm a MALE!!! so maybe for people, being a male and loving fashion isnt common or I dont know!

 

[Missoni~Heiress]

I hate it when people are like that but fashion is such a big part of me.... those people are jealous

 

[Spacemiu]

It is all hwo you look at it. If fahsion for you is about looking hot, rich or whatever, i would say yes it is superficial, becuase it is not about soemthing very deep. But if you look at it as a person expression than no I do not think it's superficial becuas it's not a shalow reason, it's not about affectation or pretension.

 

[Dubuc]

I totally agree with you!

 

[POTC_ROXS]

Though a person is interested in fashion, it does not make them superficial or shallow, unless you are being stereotypical. Many people like to make good 1st impressions and that is a reason they dress the way they do. Others just like to wear nice or designer clothes. Even though a person's fashion sense or interest may differ from yours, you cannot label them shallow. You cant always judge a book by it's cover, or a person by they way they dress!

 

[heykitten]

Very interesting discussion, thank you for posting it Dubuc. Honestly, before I had frequented this forum, my general view of the fashion industry was shallow and demeaning. Although this accounts to the fact the definition of fashion when I was in high school was what the trendy popular girls wore, and what I was judged against. And whatever was in the teen magazines. No wonder I had that belief.

iconemod made a good view. I do think if the individuals aim is to show how much wealth they have, or percieved wealth. I find that distasteful and superficial. For anyone in the fashion industry, it is art. It is purely aesthetics and form, the human body and fabrics is the canvas to mould, create and so on. That is how I view fashion anyway.

 

[Angyl]

i got reamed by one of my coworkers when I said that I want to write about fashion becuase it's a big part of who we are and partially defines us. How you dress is how others perceive you....she said that was superficial and there's lots of other things that define us...but really.

It's a form of expression. I do'nt see that as superficial. I really didn't see her point so I gave up on the argument.