Cut-out notes from :

Hatfield, E., & Rapson, R. L. (2011). History, psychology, and
fashion: The bizarre, weird, wacky—and cool. Critical Studies in Fashion
and Beauty, 1,

 http://www.elainehatfield.com/124.pdf

Whole article is worth reading!

The APA Dictionary of Psychology (VandenBos, 2007) defines fashion as:

. . . the styles of artistic and cultural expression, garments, manners, and customs prevalent in a particular time and place. Fashion may be transient or irrational but often reflects the zeitgeist or mood of society (p. 368).

“dress,” “clothing,” “costume,” “style,” and “decoration” as synonyms.

The bizarre is defined as: “odd, strange, or unexpected” (p. 123).

Motives of fashion:

- traditional 3: modesty, a desire for protection, and ornamentation - Flügel’s (1930)

Hatfield, E., Rapson, R. L. (2011):

- a desire for self-esteem and status;

- a desire to conform to society’s standards;

- a desire to appear masculine or feminine

- wishes to please parents, lovers, and friends;

- to make oneself beautiful/handsome, sexy;

- to conceal unattractive features;

- to save the World (boycotting sweatshopmanufactured garb);

- to protest political or social injustice;

- to protect oneself from the Evil Eye or Islamic authorities;

- a desire for conquest /power;

- the seeking of vengeance (a desire to conquer, degrade, and punish);

- a desire for security (a security blanket);

- a yearning to make a mate/date/friend jealous;

- curiosity;

- for comfort and relaxation.

Collectivism vs. Individualism

Collectivism:

A. Gender

B. Social class

C. Occupation

Individualism -> bizarre clothing

A. Assertion of Individuality

B. Attention Seeking

C. Rebelling Against Society or Oppressors

D. Play

E. Other Motives

-love of novelty (Darwin, 1872),

- a desire to act out

- repressed desires and fears (of cruelty, deathliness, trauma, disconnection, and dereliction

(Evans, 2003),

- a yearning to dissent, protest, ridicule, and outrage (Davis, 1992). Davis

(1992) mentions several motivations for anti-fashion: utilitarian outrage, health and

fitness, naturalism, feminist protest, conservative skepticism, minority group

disidentification, and countercultural insult.

Contemporary men and women are often torn between a desire to be

accepted by the community (as signaled by conventional dress) and a desire to rebel,

to assert their individuality, get attention, and to play with fashion—as signaled by

bizarre dress. As a consequence, people often switch from one to the other—never

feeling perfectly comfortable with any single mode of existence. We may be

entering an era of multiple identities, expressed by the multiple costumes we put on.

What we wear may increasingly depend upon our mood and our sense of whom we

wish to be that day.