I recently bought a new pair of Reef flip-flops, not only
because of the beer bottle opener on the bottom, but also because they are a
name brand sandal and many people associate them with pro surfers and wake
boarders. Reef flip-flops idolize the good looking, charming, all-American California
kid who spends his days on the beach without a care in the world. I didn't exactly
buy them because I want my identity to fit this California kid profile, but
they are name brand and people know them. Reef sandals are not some knock of
you can just buy at Meijer. The social world in which we live places such a
high importance on what people wear that we think we know who people are, where
they come from, and their social class from simply looking at their clothed
body.
In both pieces from Connerton and Bourdieu, we see the importance
of clothing with relation to social class in pre-revolutionary France. There
are two main time periods Connerton touches base on. The period from 1791-1794
where clothes began to look like a uniform in attempt to eliminate social class
barriers and instill equality. The second period, from 1795 on, is when clothes
began to show more free-body movement. By this Connerton means women wore
shorter dresses that showed their legs and tops that complimented their
breasts. We previously looked at this concept of motility when reading articles
from Iris Young in the unit regarding female bodies and ‘throwing like a girl’.
In this article Young explained how women only use their arm to throw while
boys are much more aware of the spatiality of their entire body while throwing.
We concluded that this is because society molds boys and girls to fit specific
roles at a young age based on their sex. Young boys practice throwing a ball and
playing sports more while girls constantly see their moms and women in society filling
the motherly role of cooking and cleaning for the family. Women and men
essentially develop their identity by the wardrobe in their closet and the
clothes on their back. The link below
will take you to an article on Forbes titled ‘What Your Clothes Say About You’.
In this article they give great insight on why people dress the way they do and
how our identity as human beings is created by the clothing we wear. Clinical
Psychologist Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner says in the article that “Clothing. It’s what helps you figure out
where you fit in. Especially now, with the economy, with people losing status,
maintaining a sense of who we are becomes even more important. Our clothes help
place us where we think we want to be.” It is amazing to me that
Baumgartner mentions how society is in economic turmoil and our clothing is
what allows us to maintain a sense of who we are. This statement formulates the
idea that society develops our identity based on the clothing we wear and our
emotions or feelings on the inside have virtually no influence. It makes you
wonder if the people you talk to like you for who your are, or just because
your wardrobe has Ralph Lauren plastered all over it.
Bourdieu explains the significance overalls have to a farmer
compared to that of a business suit for a lawyer. A farmer is going to wear
overalls and a lawyer is going to wear a suit not because it makes them
accomplish their job faster or better, but because these are the outfits
society places with these occupations; and it makes sense. Why would a farmer
wear a $1000 dollar suit just to ruin it by baling hay and plowing fields in a
tractor? Society attributes rich suits with sophisticated degrees such as
doctors and lawyers. I’m not sure I could take a prosecuting attorney trying to
put a man in jail for theft seriously when he is wearing overalls and a straw
hat on the stand. I can relate to the significance of clothing by being an
athlete at the University of Michigan. If I were to attend a banquet for all
athletes and they were to wear whatever attire they wanted, I bet I could tell
you what sport they play just by the clothes they wear. If a guy walks through
the door with boat shoes, short colored shorts, and a flashy Ralph Lauren polo,
he is definitely a lacrosse player from the east coast and his family generally
has good money. I wouldn't be surprised if he is driving a Range Rover
parked outside. The next guy has nicely pressed khakis and a thermo-cool polo
on with a slick hat, he’s a golfer without a doubt. ‘Never judge a book by its
cover’ is what we are constantly told; however, society places clothing
standards on individuals with regards to their socio-economic status, their
cultural background, and together these standards work together to create this
individuals perpetual identity.
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