Does fashion dictate our behaviour?

I was recently talking to a friend who was telling me how different they feel when they put on a suit made them feel ‘classy’. Automatically an image of Barney from How I Met Your Mother popped up in my head saying ‘suit up’ but nevertheless, this made me think about how various items of clothing make me and arguably others feel and act.

Firstly, look at the classic stereotypical cheesy American high school films, where the most popular girls wear the most expensive, branded and vibrant attire compared to the nerds who wear the scruffy, boring and dull clothes. Here, fashion clearly exaggerates social class and expectations. So, even though, I used to complain about wearing school uniform I never realised how it was put in place in order to stop there being divisions between classes such as rich and poor.

When I look at people working in London, wearing professional attire, I believe they are treated with a lot more respect and dignity compared to those who wear tracksuits or, t-shirts. It is the sophistication certain items of clothing retain that encourages not only the person wearing the attire to act and feel superior but, also makes the people around them exchange expressions in a pleasant manner.

I do think what we wear dictates the way we act as humans. Everyone has a different taste, style and budget so even though we all probably notice the way people look at us when for example, we dress up for an interview, looking smart and refined compared to the the major contrast when we leave the house wearing jogging bottoms and trainers, it ultimately doesn’t matter.

You might like expensive Regent Street brands such as Burberry, but others might enjoy high street brands such as Primark. At the end of the day, fashion makes a massive impact on society socially and economically and yet clothes are just a piece of material. Therefore, it is shocking how a material object has such a large impact on the way we feel.

Overall, each individual dresses to suit their needs whether it’s going to work or lounging on the sofa. Every person is unique. So, if you feel good, that’s all that matters, f*ck everyone else!