Society's Role on Fashion.

As humans we are influenced by everything around us. In society today the newest hit shows and celebrities have a big impact on what people want. Many desire what they see on TV or what these famous stars have. One thing these celebrities and TV shows influence is fashion and therefore many people strive to get what the celebrities are wearing, but this negatively affects people because it makes them loose their individuality.

In every magazine you see headlines that say things like “Get So and So’s Look” or “Do You Want to look like so and so?” Constantly we are reminded of what every celebrity is wearing and how we should get what they are wearing because it is “cool”, “fashionable” and “stylish”. TV promotes fashion less directly than magazines, but still very affectively. Many shows have rich people with fashionable items and clothing. Even if they are not rich they still manage to have the most recent fashion statements. For example the show Gossip Girl which is the shows of all shows for fashion. In each scene the main characters have new stylish clothing that would make any “shopaholic” envious. Society therefore directly impacts peoples fashion trends, and how they want to look.

With all these magazines and shows telling people how to dress it is hard to find yourself and be a unique individual. Society is corrupting young minds to think that there is only one way you should dress and it that it should be like everybody else. Shows corrupt people into thinking that you should wear what everyone else is wearing or else you will be an outcast; again, Gossip Girl illustrates this idea perfectly. In the show there is a girl who does not have as much money as the other Upper East Siders, and therefore does not wear as fashionable clothes as the others. In the end she became an outsider and was unhappy. This message isn’t a good one to teach teens especially in this time in their life when being an outcast is the worst possible thing that can truly happen to them. Since this is what society is promoting, it is no wonder that teens strive to be alike.

How many times have you seen a magazine promote uniqueness or individualism? Probably never. Magazines should focus less on how celebrities dress and more on helping young people gain self-confidence and find out who they really are as a person. When all magazines provide is how to look and dress like other people it gets old and unoriginal. It is okay for magazines to show the best trends but they should say things like “make it your own” not “wear it like this celebrity”. Television shows should also focus on this message instead of shallow outlooks on life that shows focus on now. In the end if society changed its outlook on fashion and did not tell teens that they have to be alike, then teens would be all around more unique, happy individuals.

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