Page 111 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

Consumer Culture and Fashion Studies 95

someone who takes issue with rules rather than following them blindly.
That inner feeling, that part of my identity, expresses itself in my style of
dress at work. But I also dress more formally when I have to present a dif-
ferent “ face ” to job candidates, for example, and seem more offi cial. Then,

I have a different role from that of the office worker who prefers comfort
to formality.
Clothing also registers how your particular culture imprints itself on you
from outside, shaping your style of dress and adornment as well as your
inner identity. Our identities are often shaped by the rules, conventions,
and expectations of society regarding proper behavior. We adapt our-

selves to those external influences as we grow up in a particular society.
That part of your identity that is assigned to you by the world or that you
inherit from your culture also assumes the form of clothing and adorn-
ment style. Our clothing records our place in the world around us. It
tells us who we are in relation to others and in relation to the institutions
in which we work and live or with which we interact in our daily lives.
That has always been the case, even in societies in which fashion is mini-
malist. The Koyapu, for example, a tribe in New Guinea that wears little
in the way of clothing except sheaths or small cloths to cover the penis
and the pudendum, have highly differentiated societies whose distinctions
of rank register in differences in style of dress and adornment. Different
kinds and colors of feathers distinguish women according to their place
in the society ’ s hierarchy, as do differences in the permissible size of

the mouth plate which fits between men ’ s teeth and their lower lip,
pushing it out. The large plates are reserved for older men of high rank.
Such differences in rank are important because they are associated with
real differences in power in the society and in differences in access to the
society ’ s resources.
Our own modern societies are no different. Those of “ high ” rank, that
is, those with access to more wealth than others, dress in a particular way
that is reflective of their greater power and status. Mostly men, they wear

expensive suits made of the finest materials and crafted by expert tailors.
Look at a news photo of the Davos gathering of world economic leaders,
and you will see men of this rank and clothing style. But look too at a range
of popular magazines for men, from GQ and Forbes to Guns & Ammo
and Motor Trend . What you will see is both a social range and a sartorial
(or clothing) range in the photos and the advertisements. One can assume,
I think, that the first two magazines are directed to high - income mem-

bers of the business community, people with an interest in the fi nancial