There is no doubt that our clothes reflect a lot about our culture and identity. Therefore, we must be careful in selecting the clothes that show various aspects of our personalities.
Things Clothes Reflect About Us
Here are the things that the clothes reflect about us.
Clothes Reflect an Image
The clothes reflect our image, good or bad, positive or negative. We need to work on this identity by carefully choosing our dressing. For that to happen, we must first introspect about our personality. What are the aspects of our personality that we think we must exhibit?
We need to make sure that our dressing reflects us in a positive light. But, this positive image must showcase and coincide with the one that we have in our mind. Because, besides what people think of us, we are also cognizant of the image we have of ourselves. For example, wearing blazer, pumps, and black dress portrays a positive and upbeat personality of a woman.
Dressing for Economic Success and Status
An important part of our personality as urban creatures is our lifestyle. There are Certain lifestyles make us wear clothes which play a significant role in expressing our true selves. Many in the US, for example, use dressing to reflect their wealth and social status.
Many societies do not have a typical caste system to differentiate between people of different classes. Therefore, clothes reflect the level of income or wealth in a precise manner. Capitalism has made clothing an important part of the distinction between people of varying income statuses.
Cultural Aspects of Clothing
In some regions of the world, typically Asia, clothing reflects the caste system. For example, in India, clothes reflect sects, religious identities, and culture. For example, the turban wrapped in a particular manner indicates a Sikh. Besides religious aspects, clothes reflect their cultural associations as well.
Men and women of India wear different types of clothing as per the region. Famous dress choices for women include Churidaar, Anarkali Suit, Salwar Kameez, and Sari. Popular clothes for men include Dhoti, Kurta, Lungi, Achkan, and Sherwani.
Here are some examples of culture or religion reflected by clothing.
- Traditional dress for men in Scotland is Sporran. Women traditionally wear Tartan skirt, and a shawl or sash.
- The traditional dresses which exhibit the Spanish culture include farthingale, corsets, and whalebone.
- Similarly, the orange dressing by Monks reflects their particular religious’ affiliation and a certain way of living.
Dressing and Professional Success
The dressing is also an important part of our working lives. The kind of clothing we wear to the office may also be taken as a measure of our success. Corporate culture demands us to wear a certain type of dress to the office. However, there is a distinction between industries when it comes to what one should wear to the office.
For example, the dress code of an IT startup is different from what we might see in a law firm. Furthermore, we need to assess the corporate culture in which we work. Therefore, it is important that we choose our dressing according to our industry norms.
