Importance of fashion in a daily life

Topic
The importance of fashion in our daily lives is a given. For individuals who work in the fashion industry, it is a profession in itself as well as a personal interest. For those outside the industry, fashion still plays a very important role. However, many people do not realize that fashion is also a valuable tool for analyzing culture and for assessing the values of that culture. Our fashion choices tell people who we are and what our standing is in society; in addition, our choices have an impact on our ability to succeed - or to fail - in certain areas of our lives. The topic of research for this proposal is an analysis of the ways in which clothing functions as a reflection of our culture, as well as a tool that can enhance or hinder our success in life.
Rationale
People have been using clothing and accessories for centuries. In fact, as O'Neil has pointed out, clothing and accessories are not the only items used to decorate the body. Across the globe,  the ways in which people present themselves vary widely. Items commonly used range from body and hair paint to decorative scarring, and from perfume to body deformation (O'Neil 2005: n.p.). Clothing is primarily worn, of course, for practical reasons, such as protection from the weather and outdoor elements. It is also worn to cover certain parts of the body, either out of modesty or cultural restrictions. The parts of the body that are covered may be different, depending upon the culture and location Clothing may also be used a sort of talisman to ward off evil, or a type of supernatural protection. In Christian populations, wearing a medal of St. Christopher is thought to protect the wearer from evil (O'Neil 2005: n.p.). In a similar vein, carrying a rabbit's foot or some other item associated with luck is a way of using supernatural assistance.
However, clothing is worn for more than the reasons stated above. O'Neil asserts that 'long before we are physically near enough to talk to people, their appearance announces their gender, age, economic class, and often even intentions' (2005: n.p.). Fashion is also a medium by which people communicate messages about gender, occupation, class, and wealth. This is something we learn to recognize when we are very young. We also come to recognize what O'Neil refers to as a 'vocabulary of dress'. In other words, in addition to the actual items of clothing we wear, there are other features that we have come to accept as part of 'dress'. Among these are hairstyles, makeup, and accessories such as jewelry. Additionally, body decoration such as tattoos and piercings have come to be considered part of the contemporary vocabulary of dress. According to Joanne Entwistle, 'in contemporary culture, the body has become the site of identity. We experience our bodies as separate from others and increasingly we identify with our bodies as containers of our identities and places of personal expression' (2000: 138).
An important aspect of fashion is its relationship to society at large. In recent years, this has become considerably more complex. The way we dress says a great deal more about us than many people realize. What we wear presents a statement to the world. It is another way of revealing certain information about ourselves to others: without saying a word, we give out clues about our social background, our economic status, and our images of ourselves. As Entwistle has suggested,  'dress is tied up to social life in more than one way: it is produced out of economic, political, technological conditions as well as shaped by social., cultural, aesthetic ideas' (2000: 111).
The significance of clothing goes beyond what we wear. A pair of blue jeans is not just a pair of blue jeans. The brand is often just as - or more - important as the article of clothing. Brand recognition is a crucial factor in the world of fashion, especially for younger generations. Faedda asserts that 'for young people jeans have become a tool of social and political protest, of adherence and membership, symbol and emblem; for stylists jeans have become a trendy casual product, a refined prêt a porter article or quite a high fashion creation' (Faedda 2005:4).
Not only is clothing a key to who we are - it also plays a role in how far we can travel in certain circles. It has been said that 'the right clothing can grant us access to the right places and the right people' (Jones 2002: 21). Some scholars theorize that what we wear affects how we act, as well as how others react to us. According to O'Neil, 'putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you' (2005:n.p.). He uses the example of uniforms, explaining that the message conveyed simply by wearing the clothing associated with a particular profession is both immediate and strong. One specific example O'Neil mentions is that of a study of Spanish policemen. Without their uniforms, they were seen as having little or no effect on people, even though they were in fact identified as policemen. With their uniforms on, however, they acted in a much more aggressive manner. In addition, the people who saw them in uniform were much more responsive to directions.
O'Neil also explains that uniforms are designed to elicit this kind of response:  'Most uniforms are consciously symbolic so that they can rapidly and conclusively communicate status…The ribbons and other insignias on the U.S. sailor's uniform can tell even a stranger about his status, authority, and military experience (2005: n.p.). And it is important to note that uniforms can include things beyond clothing, such as specific hairstyles that are commonly associated with certain groups of individuals. The 'uniform' hairstyle of  'punkers' is one example of this. It is assumed by the wearers that the public will recognize these markers and make the connection to a certain group: 'it is necessary to know what these culturally defined symbols mean in the context that they are used in order to understand what is being communicated' (O'Neil 2005: n.p.). According to Faedda, the uniform as we know it has become a 'transgressive symbol' that is associated with 'the so-called "subcultures" or "antifashions", political and social movements, music, mass protests and juvenile cultural phenomena generally' (Faedda 2005: 4).