The Clothes Make The Man

Posted on 13. Nov, 2009 by Ruda in Society, Unrelated Musings

Photo by d3l

What we wear on the outside, what we decorate our bodies with, inevitably causes assumptions to be made by others about who we are. What started with a necessity to protect ourselves from the elements has evolved into an art form. From what I have been able to observe around me, I have separated the way people view clothes into two main categories. Aesthetic wearers and niche wearers.

Aesthetic wearers are those who choose the clothes they wear based on what they find visually appealing. They are for the most part not limited by any particular style. They wear anything and everything that they think will look good on them. This may sometimes be inhibited due to social acceptability but anything allowable by law is fair game. This group includes those who wear clothes more for functionality than for appearance, because to them, function is beauty.

Niche wearers, as I call them, are those who decide what to wear based on what group of people they choose to associate themselves with. They choose clothes based on what characteristics they want others to perceive in them. The Emo look is an excellent example. Here, members of the group choose to wear similar clothing to show to the rest of the world their membership. The niche wearers are not limited to those who want to show group membership. This includes people who want status, style, sexiness, or any quality that they are consciously choosing to exemplify. The popped collar wearer is a prime example. Never has there been such a blatant indicator to the world that this person is purposely seeking to be viewed as “cool.” The niche wearers will consistently choose to follow their desire for certain qualities over comfort, quality, sometimes even price.

The way I have constructed it is a little too simplistic. In reality, no one is perfectly one or the other. Everyone has a different balance of the two. This is because we already have preconceptions about what looks good, and they are based on seeing others. So the aesthetic wearer cannot be completely original, and the niche wearer will not choose to wear something completely ugly. But for the most part, elements of both these ideologies are visible in the style choices of the people around us. The actual possibilities in appearance are not exactly infinite in reality, so it is very much possible to see a niche wearer and aesthetic wearer in the same exact outfit, but what differs is the motivation. I believe everything a person puts forth to others can indicate something of their personality, and clothes are no exception. So next time you find yourself in a social situation, see if being an aesthetic or niche wearer has any bearing on the way a person interacts with you. I would be very interested to learn of your experience.

Tags: beauty, clothes, culture, others, people