Enough of dressing down already!

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/timelessclassics/reversiblebowtie.tem

I read recently that there is set to be a backlash against 'dressing down'.  Now, to stand out, dresssing up is the thing.  I personally mourn the loss of smartly dressed men and I'm excited to see whether the backlash will  really take root.  Give me a man in a shirt and blazer over a T-shirt and shorts anytime! However, living in California means I'm just as likley to spot a smartly dressed gentleman, as I am to spot a Yeti on Venice beach.  And it all started in the workplace in this very state.  The  IT boom in silicone valley in the late 90's early 00's  saw the popularity of 'Casual Fridays' run a muck with what was acceptable attire for the office.  It was all downhill from there.

The prevalence of 'dressing down' isn't rampant only among men, but women too.  It does seem that California girls cant wait to get their clothes off.  Not always  literally of course, but the difference between what Californian and European girls wear is staggeringly different. This is not to say that I think Californians dont dress well, I admire the laid back, pacific-breeze-cool attitude.  I just mean that most Europeans couldn't pull it off.  The attitude is too different.  I never thought id see the day when i would quote Katy Perry (but here goes); in her song California girls, she captures the essence of the California cool, beach loving influence on fashion with the lines  'fine, fresh, fierce.....daisy dukes, bikini on top'.  Clearly I'm European, i had to look up who and what daisy dukes were (and I'm scared to find out what someones Popsicle is!)  But yes, cut-off jean shorts and a bikini top are the norm here in summer.

Despite all this, it is good to see such a historic and iconic american store revamp one of the most eccentric and traditional item that might exist in a mans wardrobe; the Bow Tie.  Just look how fab and different these are!  Hopefully they are seen as so cool, that some California dudes adopt them and make me smile.

Is it ‘bad’ to use labels to describe someone?

This was a recent question posed to me in a college class, the topic being the interaction between human behavior  identity and fashion .......  It occurred to me that we label people everyday in many ways without even realizing it.  Is this such a terrible thing to do?

First of all, let’s not pretend that a label is something other than a cliché.  I don’t however, necessarily see this as a negative thing.  A cliché is that for a reason; the majority of people experience common traits in another that is then given a label.  This pattern or expectation, and thus shared knowledge, helps us to understand and communicate an aspect of an individual’s personality.   So long as we accept and remember that it is only a single aspect of a person’s identity, then I see no issue.  However we must also accept, that to allow us to fit an individual more neatly into our labeled boxes, we may not recall all of the attributes or behaviors that were displayed to us during an interaction.  

It is a fact that we use ‘labels’ every day.  How else would you describe something as fundamental as someone being female or male or a girl versus a woman, without a long winded explanation of biology and anatomy?  In the same way, labels act to communicate your interpretation of a person’s personality in just a few words or sentences.

So is it bad to use labels to try to describe a person’s identity? I would argue not.   So long as, as an individual and a society, we understand that a label is describing an individual only for a certain period of time or for a discreet use, and is not seeking to completely describe the true individual.  My argument is based on the idea that the use of labels allows us to articulate one or several aspects of an individual’s personality or appearance with the use of a single word or short phrase.  Indeed when asked to describe someone to another, it is hard to consider doing this without using some type of label to help the other person understand.  I would argue that this is not disrespectful but sensible, as the nature of human interaction is to find a common ground with another so as to communicate successfully. 

It is also human instinct to draw comparisons and to try and classify a person with something or someone that we have encountered before.  I feel that this is actually a positive way of realizing and understanding our commonality, things that we and another share.  Of course labels can also be used in a negative and dangerous way if the connotations of the label are understood or intended to be negative.  Just as the use of labels helps us understand, group and communicate on a common ground with other individuals, the use of unfavorable or negative labels will always cause a breakdown in societal harmony.