Passion for Fashion
Fashion is a form of expression, whether it is through ones self or through another human being. The world is always evolving, and so is the world of fashion. Clothes are a necessity but many people feel the need to impress others with the clothes they are wearing. Some people try to impress others with their style, or with just the brand they are wearing to show how high class they are. On the other hand, people who dress for enjoyment usually do not feel the pressures of society to impress colleagues. Fashion is universal, and is used throughout the world. Throughout time, and the evolvement of fashion, new trends arise, old trends die, and some even older trends are brought back to life. Fashion can be analyzed through ethos, pathos, and logos. Designers as well as their brands always have confidence in their product, whether it is through a celebrity’s new clothing line, or the photo for the new line of clothes being put on display in a store. Magazine’s, blogs, and television are all ways of marketing and advertising the brand of the product, which is ethos. Also, fashion is very emotional for some people. Some people are emotional because they are brats and do not have the latest designs, or are emotional because the fashion show they just put together came out well and effected people in a positive way, which is pathos. And finally, logos would be the actual outcome with a benefit from the selling of the brands. Some high-class brands are copied and remade by lower, cheaper brands to appeal to appeal to an audience who can afford the cheaper product but still want to look like they are dressed higher class.
Ethos appeals to personal branding as well as confidence in delivery. In fashion these two credentials are essential for success. Many name brands that are more expensive do not need to hype their brand any more because of the reputation many of them have. For example, Louis Vuitton, many women and men purchase the products because of the credibility and because it is high quality. There are not a lot of advertisements for Louis Vuitton because the brand does not need it. It is so successful already. Branding is very important in fashion whether the company needs to advertise or not. The LV in the copy of a Louis Vuitton purse is the reason someone is purchasing the product too. Brands are associated with the dependency of the product. In addition, many “regular” people idolize celebrities and the way that they dress. These celebrities in themselves would be considered brands. Rihanna just came out with a line of shoes through the Puma footwear company and the products have sky rocketed in puma just because Rihanna’s name was associated with the brand. This also happened with Kanye West and Adidas as well as Drake and the Jordan’s shoe company. People respect celebrities, especially these specific artists who have good style and are very confident in them selves. The point of product branding correlating celebrities and companies already established are to bring in customers based off the fan base of the individual artist, because the fans love Rihanna, Kanye, or Drake and if they are wearing and making this shoes than the product’s audience will want to purchase no matter how expensive they can be. Fans, and customers discover these brands are interested in them through social media as well as magazines or stands in the mall or in the windows of stores. If someone walked by the Adidas store but had never purchased Adidas they probably would not know about Kanye’s brand within the company unless they saw something on social media referring to it. Media production has a large sum of how the product is perceived and the best way to sell the brand.
Pathos appeals to emotions, as well as language, or images that create a reaction from the audience. That being said, fashion is emotional for a lot of people, even without their knowledge of themselves reacting to something. Many people are so excited when they try on clothes, or purchase a pair of new shoes. This in itself is creating an emotional experience for people. Clothes have the power to shoot someone’s confidence levels up. This emotional appeal is for all types of people, not just women. Many men will try on a nice suit or a pair of jeans and they may not openly express how they feel but the clothing will subconsciously make the individuals happy and confident about themselves. Clothes help people express who they are without having to say anything. If you look into high fashion, the emotional aspect of it goes into a very deep realm of emotions. In high fashion the clothes and shows are looked at as art, and the designers as artists. Many epic designs are eventually moved into museums. Michelle Obama’s beautiful dress from the Inauguration Ball is now in The National Museum of American History and is admired. Many Victoria’s Secret lingerie pieces that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the amount of diamonds and gems on each of them are on display in windows throughout New York City as well as in some museums. This type of fashion moves people and makes the audience, models, and designers feel an array of emotions. At first thought people think clothing is supposed to be for other people, like dressing for an interview, work or a sports team but what someone puts on their body expresses in a way who they are and this gives people confidence. For a lot of people if they look good, they feel good or if they are comfortable they are content. In addition, some people are emotionally attached to products, like their shoes that keep breaking so they continue to fix them at the cobbler. Also, like before with branding, when celebrities have a brand or wear something many of their fans feel the need to as well, even if the price is not ideal. This is also an emotional attachment. Some people will cry and beg their parents to buy them to newest shoes, or the newest jacket because it will only be trendy for so long and then the trend will be gone and the jacket or shoes will become “irrelevant” or just out of style. This is what popular culture is all about. It show how things in the current times can go out of date very quickly and many people like to stay on top of the latest styles, products and brands before they are irrelevant and some people reflect this on themselves. If they wear the latest style they will have emotional or social reassurance in a way.
Finally, logos, which is studies involving numbers and people and also a comparison of different things. When it comes to name brands and purchasing the highest quality or brand name, not everyone can afford it and many people like the copy the styles and trend of what celebrities are wearing and most of the time they have designer clothes on. So how can someone copy a celebrity’s outfit or style if they cannot afford it? Many lower priced name brand stores duplicate the higher fashion trends and just recreate them with cheaper fabric and at an affordable price. For example, Forever21 has the latest trends but are affordable. There is also Marshall’s, which takes name brand items that have not been sold and sell them through their store at a largely discounted price. Another example of this would be Steve Madden and Traffic, which are both shoe stores. These two store both copy designer trends but at discount prices. Steve Madden shoes can be affordable but sometimes are over prices, while Traffic is a very cheap shoe shore but they shoes are very low quality. These two stores, like many other cheaper designer shores that sales, discounts, and deals. Also, many large name stores sell clothing at a very low price, like Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kohl’s. According to researchers women averagely spend $75 per month while men averagely spend $85 per month. Women typically find more deals, or at least are luckier when shopping than men are.
In conclusion, fashion is a universal topic, as well as a universal need. Whether an individual is trying to impress their colleagues with their style or they love fashion and clothing in accordance to just themselves, fashion is a way of life and is an amazing way to express oneself. The branding is a huge part of the industry, as well as the appeal the audience receives. Clothes allow individuals to feel good about themselves, or at least feel comfortable in what they are wearing. Fashion can be looked at as art, in museums, on the runway, or in window displays. Anyone can have good style, and wear the new trends as long as you shop at the right places. Fashion is very self-invested, and it should always express someone’s personality and style. Without a doubt always be yourself when you get dressed in the morning, and don’t allow others to judge your style.
