Language of Dress

 In 60s and 70s, tailors were very much in demand.  Ready-to-wear clothing was not available in small towns, and in fact, nobody liked to wear readymade dress in those days. To discover a good tailor and get dresses stitched properly by them was an uphill task.  With lot of hopes and dreams, one used to give the fabric material along with a page torn from the magazine, which carried the photograph or sketch of a latest fashionable skirt or top, in it.  Seeing the photograph, the tailor would nod and say he would stitch it the same way. He used to enter the details of measurements in a long note book, which had turned yellow with the passage of time and the pages at the corners had curled by constant usage. He would ask us to come after a fortnight.  Since we were in hurry, that fortnight seemed to be like a quarter year, stretching endlessly.  When the particular day approached, with all possible positive thoughts we used to go to the shop to get the dress. On climbing a spiral staircase, we used to enter into the shop. On seeing us, he used to grin sheepishly.  Taking the receipt from us, adjusting his spectacles, he would look again into the long notebook to get the number of the bundle stitched. After a long search in the cupboard, he would finally pull out the bundle as if he had accomplished a mission. With all eagerness, we used to open the bundle to see whether it had been stitched the way it was instructed. To our surprise, the outcome is entirely different and the tailor would explain that design was slightly altered to fit properly.  What an audacity!  As he could not digest the new fashion, he had stitched it the way he knew.   In spite of the measurements given correctly, dress used to be either too short or too long in the end.  Since then fashion has evolved differently and with great speed, now more and more people are becoming aware of trends. Fashion channel on T.V highlights the latest trends around the world and shows how fashion language has changed over years..

Those who are avid followers of fashion are well acquainted with fashion magazines.  Vogue magazine, started in1892, is one of the oldest fashion magazines and has been popular throughout the world for its rich photographs of ladies in fashionable dresses in glossy papers. It  is a great credit for one to appear in this magazine. Usually, fashion has been associated with actors and the rich. Actors dressing in different way create their own fashion language.  In semiotics, Roland Barthes says fashion works as a language – coded language, a sign. Dresses when decoded speak out the truth and classify people as rich, poor, elegant, conservative, artistic, flamboyant and so on.

      Fashion is a popular style at a particular period and that is associated with culture.  With the passage of time, fashion has evolved better and better- design wise, material wise, and aesthetic values too have changed. Fashion is a trend in a particular time and it keeps changing time to time. To be on the bandwagon, it is essential for one to move with the time and accept the trends that are latest and fashionable. The word fashion is applicable to all fields.  

                                         One could assess the personality of a person by the way he or she is dressed and how it is carried on. Dress denotes character, taste, attitude, sophistication and elegance of a person in detail. Some persons look amazingly beautiful and dignified in simple attires and command respect. This is  possible because their attire reflect their philosophy of life. It does not matter whether one looks trendy or not, one has to be graceful and dignified. Every human being, basically, desires to be loved, respected and complimented. For that, one has to make efforts to choose the right dresses with right colors for the right occasion. The colors of the dresses indicate the qualities of persons. Persons who are very active usually prefer bright primary colors.  Those who are usually sober go for brown and grey colors. Highly elegant people always blend their dresses with grey, black and white shades. Colors indicate the psychology of a person. Dressing is also an art and it comes in hand while working out on combinations of materials, colors and trends. Preference for colors vary as one ages and maturity reflects through the dresses one wears. Apart from dressing elegantly, one has to be comfortable in the dress.

Observing the latest trends and its adoption by en masse has made me to reflect seriously on this particular issue. In the present condition, everyone desires to look one’s best with all the readily available dresses and accessories. T.V. is the main source through which everyone gets a dose of fashion and latest trends every day. Films play a key role in setting up trends and dictating

en masse.  Window shopping and online shopping have facilitated people at great lengths. Fashion trends keep changing very fast as consumers are willing to consume more and more.  Mass production means identical items in huge quantity. By using identical objects people all look alike, like Xerox copies.   

To be fashionable, there is no need to purchase all the fashionable things that land in the market, try them, and present oneself as a big goofy.  Age, body structure, nature of a person, job status, education, religion and family background  -  all these  play key roles in selecting  dresses.  One has to visualize how a dress would look on one when it is worn on.   A conscious effort will definitely will bring some changes in one’s tastes and selection of dresses. In  Bollywood  ,Simi Garewal,  Shabhana Azami,  Rekha, Deepika Padukon  are remarkably well dressed and have left  their  indelible individual statements on the viewers. One can combine readymade garments and accessories in one’s own way with personal creativetouches and can make individual statements.