Semiotics of dress

When the term semiotics is applied to dress, it refers to the words and symbols used to describe the images supporting "the structure of social interaction". Examples of these social interactions include: the system of statuses and roles. Symbolism/ideals/values of dress Ruth Rubinstein, a sociologist and author, identified six distinct categories of dress. • "Clothing symbols," have several meanings and involve individual choice and preference. Name brand athletic wear is an example. • "Clothing tie-signs," are specific types of clothing that indicate membership in a community outside of mainstream culture. Amish and Hutterite attire are examples. • "Clothing tie-symbols," act as a means of broader social affiliation emanating especially from fears, hopes, and dreams. This can include Save the Earth clothing, Pro-Choice T-shirts, and religious crosses. • "Personal dress," refers to the "I" component we bring in when dressing the public self. This category allows for individuality in the public sphere. • "Contemporary fashion," is the interaction between political and economic events and consumer sentiments, involving public memory. • "Clothing signs," is the sixth category, and is made up of three sub-categories. The first, is task oriented or instrumental in nature; the second, is having one primary meaning; and the third, is being recognized as a sign for those who wear it. On the other hand, military parkas and coats were embraced by Mods for their practicality and by punks for their grunge aesthetic. Men v. women Throughout history there has been a separation between the roles and relationships that men and women play. These socially structured differences between men and women have contradicted each other at times. Fashion has picked up on the tensions left by these contradictions as well. The symbolic separation of men and women is fundamental to the history of dress. As time has gone by, the forms of clothing (colors, fabrics and shapes) have changed, but the idea of gender difference has survived. while women’s fashion evolved into a complex semiotic language system. This uniform mainly conveyed the social standing of the student, as blue jackets would be worn by students of lower social standing due to the cheapness of the blue dye. In contrast, high social class students would have other colored jackets. On the other hand, girls would wear stretch jerseys, loose blouses, and knee-length skirts, restricting their abilities to do any physical sport or exercise, which reinforced societal norms that women were not allowed to participate in sports. The overall concept of school uniforms remains the same, with schools with uniform policies requiring boys to wear collared shirts and trousers and girls to wear blouses and skirts. However, there have been recent arguments against institutions that challenge the binary gendered notion of uniforms to allow for accommodations for students who fall in between the spectrum of gender identity. An example of this would be in 2016 when gender-neutral categories of uniforms were implemented in the United Kingdom for students who are transitioning. == Psychology in dress ==

Psychologist J. C. Flugel concluded that styles of dress affect one's appearance, yet triggering feelings that enable role performance. The study consisted of three experiments with 38 people associating lab coats with doctors and did tests on selective attention and sustained attention. The study of five experiments held that the clothing one wears changes the way we see ourselves and possibly influences our decision-making, communication skills, and leadership behavior. Clothing can be perceived as one's medium or channel for self-expression. Every day people communicate ideas and express feelings about them to others through the use of clothing, and vice versa. This way of thinking leads to the idea of the social self, which is that the idea of self-reflection is a social construction. Self-perception The term self-schema could be used to defined thought processes that modify, organize and integrate qualities assigned to the self. This idea may include visual images or verbal descriptions that people may use to describe which "look" suits them best and which "look" doesn't. Teen boys see themselves as more physically effective than teen girls. While at the same time, teen girls perceive themselves as being more effective by means of attractiveness. Recently these perceptions among men and women have changed. Women are increasingly concerned with their physical effectiveness, while men have become more interested in their physical attractiveness. Today, unlike men, women are more critical when assessing their bodies in terms of physical fitness, appearance, health and sexuality. However, both men and women tend to be equally satisfied when it comes to their bodies and their self-perceptions. ==See also ==