Post 9: Social Stratification of Fashion

     Social stratification is a concept involving the classification of people based on socio-economic conditions. From highest class to the lowest class. This division that separates people into different social status has been inherited by so many cultures around the world. Thousands of years ago, clothing had been the basis of wealth.

     When someone wears something with gold, it means that he was able to buy a land. When someone wears gold jewelry from head to toe, it means he is a king. But when someone wears simply a plain cloth without any ornaments on it, it means he cannot afford anything or cannot eat three times a day.

     Fashion is a perfect way to show whoever we were. But it has also been a bridge for the society to divide the community. Most people that wear branded clothes have much money for a day. Even if he buys supplies for a 3-times-a-day-meal, he still have the excess money left to buy whatever he wants.

     I've read an article about social stratification entitled "Fashion, Art and Fashion Art" by CNS262 from wordpress.com that tells about how fashion affects the social differences of people among the society even before. High end pieces shows hierarchy. It says there that this art is tied to the elite in two ways. One of it monetarily. Members of the upper class have the funds to spend thousands on clothes that lower classes just do not. The author even said that "Because of social hierarchy, based on money and cultural capital, we see that high art in the form of fashion works as a stratification of social classes The fashion is so innovative and different that to us, though we may view it as beautiful, is it undeniably weird.."

     The second level we must understand this hierarchy on has to do with what Bourdieu calls “cultural capital.” He explains this concept to mean taste that is learned via one’s cultural environment.  In other words, taste is the result of upbringing, which then becomes second nature. It only means that right from the start, social stratification is inevitable to the society.

     Also an article entitled "Day 109: The Sociology of Fashion, Feminism, and Social Class" by Kjerstin Gruys from ayearwithoutmirrors.com it explains more of the theories of fashion that has something to do with social stratification. There was even Simmel's "top-down" theory. But even though these theories has been set and done, we still should consider that fashion is not just about being on ramp or wearing jewelry. She said that "That contemporary fashion cycles operate differently from purely top-down models suggests a certain democratization of fashion, and perhaps increased space for people to challenge class and gender inequalities through fashion."

    There are lots of people who need more than just clothes. They need safety and shelter to sustain their lives. They need more than material things we think -people who can afford much more- that we need and we cannot live without. We should all be aware that one should pay attention more on what the world needs and not the ones we want. Let us all be open-minded from all the things that happen to the people around us.

Post 8: Psychology of Fashion

   

Yes of course if there will be "Psychology of Cosplay", there should also be "Pscyhology of Fashion". Why? Simply because we want to let the readers be aware of the effects of small things in our lives that we don't get much of time to do research. We all want to know why people wear whatever they're wearing. There are some people who wear too short skirts, jacket even when the sun is too high or almost nothing (some, yes).

     Upon my research regarding this matter, an article entitled "Fashion Psychology" which I believe to be the author is Karen herself, by karenpine.com tells about how  fashion affects our everyday life. What we actually wear manipulates the way we move. It has some kind of coordination in between. When someone wears an elegant set of jewelry and a perfect black dress, she will automatically feel so fragile. Whatever we wear makes our body act accordingly to what our clothes want to project. If we try to project a very professional image, then, we have to wear office or business attires. I quote a line from the article that I think gives a better view of what am I trying to say which has been said by the author, " Recent research on enclothed cognition demonstrates a powerful link between a person’s attire and the way they behave, and evolutionary and cognitive psychology can help us to understand the inner drivers for people’s clothing choices, and the effect upon others."

     It is true that what we wear defines us. If we tried to wear something that looks really unprepared, it will damage our credibility. We cannot just put on pajamas if we'll be attending a wedding ceremony. For some especially for higher classes, they chose fashion to express how they protect their credibility. Especially when one is well-dressed.

     Another article that caught my attention is this "What Cognitive Psychology Studies Reveals about Fashion" by G.Moda themselves from gdotmoda.com also shows how style affects the way we project our message to the world. By the use of style and fashion we give them the idea of what we are trying to connect with them. "There has been several investigations using social science approaches into the impacts of fashion on how other people perceive us as a result of the clothes that we wear, especially during the 1980s and 1990s, and quite a few on how we perceive fashions from the perspective of developing virtual simulations of fashions, in the late 1990s and early in the first decade of 2000." said by G.Moda.

     Fashion can be an instrument but it can also be a form of communication to people on how we react based on what we wear. We project different images in the form of what we wear everyday. It can be a professional look, simple, sweet or edgy. But no matter how we make ourselves as canvass, still it is our choice with whatever image we want to paint on ourselves and that's what the people will see.

Post 7: Psychology of Cosplay

Alodia Gosiengfiao

     We all do things for a reason. But our reasons were not the same. One maybe because of attention, or
the other maybe because of passion. Just like how every cosplayers have their own reason why they chose to cosplay instead of doing any other hobby. Well, to be honest, as a cosplayer, I found it very interesting and it makes me feel confident of who and what I am. Yes, I am in character but still, it's me. I chose characters that match my personality in some ways. I chose characters that can show the different sides of me. That's how I see and define cosplay for me.

     People around the world were too busy with themselves. We cannot see the importance of every single thing. But now, from the article I've read "Why People Cosplay" by Gaijinpot from Gaijinpot.com open my mind to something not all people can realize. It says there that Cosplayers found themselves safe whenever they find someone with the same interest. We feel so open to others without the fear of being judged. Gaijinpot said "I also observed what kind of people would come to the shop. I definitely saw those people in the shop as quiet, introverted and otaku types, but I could see how open minded they could be, in terms of exploring their love life, than people who appear to be “normal”, so we cannot underestimate the power of otaku people, really!" and his statement made me really happy for the fact that he saw something different from us.

     Upon my research, the common thing that I observed is that "shy people use cosplay as instrument to break their shells". It is actually a good thing for people to find something they know they can show off themselves, right? I find cosplay very helpful to people like me who don't know how to express myself correctly. I break my own shell by the use of this kind of hobby. I find it sociable and approachable. I honestly don't feel any fear from the judgement I might receive because I know that I stand out among everyone and I am happy with what I am.

Me as SI (Dream of Doll)

     People think we are weird for dressing up with bright colored wigs and contact lenses. But despite the negative comments like "they're annoying", "they just want attention" and stuff like that, we find common thing that make us happy in every single day of our lives. One person who can appreciate our works makes our kokoro (japanese translation of heart) jumps!

     We do this not just for ourselves but whenever we see people smile because they think we're awesome and made their favorite characters went to life is a big achievement for us. We feel that we have accomplished something not all people can do. Whenever we see kid calling us in our character names, we feel how lucky we are to actually dress up and show up in front of kids like characters went out straight from the television.

     Also, an article entitled "Why Halloween Simply Isn't Enough: The Psychology of Cosplay" by a guest writer ArkhamAsylumDoc from sciencefiction.com, she's a cosplayer too and what makes her awesome is that she opened herself to anyone knowing that million people can read her entry by just one click! Since that many people misunderstood us as "Halloween Mascots" (and yes we can hear people calling us mascots) she was able to make connection to readers and explain how cosplaying really goes. I quoted some lines from her article that inspired be so much, "Psychologically, I believe it is an adaptive, healthy exercise to assume the physical role of a character that you can relate to or admire greatly. I find it nothing short of empowering to assume the role of a character who is independent, cunning, agile, and confident. Showing a lot of skin does not necessarily negate all of those amazing qualities in a woman!  If I’ve ever felt secretive about talking about cosplay, I’ve learned that this comes not from shame or guilt, but from the desire to preserve an important part of my identity."

     We might be mistaken as mascots or anything you want to call it, but deep inside our hearts we know that we do it because we want to make people happy by doing a hobby that can make people smile when they see us, maybe not everyone but at least one smile can really change the world, our world. It doesn't matter how negative people think of us or how they judge us because what's more important is that we try to give people an opening to our secrets that only few can understand.