Both Fashion and Style play crucial parts in identifying one social group from another but also from the rest of society, for example, if you saw someone wearing all black you would automatically put them in the group of 'Goths' or if you saw someone with flared pants and a flowery headband on you would assume they were a hippie.
Fashion and Style are both essential in giving groups and individuals a sense of belonging and feeling unique. As stated by (Barnard, p.48) Fashion and clothing are cultural in the sense that they are some of the ways in which a group constructs and communicates its identity. They are two of the ways in which the values and identities of groups may be communicated both to other groups and also to members of those groups . Through behavioural and sartorial ("pertaining to a tailor," 1823, from Mod.L.) choices, group identification is formed; Members of a group wearing a distinctive fashion, shows reinforcement for that particular group. This essay will examine the links between Fashion and youth movement of post-war Britain and how youth culture was formed and influenced.
Regardless of the fact that Fashion and Style are closely linked, both can be clarified in different ways. A dictionary definition of Fashion is “a style that is popular at a particular time, especially inclothes, hair, make-up, etc (Cambridge dictionary, online). On the other hand, Style is described as a way of doing something, especially one that is typical of a person, group of people, place, or period (Cambridge dictionary, online) however both terms have more in-depth meanings when explored further and compared.
Gronow (1993, p.89) believes that fashion is “socially acceptable and a safe way to distinguish yourself from others and, at the same time, it makes you feel content with your own need for social adaptation and imitation”, and (Fashion and clothing) are communicative in that they are non-verbal ways in which meanings and values are produced and exchanged (Barnard, p.48). Where as, Hebdige’s interpretation of style in the field of subcultures, is a form of social denial or “criminal art” (1979, p.2).Similar to fashion, the idea of style can be relevant when discussing both individuals and cultures. From this I can conduct that Fashion and style are used as a recognition tool by us all. We don’t realise it, but we choose what to wear every day to fit into some sort of group; whether that be you wearing a suit for work or wearing silver chains and black lip stick.
According to Peter Laurie, Teenage Revolution (London: Anthony Blond, 1965) p9, in Horn p91, The distinctive fact about teenagers’ behaviour is economic: they spend a lot of money on clothes, records, concerts, make-up, magazines all things that give immediate pleasure and little lasting use. Youth Culture first appeared in Britain around the Post War Period, it brought about new legalisation,. The Youth Culture was a huge part of Post War Britain, it was a metaphor for soc...
