Fashion is a multi-billion-dollar global industry that encompasses the design, production, and marketing of clothing and accessories. Fashion varies from high-fashion seen on runways in Paris and New York to low-fashion found in malls and markets around the world. Fashion influences culture, economy, technology, and politics and is an important source of identity for individuals and groups.
Although fashion is often associated with wealth and power, the practice has been used as a tool of socialization, identification, and even revolution in the past. Judges wear robes, soldiers wear uniforms, brides wear white dresses, and people in general dress a certain way to demonstrate their social class.
To have a sense of fashion means to have a sense of what is popular at any given time. This is why fashion trends are so hard to trace – it can be difficult to see how a pair of short skirts and boots make it from the streets of England to the runways of Paris or the popularity of blue jeans. Trends are also influenced by what’s on television, in movies, and in music.
Fashion isn’t just about clothes – it can also be demonstrated in the way we use jewelry, shoes, bags, accessories, and even our language. To have a sense of fashion means to be aware of what’s going on around you and then follow the trends that seem appropriate for you and your lifestyle.