The Influence that Issey Miyake´s Japanese Heritage Hand on his Designs

Fatema Mernissi’s essay “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” shares her experience when she enters a department store in New York and is told she is too big when she can’t find a skirt her size. After being told she is too big, Mernissi continues on to question the sales lady. The sales lady then tells her that being a size six is a “normal” size. Immediately, it is noticeable that Mernissi isn’t too fond with the sales lady comment. The theme in Mernissi’s essay is the idea of women accepting the fact that men and society tell them how they should look in order for them to be beautiful. For example in the essay Mernissi questions as to why women accept this and how exactly does this work. By this, Mernissi shows her concern as to why women not only accept it, but also practice it.

Great care was taken in color coordination of kimonos. In addition, lavish makeup was also prized, and women of high caste were never seen in public without it. Even among men, good taste in dress and manner were valued more highly than skill in battle.

In the article, “The Battle Over Dress Codes” written by Peggy Orenstein, explains the dress code of Berkley Middle School from a mother’s point of view. This mother of argues that young girls who are reaching puberty and whose bodies are growing, are being told to cover up once they start to develope. She says, “In May, students in Utah high school opened their yearbooks to discover digitally raised necklines and sleeve added to female classmates’ shirts.” I find this act highly deceitful and unnecessary. If i was that student or that student’s parent, I’d be very upset. Orenstein also states that “seductiveness” has been an issue for girls, which has become politicized. Although, no matter how we’re dressed, there is no excuse for catcalls from older men. Orenstein says, “I don’t want her to feel shame in her soon-to-be-emerging

Fashion has been a prominent aspect of a woman’s life throughout time. Women of different times and cultures have turned the routine of picking out clothes and putting together different ensembles into a sort of art, or a way to express and promote themselves. Many women also see fashion as part of their identity, or a way to manipulate the way people see them. What a woman wears can drastically change the way society views her - it can increase her chances of getting a job, or make her gain respect (or rejection) from her peers (Sika n.p.).

Both power and relationships are revealed in dress, uniform and costumes” (p.349). Clothing can bind a community together by wearing similar garments. Zitkala-Sa uses clothing to indicate the relationship she has with her tribe so when she is forced to remove them, she loses a part of her family as well.

In the late 18th century both Japan and Europe were experiencing many new artistic and intellectual developments. While Europe’s developments were increasingly political, more and more people wanted rights for women along with protection from the state. Japan on the other hand was progressively modernizing from their isolated feudal society into its modern form now. Beginning in Tokyo many new intellectual advances came from studying the western sciences and techniques. Authors like Rousseau and Wollstonecraft wrote revolutionary books in Europe that changed the way people thought about themselves and what rights they should be born with; they led people to question the state and fight for what they believed to be justifiably right.

It is deplorable how easily the American government faltered in its responsibility in upholding the rights of all American citizens, as well as how easily it was signed away. The United States influenced by the effects of racial prejudice and mass hysteria, which had been developing since the end of the First World War, lead to what were seen as reprimandable decisions in overruling the rights of Japanese-Americans. With the major influences of fear-mongering caused from a risen tensions of events in the East, beginning the Second World War in the Pacific, such as the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and later, direct attacks in the United States at military base, Pearl Harbor in 1941, were all proponents into the development of an era of exceptions,

We usually pay more attention to the inner core of human beings, but clothing is not simply an outfit that covers out bodies—it indeed delivers a strong message to the society. A particular style of clothing marks the fashion of an era or a culture, but sometimes there is more historical context and material politics behind it. Clothing is not superficial; it represents identity and dignity of a group of people. According to Miller’s “Why Clothing is not Superficial”, clothing gives us “such dignity, glamour and refinement”, and they “actually were what made us think what we think we are” (Miller). It sometimes may have a unique appearance but it could be a powerful challenge to the public memory and hegemonic forces.

Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a

In the last 150 years clothing styles and the creation of clothing has changed drastically. From only custom-made clothing being available to the wealthy to fitted style clothing of the Renaissance period, these changes from the past have influenced clothing style and creation in today’s society. With the rise in technology advancements and influx availability, people are able to create and purchase clothing much easier and quicker than those in the past.

Fashion reflects the attitudes of a society more than any other art form. Like art, fashion is a material record of the ideals that swayed the nations at the time of their creation. Through examining the styles, and tastes of a particular era, we can realize where the interests and priorities of a time lie. As Frank Parsons wrote in his 1920 study, The Psychology of Dress, "There is surly no better field in which to trace the devious paths of human thought than in that of clothes, where man has ever given free play to self expression, in a way which, thought not always a credit to his intelligence, is yet quite true to his innermost self, whether he will acknowledge it or

The fashion industry is rapidly growing and constantly generating new fashion trends almost weekly. Fashion for some may seem ridiculous and unnecessary; but fashion is not just a meaningless usage of article of clothing or farcical materials sew together for coverage. There is more to fashion than meets the eyes, fashion is precious and significant. It is a reflection of self-image, it speak the ream about who we are and how we review ourselves. Not only is fashion the reflection of self-image but also the reflection of our history as Coco Channel have said, “Fashion is not something that exist in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Fashion

Fashion-conscious teenage girls are fond of wearing pink and other super-feminine clothes whereas older women, being brought in the workforce during the peak of Japan’s bubble economy during the 1980’s, have become fond of luxury designer items and high fashion, which can sometimes be noted through the suits they wear for work. Women who have high positions in global corporations usually wear designer suits, the designer usually being either European or American.

Young women all over the world constantly struggle with their appearance and something as simple as what to wear on a daily basis. Most people today barely wear half of the items in their closet. In this essay, instead of feeling stressed and constrained by the thought of picking out an outfit to wear, Kahl considers it a way to wear her unique look all the time, using rhetorical devices to support her decision. Her signature style is hers and can be as humdrum or unique as she wants. Silk white shirt and a few black trousers? A custom made leather rosette? Chances are everyone has certain outfits that they enjoy wearing more than others already. In the essay, “Why I Wear the Same Thing to Work Everyday”, Kahl uses pathos as she stresses the amount of time and money wasted on wearing different clothing daily, as well as ethos as she proves her authority to men.

During our life we construct many different identities of who we want to portray ourselves as to the rest of society; fashion plays a vital role in generating who we are. With the ideas from Storry and Childs they state that “the way that we dress can either serve to confirm or to subvert various facets of our identities, such as our gender,