Clothing Hedonism: Glamourizing Fashion In Conventional Discourses

Quick and Easy Illustrations by Mai Manaloto

www.instagram.com/MaryAnnClothing

The ideology of consumption immersed from the perception of one’s self. Fashion goods and services has the capacity to alter one’s current lifestyle and physical appearance. When we casually talk about fashion, it reflects our personal goals, life history and specific interests. Others however, may argue that fashion fosters depthless and materialistic outlooks. 

When speaking of fashion, there are generally two perspectives. You can either glamourize it, or trivialize it.

Glamourizing fashion takes one to a type of realm wherein goods and services project our dreams and fantasies about living the ‘good life’ – an idealized consumer dream world (Thompson and Haytko, 1997).

This take on fashion has given rise to the world of haute couture (or high fashion), runways, magazine spreads and billboards. Cambell (1987) coined the term “imaginative hedonism” to encompass this phenomena. Glamourizing is a level of fashion consciousness wherein pleasure and satisfaction arise from attaining clothing and being able to take part in the world of fashion.

The other take on fashion is by trivializing the discourse. A salient view of fashion becomes a practical nature of everyday life with clothing. Fashion is viewed for its seriousness of purpose – to be worn for daily endeavor.

This take has produced a business approach towards fashion by producing Ready-to-Wear and Basic-Everyday-Wear clothing. It removes the superficialities associated with appearance and focuses on the practical purpose of wearing clothing such as modesty, protection, presentation, tradition and expression.

Hence, these two countervailing interpretations of fashion give us a better understanding when discussing fashion in a conventional manner. It also shows the type of influence fashion marketing has on its target market. In all these cases, fashion discourses can become a proactive means to discuss clothing and trends, with an underlying reflection of one’s ambitions, interests and background. 

Ethical Fashion Fix: The Altruistic Remedy To Shopping

Quick & Easy Illustrations by Mai Manaloto

www.instagram.com/MaryAnnClothing

Fashion in general is considered a luxury commodity compared to other utilitarian goods. In this fashion discourse we discuss the relationship between fashion commodity and consumer ethics. I am guided by Rob Walker’s business book entitled Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy And Who We Are (2008).

Ethical selling has been a popular marketing platform for a lot of brands since the early 21st century. When you ask an individual if they support 'green buy' (a form of consumption with the intention of safeguarding the environment), most would claim they are supporters of this platform.

However, according to the Journal of Industrial Ecology, actual data on 'ethical' or 'green' consumption shows only a fraction of consumers really act on such concerns or go out of their way to ‘go green’ or ethical despite a majority of people claiming that they are environmentally or ethically conscious. Very few individuals would admit to being shallow hypocrites.  The reality of the marketplace is that a lot of people are concerned about ethical consumption but it is difficult to walk the talk especially in fashion.

The ethical sell is too limiting. Therefore, creating a brand based solely on a company's ethical practices is not a good strategy for reaching the deluxe masses. It is a niche market at best. However, do not fret because there is a way to combat this apparent disconnect with ethical consumption.

Based on a study by Khan and Dhar (2006), “individuals are more likely to splurge on fancier or pricier commodity after giving to charity”. The researchers concluded: “The opportunity to appear altruistic by committing to a charitable act in a prior task serves as a license to subsequently make [the subjects] relatively more likely to choose a luxury item".

There are many ways to make a fashion consumer feel ethical when shopping. This has given rise to LOHAS [Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability] brands. LOHAS brands provide consumers who claim to buy ecological and ethical products a variety of options such as 'personal development offerings' which include alternative health care products such as herbal teas, glutathione and slimming pills. Other offerings include spiritual products and services such as yoga, feng shui and precious stones, and eco-friendly fashion offerings such as organic, recycled or upcycled raw materials and fair trade of materials and labor to highlight ethical production. And of course there are those alternative brands that donate to charity out of their profit margins.

This variety of product and service offering gives the consumer an option to buy something and convince themselves that they have done their part in contributing towards society. All these efforts give fashion consumers enough options for an ethical fix when shopping - doing a good deed, one cart at a time.