1. Consumer Decisions

2. What is Fashion? Chapter 5 page 77
Fashion is the particular style that is popular at a given time. It is anything that is currently “in.”
Fashion usually means clothes, but there are fashions in hairstyles, in home decorating, and in foods we eat.

3. Fashion Terms
Style: refers to the shape of a particular item of clothing that makes it easy to recognize. (Example: jeans are a specific style of pants, straight, A-line, and circular are all styles of skirts.)
Certain styles of garments are more fashionable at one time than another. Clothes may be fitted or loose, simple or detailed.

4. Fashion Terms Continued..
Classic: is a traditional style that stays in fashion for a very long time. (Example: blue jeans are a classic, the blazer jacket is a classic, and a tailored shirt is a classic.)
Usually styles that become classic are simpler and less innovative than other styles.

5. Fashion Terms Continued…
A Fad: is a fashion that is very popular for only a short time.
Fads can be colors, accessories, clothing items, or even certain looks, such as “punk-rock.”
Many fads, such as wearing slashed jeans or untied shoelaces, are popular mainly with teenagers.

6. A Status Symbol
A status symbol is an item of clothing that gives the wearer a special feeling of importance or wealth.
Fashion designers are celebrities today and they put their names, initials, or symbols on the clothes they design to show that the clothes are special.
People wear particular clothes to show that they are special too.

7. Avant-garde is a French expression that in the clothing industry means being ahead of fashion. These clothes are daring and unconventional.
Old-Fashioned is a term that describes any style that is no longer in fashion. With today’s instant communication, our brain receives a great deal of new information everyday. Nothing seems new for very long.
Sometimes an old-fashioned look becomes an important look in fashion.

8. Fashion Cycles
Every fashion has a life cycle. A fashion is born when someone begins to wear it. The person who wears it could be a model in a magazine, a celebrity, or a small group of people with similar tastes.
When the fashion cycle happens quite slowly, it is a trend.

9. Clothes, Families, and Cultures
Chapter 4 page 59

10. Factors that Influence What We Wear!
Heritage: the body of culture and tradition that has been handed down from one’s ancestors.
Each of us has a heritage that is a unique combination of the cultures in which our parents and grandparents were born, the customs that our family has developed, and our own individuality.
Culture: the collection of ideas, skills, beliefs, and institutions of a society at a particular time in history.

11. Clothes as Symbols
A symbol is something visible that represents something else. A symbol can represent something that you cannot see, like an idea, a philosophy, or a custom.
As a result, clothing can tell you about a person’s heritage, gender, occupation, wealth, status, values, and beliefs.

12. Heritage
Some styles of clothing are identified with a particular area or country.
Examples: A sombrero reminds us of Mexico, a kimono reminds us of Japan, and a fur parka reminds us of Alaska.

13. Males and Females
In some cultures, it is traditional for males and females to dress very differently. In other cultures, their clothing is very similar.
Clothing styles associated with either gender evolve from customs, traditions, religion, work, and leisure activities.

14. Occupation and Status
The clothes that people wear can tell something about their occupation and status.
Over the centuries, garment styles, quality, and quantity have been a way of distinguishing the nobility from the common person.
Uniforms are also symbols of occupation and status. Think about the police officer’s uniform, the nurse’s cap, the priest’s collar, and the chef’s hat.

16. Beliefs and Values
Clothes can reflect the beliefs and values of a culture or a special group.
Clothes can be used to identify a person as a member of a religious group.
Society attitudes can strongly influence what type of clothing is appropriate for certain occasions. (Example: religion and social customs.)