Quentin Bell, a well-know fashion historian, “finds it remarkable that people would willingly go ill clad in order to appear fashionably well dressed” (Finkelstein).  I could not agree more with this statement.  Although I had a dress code in high school, I felt like everyone broke it; I must have seen someone wear a crop top, mini skirt, or booty shorts everyday, regardless of the weather.  As if it could not get worse, I went to college where women’s fashion is even more revealing; once I rode the bus the night of a football game and one girl wore a crop top that was so short you could actually see her sports bra underneath with an overall skirt that was not even buttoned.  After seeing these displays of immodesty over the years, one cannot help but wonder how fashion has transitioned from full length ball gowns to essentially walking around in a bra and underwear.  By looking at trends between 1960 and today, one can identify how sexuality in the media, feminism, self-expression, and body image contributed to modern day women’s fashion.

Television majorly impacts fashion for adolescents by demonstrating the expected attire for youth in society.  Since its creation in the 1960s, television has powerfully impacted the American population’s perception of societal norms — particularly in fashion.  The vast majority of Americans watch television; approximately 118.4 million homes have televisions in America this year compared to the “52 million sets in American homes” in 1960 (Nielson and Jordan).  The shows, movies, and commercials on television flaunt the “ideal” members of society to virtually the entire American population, which creates the cultural expectations of appearance, behavior, and morals, which manipulates our sense of what is considered “normal.”

Teenagers have a tendency to watch shows that draw “heavily from media images and storylines as they wrestle with who they are and where they fit in the world” for instruction on handling situations or for an idea of how to present themselves (Steele).  The natural inclination for people to adopt the norms they see on television is the reason why children shows usually include positive behaviors like sharing and being kind to others; the children watching the show will believe that this is how they are supposed to act and emulate what they see on TV.  That being said, many shows feature characters that are part of the “popular crowd” or characters that the audience is supposed to aspire to be like as being ill clad.  Portraying characters that are designed to be idolized by adolescents as people who wear scandalous clothing pushes teenagers dress similarly to the immodest characters they see on television.

The promiscuity on television pressures young women to sexualize themselves through fashion.   This originally started in the 1960s as a result of “permissive society,” a societal trend characterized by “the rising status of women both inside and outside the home, … loosening sexual attitudes, …  and the declining influence of religion in the personal lives of most Americans” (Petigny).  Because of this movement, media has become more sexually explicit; plus, the invention of the oral contraceptive pill in the 1960s has made premarital sex more common, since it greatly reduces the risk of pregnancy (Boundless).  Most television shows for young adults include some type of sexual relationship, even if it does not relate to the actual plot of the story; for example, the ABC show How To Get Away With Murder is about law students taking on court cases while hiding the fact that they have committed murder; yet, almost every episode has a sex scene in it.  Doesn’t make a lot of sense, right?  The oversexualization in the media has made promiscuity significantly less taboo than it was in 1960.

Our increasing normalization of sex is reflected in our clothing choices. Those who believe that hook ups and premarital sex are a part of normal everyday life are more likely to dress immodestly compared to someone who does not plan on being sexually active.  This leads to fashion trends where people show their bras through their shirt and wear daisy dukes in order to make themselves desirable to men.  Over this past summer, one of the major trends were backless shirts and dresses and plunging v-neck tops. Personally, I would not wear something that has an extremely low neckline, since it tends to look too promiscuous; however, some women may want to attract the attention of men through their clothing and would happily wear this kind of attire.

Feminism has impacted fashion over the years by creating styles that are designed to look less feminine.  In the 1960’s, women were becoming more common in the workplace.  By obtaining workplace jobs instead of staying home and raising a family, women began to challenge the typical patriarchal society by proving that they are equal to men and that men do not control their daily lives. Women refused to be considered “passive objects of the male gaze” and refuted the fashion trends from the previous years where full-figured women and tailored waistlines were in style (Negrin).  Instead, women opted for a more boyish look which resulted in trends like the “shapeless mini dresses [that] de-emphasized a woman’s natural form” (1960s Fashion).  Everything from the fashion to the body image was made to look prepubescent;  “thin and androgynous” figures were all the rage and women wore boyish fashion trends and loose fitting clothes to hide their curves (Women’s Body Image).

As time progressed, the hostility toward women’s fashion lessened and developed into “an avenue for self expression and creativity” (Negrin).  While current fashion trends have reverted back to the figure-flattering style that existed before the 1960s, the mentality of not wearing clothes for male satisfaction still remains.  Now, fashion is thought of as a form of self-expression; women have the freedom to choose what they want to wear and to determine what style of clothing they prefer.  While fashion is still used to attract men, it is used more as an indirect method of exerting power over them.  By dressing in clothes that attract male attention, it allows the woman to decide whether or not his attention is wanted, giving the woman the ultimate decision to either reject or accept his advances.

It is widely accepted that modern day fashion is a method of self-expression.  Although everyone is different and has their own style, self-expression is somewhat limited since the most famous stores, like Forever21, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Victoria’s Secret, will sell what they expect will be in high demand.  Also, assuming that women’s fashion has become progressively less conservative, they will end up selling mainly immodest clothing.  If a woman wants to dress stylishly, but still conservatively, she will probably have to settle with what popular stores sell or go out of her way to find modest attire.  For example, I tend to dress more conservatively, yet I still own quite a few miniskirts and crop tops since that is all stores sell, and most modest clothing reflects an older generation.  However, for someone who does not have the confidence to wear immodest clothing, they will have a much more difficult time buying fashion-forward clothes.

In general, one must have a high level of confidence to wear revealing clothes, since her body is out there for the world to see and criticize.   Originally, only women with thin, built bodies would wear revealing clothing as a means of showcasing their “perfect” body.  However, today’s campaigns for body positivity aim to make women feel confident enough to show off their body, regardless of their weight or body type.  The obsession with having a thin, curveless figure in the 1960’s created widespread eating and health issues and eating disorders for women as they tried to obtain an unrealistic and unhealthy beauty standard.  As awareness of this issue increased and people began to expose the unattainability of idealized body types, more and more campaigns promoting healthy self-image began to appear.  This awareness of healthy body image has influenced fashion to accommodate plus-sized women, as well as thin women, to flaunt their bodies with confidence.  Fashion industries now push people people of all sizes to wear these immodest clothing to showcase one’s love for her own body by flaunting aspects of it that society deemed unattractive.

Essentially, women’s fashion has transformed from the medium-length hemlines, loose fitting clothes, and high collars to crop tops, mini-skirts, shorts, and low necklines due to changes in media, feminism, self-expression, and body-image.  Our current fashion has its roots in social issues from the 60’s that still exist today.  Television has become a major factor in fashion trends by stressing sexual freedom as well as portraying characters that are meant to be popular as wearing immodest clothes; women’s liberation and feminism has created an ideology that women do not need to dress to impress men, but rather, because they want to dress in that way; and the backlash against the eating disorders that arose from the 60’s obsession with thin body frames has generated another ideology where women should be happy with their own bodies instead of trying to reach unattainable and often times dangerous beauty standards.  However, who says that you have to flaunt your body to be confident about it? The flaw in the logic of today’s fashion is that people believe that you must expose yourself in order to seem confident due to over-sexualization in the media.  This negates the idea that a woman can show her self-confidence in the way she carries herself rather than how she dresses.  Nevertheless, fashion is about self-expression.  If you personally enjoy wearing less conservative clothes, then go for it; if you want to dress conservatively, that’s fine too.  Whatever you choose, have fun with it and be confident in the fashion that you choose to wear.

 

 

Works Cited

Boundless. “The Women’s Rights Movement.” Boundless Political Science. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016. https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/civil-rights-5/women-s-rights-41/the-women-s-rights-movement-231-1901/

Finkelstein, Joanne. Fashion: An Introduction. New York: New York UP, 1998. Print.

Jordan, Winthrop. The Americans. Boston: McDougal Littell, 1996: 798.

“Nielsen Estimates 118.4 Million TV Homes in the U.S. for the 2016-17 TV Season.” Media And Entertainment. The Nielsen Company, 26 Aug. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/nielsen-estimates-118-4-million-tv-homes-in-the-us–for-the-2016-17-season.html

Petigny, Alan Cecil. The Permissive Society: America, 1941-1965. New York: Cambridge UP, 2009. Print.

Steele, Jeanne Rogge. “Teenage sexuality and media practice: Factoring in the influences of family, friends, and school.” The Journal of Sex Research, vol. 36, no. 4, Taylor & Francis Ltd. Nov. 1999. pp. 331-341. Print.

“Women’s Body Image and BMI: 100 Years in the US.” Rehabs.com. Rehabs.com, 2016. Web. 03 Nov. 2016. http://www.rehabs.com/explore/womens-body-image-and-bmi/.

“1960s Fashion: What Did Women Wear?” Vintage Dancer, Vintage Dancer, 19 Oct. 2016. Web. 03 Nov. 2016. http://www.vintagedancer.com/1960s/1960s-fashion-womens/.

Negrin, Llewellyn. “Fashion and Feminism.” Appearance and Identity: Fashioning the Body in

Postmodernity. Palgrave Macmillan US. 2009. pp 33-52. Print.