Clothes Are All About Bodies

As this issue of the Victor Magazine is dedicated to fashion, it would be very opportune to speak about an important concept that may appear so obvious, but it is very profound; “Why do we wear clothes”? The question does not suggest ideas about going about without wearing clothes! It tests the list of factors affecting our choice of clothing items.

One would think that we wear clothes to cover our bodies for modesty related reasons. While covering is one of the functions of clothing, it is not the ultimate purpose of clothes or the whole fashion industry because one can simply wrap themselves in any piece of cloth and that would be it. Even people who consider clothes as merely a “cover” spend time in choosing what to wear to “cover”.

Even if you think you do not care so much for what you wear and spend so little time in front of your wardrobe or your mirror, believe me, you only make the decisions faster … you still ask yourself all the questions about what you would wear in a few seconds … you may make wrong and bad choices, but you still run the process.

What makes us choose one color or fabric or cut over the other runs deeper than we think, it goes even deeper than the appropriateness of the venue we are going to or the time of year or day … All of these could be basic filters controlling our choice, but your choice ultimately goes deep to your belief system and the set of principles you stand for. It also has something to do with your tradition and how you were brought up. Your color preference in clothes is a deep psychological impact that has been developing and crystallizing over the years.

Even if you believe that you wear clothes to “cover” your body, you subconsciously make clothing decisions that make your body “look” good in your opinion. You may eventually look “not the best” because you make the wrong choices but ten out of ten goes through the process. Which brings us to the realization that clothes are all about bodies … the whole existence of the fashion industry is to showcase how each designer thinks about the human body … every design house has its own realization\belief and accordingly develop their collections and overall work around this basic belief.

The human body is the first and last element in any fashion design process. It is the mannequin on which a designer drapes … it’s the template on which they cut … It’s the model who wears their work on a runway and it’s the customer who eventually wears and uses the product. It’s all about the body! It would be surprising to many of us to see some tribal outfits in some parts of the world that would appear to be so revealing but your awe of surprise will eventually go away when you understand how that community believes about the human body.

The next time you stand in front of your wardrobe, take a little longer and think “what would make me look better?” however your body looks, it all depends on what you wear to make your body look “super” or “omg what happened there!” … it’s the same body but your choice of clothes will control what impression you make.

Which brings us to my final conclusion in this article that looking good or bad depends big time on how much you love and appreciate your body … it also depends on your sense of fashion and ability to pick up the right outfit (which is actually a profession) but even if you have stylists working for you and you still cannot love your body … you will never look good … always remember … clothes are all about bodies.