2. • “CLOTHES MAKES THE MAN”
• Relationship between clothing and developmental processes
1. Every social transaction must be broken down into atleast two analytic components or
processes, appearance and discourse
2. Appearance is at least as important for the establishment and maintenance of the self as is
discourse.
3. The study of appearance provides a powerful lever for the formulation of a conception of self
4. Appearance is of major importance at every stage of development
3. SUB- IDENTITIES
• First impressions are largely derived from outward appearance and established by
nonverbal cues and symbols of the kind that clothing provides.
• Every individual maintains a series of such sub-identities which are defined and
delimited by the boundaries of specific roles.
• Clothing requirements for various sub- identities are defined.
• The self gradually absorbs or accommodates the requirements prescribed by the
social groupings.
4. AN EMERGING OF LIFE STYLE
• One type of response becomes dominant in an individual’s life experiences and a
central unified style emergies.
• Style of life
• Consistent patterns of clothing behavior emerges as a type of dominant response
and gradually evolve into a style of life.
• Clothes were a way to say that we felt good about ourselves.
• The development of a lifestyle is an unconscious phenomenon and quite difficult
for most people to discern in themselves.
