Does your Culture Influence your Fashion?

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Have you ever thought about your culture, or where you live and if that affects your style, well it does. Whether you are from Africa or England “designers and manufacturers produce clothing and accessories in accordance with the culture of a particular region. It becomes the fashion of the region, then. People adopt a trend in clothing only if it is in accordance with the culture of that area. You may hardly find Muslim women clad in mini skirts in Qatar or American women in burqas”. The article I read published by Fibre2Fashion.com (a widely popular and well known website that gives all the information on textiles and the world of fashion) explores all possible reasons as to how a specific region influences and creates fashion trends.

Because America is such a culturally diverse place, I get to experience all kinds of fashion trends. It is interesting how as you move from town to town the style can change so much. For example when I am in Hinsdale the fashion trends range from lilly pulitzer patterned dresses to lululemon athletic wear, but if I travel 20 minutes to the city of Chicago the trends are a lot more diverse. The fashion trends resemble the region in which they are found. Hinsdale is more preppy so you will see preppy style clothing and a lot of expensive designers, while chicago is more free spirited and hipster. The article  I read talked a lot of about how fashion trends are influenced by the area in which they come from, it said  “culture has a huge role to play in deciding the fashion of a particular region. Fashion trends in a society are just a mirror to its culture. As the culture changes, fashion changes! It can also be said that fashion can impact culture of a region to a certain extent. But majority of the times, it is the other way round!”

Not only does the article address how the society of a region affects fashion trends, but it also talks about the conditions of the region. Depending on the location fashion trends will have to adjust. If one travels to Alaska the fashion trends would consist of warm clothing that is durable for winter, or like the article said ““Ancient Egyptian fashion was largely influenced by its culture in ancient times. They wore clothes that not only looked glamorous but was also comfortable to them in the hot climate.”

Along with society and climate, fashion trends are also influenced by traditions. The article says “western outfits may have taken over the world fashion market by storm, but countries and states still make it a point to stay connected with their traditional dress. They constantly introduce new fashion trends in the way their cultural outfit is made or worn”, the fact that certain locations still keep their traditions alive through fashion trends amazes me. I have family in Sweden and although the country is modern and hip with all of the fashion trends in the world, the people still find ways to incorporate their traditions into fashion trends. For example Sweden is very big on clogs (shoes that were worn historically) that have now been modernized.

Culture plays a huge role in the way trends are started or kept going, and if you take a look around you will begin to notice how where you live and what your heritage or cultural influences you have around you plays such an important role in fashion.