Essays

It is said that you cannot dip your finger twice in the same river. It underscores the law of change and flux. Fashions are no exceptions to the law. They come and go and change rapidly with the spilt of limes. Fashions come into vogue and then go out of vogue because man loves change, variety and novelty.

Old, routine, stereotyped, stale and typecast things are not to his liking. With the change in the mood of man, change the styles, manners, conduct and way of life. It adds zest and liveliness to life. change and variety is the other name of fashion. It is man's nature to be fashionable. He is not only a rational and social being but also a fashionable being,

Fashions are infectious as well and spread rapidly like a wild fire, especially among young men and women of the big towns and cities. Youth is more fashion-conscious and rightly so because they represent the best of life in terms of energy, courage, expectations, potentialities, power, and vigour. They want to look smart, up to-date, novel, charming and fresh in their dress,, etiquettes, styles of shoes, hair- do etc. They want to enjoy every moment of the life and are full of unlimited zeal and appetite for it.

By nature man is fashionable because of his inherent desire to see and to be seen. He wants to look beautiful and to see beautiful persons. New and current style in clothes, manners etc. help people in becoming more smart, attractive, presentable, fascinating and lovable. People never like to be out of fashion. Fashion is not confined to etiquettes, manners, dresses alone. It is pervasive and even religion; literature arts, etc. have their own fads and fashions.                                       

For example, the thirst for fashion has given rise to varieties of styles in writing and there are as many styles as there are famous writers, authors and poets. Fashions also reflect progress and growth of civilization. They come into vogue as a mark of social progress, prosperity and change for novelty and thrill. But they can be abused as well and become harmful when turned into obsession.

Then they mean waste of time, energy, money and superfluity. It is never desirable that fashions should become an obsession and people cut their conscience to be in the stream of current fashions. In such a situation it is said you remain in shape and fashion, but become beasts in life and condition. I it is better to be a little out of fashion than to be in   fashion at the cost of one’s conscience and discretion.

Young men and women living in big towns and cities with a network of fast and affective means of < communication and availability of audio-visual aids in plenty are really fashionable people. In the urban areas thousands and thousands of people live and mix up with each other and exchange ideas, opinions and interact freely.

They belong to different classes, faiths, and speak different languages and so have different manners, tastes and styles. There are clubs, societies, social gatherings and get-togethers which bring people into close contact with one another.

Then there are hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, colleges, universities, schools, offices, factories etc. where people see different styles and fashions and then try to imitate or to improve upon the existing ones.

Fashion-consciousness in cities is so widespread; and deep that as soon as a fashion comes in vogue in London, Paris, New York, Berlin or Rome, it is adopted and patronized by people in India. The means of communication are now so fast that the earth has turned into a global village and the infectious fashion knows no boundaries of time and space.

The people in villages, rural areas and remote places remain untouched by the waves of fashion both because of lack of means of communications and poverty. But villages and towns too are not immune as traditional values, modes of living and I radiations are giving way to change and novelty.

They too are affected by new-flanged fashions, designs, patterns and way of living and as the process is slow and gradual, it takes time for a fashion to reach the villages from the cities through films, videos and personal contacts.

Films and cable T.V. are a great source of fashions and quick changes in them. Fashions are liquid and changeable like weather. Till recently bell- bottoms, midis, minis and maxis were quite in fashion and now they are out of fashion,           

Sometime tight-bottoms, skirt-tops, salwar- kamiz and saris are in fashion. But fashions are unpredictable and keep on changing according to the moods, fancies and ideas of the people and the influence of the popular films,                   

Therefore, it is not easy to predict what and when would be in vogue or out of vogue. Fashions are also influenced by glossy, colourful and eye-catching textile advertisements, fashion-shows, propaganda of fashion and dress designers, articles in the fashion magazines and foreign visitors. The co-education and ever increasing number of women seeking jobs have further fueled and encouraged the fashion- consciousness among the people.

Now, people spend a good amount of their pocket money and earnings to keep themselves in fashion. They are very particular about their dress, hairstyle, cosmetics, shoes, ornaments and manners. Has not Shakespeare declared in Hamlet, "The apparel oft, proclaims the man". Therefore the urbanities, particularly the young men and women and collegiate always keep themselves abreast of modem trends in styles and fashions.

Consequently, the tailors, fashion designers, cosmetic manufacturers are having a booming business. They catch on the new ideas in circulations and immediately put fashion products to suit the new tangled fads, fashions and thoughts. Fashion designing and    technology is now on established branch of human knowledge, science and practice. It provides employment and business to millions of people throughout the world and there has been a huge investment in fashion industry.

Expert fashion-designers, technologists, tailors and others are busy day and night to cater to the needs of the fashion-conscious urbanities, nobilities and gentry of the society. They are very good psychologists and so not only cater to the taste of the people but also create taste and fashion and thereby earn huge profits. They keep their finger on the nerve of the mod guys and gals to their great advantage.

Freedom is man's most cherished possession and the freedom to choose one's life-style is of fundamental importance. Therefore, there is nothing to be ashamed of being a fashionable man or woman, however excess of everything is bad and should be avoided. Moderation should be the law in fashion as well.

To live in style, dress well and colourfully and smartly makes life lively, attractive, inviting and zestful. In some mysterious way it also gets linked to sex and its subtle and suggestive expression. Show and exhibitionism is part of a dynamic life and must be appreciated.

Fashion-consciousness is a healthy sign as fashion in practice appeals and pleases people, promotes togetherness, social interaction and enlivens the environment. It is misconceived to link fashion with immorality. But it would be certainly foolish to spend extravagantly for things of latest fashion and to run after fashion at the expense of valuable time, energy and resources. It is good to be fashionable but it is better to be simple and dignified because simplicity with dignity is the best and ever green fashion.

We should try to shun foreign fashions, new- fangled fads and ideas which erode and cut into our rich cultural heritage and values. Change is the law of nature and so desirable and appreciable, but it does not mean slavish, blind and foolish aping and imitation of foreign ideas, styles, manners and designs in dress, shoes, hairstyles etc. Our own folk, classical and standardized traditions, customs, manners are so rich, varied and unique that we can very well depend upon them to quench our thirst for change, novelty and innovations.