THE DESIRABLE STANDARD OF BEAUTY

AND CLOTHING

CLOTHING • Fashion is what we are, it is a type of lifestyle in association with our personality.

Some people believe that the clothes someone wears, can reveal a lot of things about hos personality. In other words, they are a `mirror` of each people`s soul and they give a lot of information about his character. But, can all these statements be taken seriously? Well, the answer is yes.

We can understand a lot of things only by looking the way someone is dressed. For instance, if someone is always dressed with smart clothes, or with clothes which are in fashion, we can understand that this person wants always to look great or attractive. He is taking care of himself and wants always to stand out.

On the other hand, if someone is always dressed with the same clothes, or with old-fashioned clothes and he doesn`t care about his appearance is not the only thing that matters, so he has other priorities in his life.

This phenomenon is not weird. We can understand a lot of things about each person`s character because her clothes and the accessories which he probably wears, make it clear to us. So every time you get dressed, take care, because anyone will be able to understand the same things about your personality.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY FASHION?

Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories such as bracelets and necklace, because of the time required to bring a garment onto the market, must at times anticipate changing consumer tastes.

Fashion designers attempt to design clothes which are functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. They must consider who is likely to wear a garment and the situations in which it will be worn. They have a wide range and combinations of materials to work with and a wide range of colors, patterns and styles to choose from. Though most clothing worn for everyday wear falls within a narrow range of conventional styles, unusual garments are usually sought for special occasions such as evening wear or party dresses.

Some clothes are made specifically for an individual, as in the case of haute couture or bespoke tailoring. Today, most clothing is designed for the mass market, especially casual and every-day wear.

THE ROCKERSRockers, leather boys or ton-up boys are members of a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centred

around British cafe racer[citation needed] motorcycles and rock and roll music.

By 1965, the term greaser had also been introduced to Great Britain dead link and, since

then, the terms greaser and rocker have become synonymous within the British Isles although used

differently in North America and elsewhere. Rockers were also derisively known as Coffee Bar

Cowboys. Their Japanese equivalent was called the Kaminari-zoku (Thunder Tribe).

THE PUNK FASHION

Throughout the 1980s, the punk style was popular among people aged 18–22. Characterized by multi-colored mohawks, ripped skinny jeans, worn band tee-

shirts, and jean or leather jackets, it was practiced by people who listened to punk music such as The Sex Pistols and later, (despite the band's self-pro-claimed rock'n'roll image) Guns N' Roses. Usually the jean jackets (which became an

identity of the group) were adorned by safety pins, buttons, patches, and several other pieces of music or cultural memorabilia. Often people of the punk style would

take random bits of fabric and attach them with safety pins. This soon became a popular way of attaching clothing, and now in young women it is known as "pin shirts". The shirts are essentially rectangular pieces of fabric that are pinned on one side with safety pins. In the 1980s, a dressed down look (e.g. Buzzed hair, T-shirts, Jeans and button up shirts) was also very popular with people involved in

punk rock. More specifically the hardcore punk scene. Circle Jerk's frontman Keith Morris describes it as "Some of those punk rock kids they interviewed were a little

over the top, but the thing historically is - the L.A./Hollywood punk scene was basically based on English fashion. But we had nothing to do with that. Black flag

and the Circle Jerks were so far from that. We looked like the kid who worked at the gas station or submarine shop." Punk dress was not simply a fashion statement. It epitomized a way of thinking and seeing oneself as an individual cultural producer

and consumer. In this way, punk style led many people to ask further questions about their culture and their politics.

HIPPIE

As in the beat movement preceding them, and the punk movement that followed soon after, hippie symbols and iconography were purposely borrowed from either "low" or "primitive" cultures, with hippie fashion reflecting a disorderly, often vagrant style. As with other adolescent, white middle-class movements, deviant behavior of the hippies involved challenging the prevailing gender differences of their time: both men and women in the hippie movement wore jeans and maintained long hair, and both genders wore sandals or went barefoot. Men often wore beards, while women wore little or no makeup, with many going braless. Hippies often chose brightly colored clothing and wore unusual styles, such as bell-bottom pants, vests, tie-dyed garments, dashikis, peasant blouses, and long, full skirts; non-Western inspired clothing with Native American, Asian, Indian, African and Latin American motifs were also popular. Much hippie clothing was self-made in defiance of corporate culture, and hippies often purchased their clothes from flea markets and second-hand shops. Favored accessories for both men and women included Native American jewelry, head scarves, headbands and long beaded necklaces. Hippie homes, vehicles and other possessions were often decorated with psychedelic art. The bold colors, hand-made clothing and loose fitting clothes, opposed the tight and uniform clothing of the 1940s and 1950s. It also rejected consumerism is that the hand-production of clothing called for -self-efficiency and individuality.

THE HEAVY METAL STYLE

In the first half of the 1980s, long hair, leather rocker jackets (biker jackets) or cut-off denim jackets, tight worn-out jeans, and white, high trainers (sneakers) and badges with logos of favourite metal bands were popular among metalheads, and musicians of heavy metal and speed metal bands. In the second half of the 1980s, this clothing style was popular among musicians and fans of more extreme and niche (often underground) metal bands - thrash metal, crossover thrash, early black metal, and early death metal bands. It was popular particularly in European nations, but it was also popular in the USA, Canada, and Brazil.

By the late 1980s, acid-washed jeans and denim jackets had become popular with both sexes. Acid washing is the process of chemically bleaching the denim, breaking down the fiber of material and forcing the dye to fade, thus leaving undertones of the original dye evidenced by pale white streaks or spots on the material. This became associated with the heavy metal trend (called "hair metal" in later decades for the large frizzy coiffures worn by both male and female enthusiasts).

Severely bleached and ripped jeans, either manufactured purposely or done by hand, become a popular fashion trend, being a main component of glam metal music acts such as Poison.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FASHION, WE MAY ALSO TALK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DEPENDENT TO THEIR CLOTHING STYLE, THEIR IMPOSSIBILITY TO CHANGE IT. THOSE KIND OF PERSONS EXAGGERATE THE REAL MEANING OF FASHION, AND TREAT IT AS IF IT WOULD BE SAINT.

Beauty

WHAT IS BEAUTY ?

The characterization of a person as “beautiful”, whether on an individual basis or by community consensus, is often based on some combination of inner beauty, which includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance, and outer beauty (i.e. physical attractiveness) which includes physical attributes which are valued on an aesthetic basis.

Standards of beauty have changed over time, based on changing cultural values. Historically, paintings show a wide range of different standards for beauty. However, humans who are relatively young, with smooth skin, well-proportioned bodies, and regular features, have traditionally been considered the most beautiful throughout history.A strong indicator of physical beauty is "averageness", or "koinophilia". When images of human faces are averaged together to form a composite image, they become progressively closer to the "ideal" image and are perceived as more attractive. This was first noticed in 1883, when Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, overlaid photographic composite images of the faces of vegetarians and criminals to see if there was a typical facial appearance for each. When doing this, he noticed that the composite images were more attractive compared to any of the individual images.

Researchers have replicated the result under more controlled conditions and found that the computer generated, mathematical average of a series of faces is rated more favorably than individual faces. Evolutionarily, it makes logical sense that sexual creatures should be attracted to mates who possess predominantly common or average features.

RESEARCHERS HAVE REPLICATED THE RESULT UNDER MORE CONTROLLED CONDITIONS AND FOUND THAT THE COMPUTER GENERATED, MATHEMATICAL AVERAGE OF A SERIES OF FACES IS RATED MORE FAVORABLY THAN INDIVIDUAL FACES. EVOLUTIONARILY, IT MAKES LOGICAL SENSE THAT SEXUAL CREATURES SHOULD BE ATTRACTED TO MATES WHO POSSESS PREDOMINANTLY COMMON OR AVERAGE FEATURES.

A FEATURE OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN THAT HAS BEEN EXPLORED BY RESEARCHERS IS A WAIST–HIP RATIO OF APPROXIMATELY 0.70. PHYSIOLOGISTS HAVE SHOWN THAT WOMEN WITH HOURGLASS FIGURES ARE MORE FERTILE THAN OTHER WOMEN DUE TO HIGHER LEVELS OF CERTAIN FEMALE HORMONES, A FACT THAT MAY SUBCONSCIOUSLY CONDITION MALES CHOOSING MATES.

PEOPLE ARE INFLUENCED BY THE IMAGES THEY SEE IN THE MEDIA TO DETERMINE WHAT IS OR IS NOT BEAUTIFUL. SOME FEMINISTS AND DOCTORS[VAGUE] HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE VERY THIN MODELS FEATURED IN MAGAZINES PROMOTE EATING DISORDERS, AND OTHERS HAVE ARGUED THAT THE PREDOMINANCE OF WHITE WOMEN FEATURED IN MOVIES AND ADVERTISING LEADS TO A EUROCENTRIC CONCEPT OF BEAUTY, FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY IN WOMEN OF COLOR, AND INTERNALIZED RACISM.

THE BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL CULTURAL MOVEMENT SOUGHT TO DISPEL THIS NOTION. THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY IN MEN IS KNOWN AS 'BISHŌNEN' IN JAPAN. BISHŌNEN REFERS TO MALES WITH DISTINCTLY FEMININE FEATURES, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ESTABLISHING THE STANDARD OF BEAUTY IN JAPAN AND TYPICALLY EXHIBITED IN THEIR POP CULTURE IDOLS. A MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY OF JAPANESE AESTHETIC SALONS EXISTS FOR THIS REASON.

WHAT EFFECTS HAS IT ON SOCIETY ?

Beauty presents a standard of comparison, and it can cause resentment and dissatisfaction when not achieved. People who do not fit the "beauty ideal" may be ostracized within their communities. The television sitcom Ugly Betty portrays the life of a girl faced with hardships due to society's unwelcoming attitudes toward those they deem unattractive. However, a person may also be targeted for harassment because of their beauty. In Malèna, a strikingly beautiful Italian woman is forced into poverty by the women of the community who refuse to give her work for fear that she may "woo" their husbands. The documentary Beauty in the Eyes of the Beheld explores both the societal blessings and curses of female beauty through interviews of women considered beautiful.

Researchers have found that good looking students get higher grades from their teachers than students with an ordinary appearance. Some studies using mock criminal trials have shown that physically attractive "defendants" are less likely to be convicted—and if convicted are likely to receive lighter sentences—than less attractive ones (although the opposite effect was observed when the alleged crime was swindling, perhaps because jurors perceived the defendant's attractiveness as facilitating the crime). Studies among teens and young adults, such as those of psychiatrist and self-help author, Eva Ritvo, show that skin conditions have a profound effect on social behavior and opportunity.

How much money a person earns may also be influenced by physical beauty. One study found that people low in physical attractiveness earn 5 to 10 percent less than ordinary looking people, who in turn earn 3 to 8 percent less than those who are considered good looking.[36] In the market for loans, the least attractive people are less likely to get approvals, although they are less likely to default. In the marriage market, women's looks are at a premium, but men's looks do not matter much.

Conversely, being very unattractive increases the individual’s propensity for criminal activity for a number of crimes ranging from burglary to theft to selling illicit drugs.

Discrimination against others based on their appearance is known as lookism.

St. Augustine said of beauty "Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked."

THE HISTORICAL VIEW

Classical philosophy and sculptures of men and women produced according to the Greek philosophers' tenets of ideal human beauty were rediscovered in Renaissance Europe, leading to a re-adoption of what became known as a "classical ideal". In terms of female human beauty, a woman whose appearance conforms to these tenets is still called a "classical beauty" or said to possess a "classical beauty", whilst the foundations laid by Greek and Roman artists have also supplied the standard for male beauty in western civilization. During the Gothic era, the classical aesthetical canon of beauty was rejected as sinful. Later, the Renaissance and Humanism rejected this view, and considered beauty as a product of rational order and harmony of proportions. Renaissance artists and architect (such as Giorgio Vasari in his "lives of artists") criticised the Gothic period as irrational and barbarian. This point of view over Gothic art lasted until Romanticism, in the 19th century.

The Age of Reason saw a rise in an interest in beauty as a philosophical subject. For example, Scottish philosopher Francis Hutcheson argued that beauty is "unity in variety and variety in unity". The Romantic poets, too, became highly concerned with the nature of beauty, with John Keats arguing in "Ode on a Grecian Urn" that

Beauty is truth, truth beauty, —that is all.Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

In the Romantic period, Edmund Burke postulated a difference between beauty in its classical meaning and the sublime. The concept of the sublime, as explicated by Burke and Kant, suggested viewing Gothic art and architecture, though not in accordance with the classical standard of beauty, as sublime.

The 20th century saw an increasing rejection of beauty by artists and philosophers alike, culminating in postmodernism's anti-aesthetics. This is despite beauty being a central concern of one of postmodernism's main influences, Friedrich Nietzsche, who argued that the Will to Power was the Will to Beauty.

In the aftermath of postmodernism's rejection of beauty, thinkers have returned to beauty as an important value. American analytic philosopher Guy Sircello proposed his New Theory of Beauty as an effort to reaffirm the status of beauty as an important philosophical concept. Elaine Scarry also argues that beauty is related to justice.

People have always wanted to improve their beauty, saying that it can always be better , but never perfect. They change their hair and eyes colour, girls and women use a lot of make up for every little detail on their faces. Sometimes they do all this just to call for attention, make themselves observed, show they have courage and that they are different.

Beauty was, is and it will always be relative, each of us thinks different about what beauty really is, about who is and who is not beautiful. Some people may think the brunettes with blue eyes are beautiful and others that blonds with green eyes are the best.

Beauty is of two types, the beauty of the body and the interior one, the one speaking about your character, who you are. The beauty of your body it is the one that makes the first impression, the one that may cause the `love of first sight`, while the interior one can make someone fall in love with you for real, making things serious.

EVERYTHING HAS BEAUTY, BUT NOT EVERYONE SEES IT.

NEVER LOSE AN OPPORTUNITY OF SEEING ANYTHING BEAUTIFUL, FOR BEAUTY IS GOD'S HANDWRITING.

LOVE OF BEAUTY IS TASTE. THE CREATION OF BEAUTY IS ART.

THE SOUL THAT SEES BEAUTY MAY SOMETIMES WALK ALONE.

BEAUTY IS POWER; A SMILE IS ITS SWORD.

THERE IS NO DEFINITION OF BEAUTY, BUT WHEN YOU CAN SEE SOMEONE'S SPIRIT COMING THROUGH, SOMETHING UNEXPLAINABLE, THAT'S BEAUTIFUL TO ME.

A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER: ITS LOVELINESS INCREASES; IT WILL NEVER PASS INTO NOTHINGNESS.

PRESENTATION MADE BY

DUMITRESCU ANDREEA

sources: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_beauty.html

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagina_principal%C4%83