Name:
Tutor:
Course:
20 February 2016
Young American’s Fashion Trends
As you all know, fashion is a popular trend in style which encompasses mode of dressing, body makeup, footwear, accessories, and piercings. Fashion sense is dynamic; it changes over time. Fashion trends are reflected in day to day lifestyles of people. They reflect the prevailing creations in textile designs and behavioral changes in people. I have learned that fashion in America is largely informal except for the few professional types of attire. Young people in the United States are emblematic of the fashion changes and are the key pioneers of all fashion trends. They are the creative geniuses behind all major fashion trends.
I analyzed the fashion trend in America and noticed that it follows the same route of diversity as seen in the country. Different people in this country hail from different cultural backgrounds and hence, have different fashion senses. For instance, cowboy boots and hats are most often associated with Mexicans and key ranchers in Texas. This diversity has been exploited by many fashion designers, making America the home to millions of designers. Many of the world-renowned fashion designers come from America. Some of the notable ones include Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Victoria Secret, Fendi, Christian Louboutin, Kenzo and Ecko among others. These designers have come up with numerous clothe line labels and brands that are enjoyed by many young people in the world.
I have learned that there are many other influencers of fashion in America other than the above mentioned designers. As we know, America is the home to the famous Hollywood movies. All Hollywood actors and actresses influence the fashion trends, especially to the young people. Young people tend to follow the trends put forth by their favorite actors, in particular, movie scenes. In many Red carpets involving movie awards ceremonies, I noticed that they influence the fashion trends of the American youth as well as the world’s youths in general. The attire these movie stars don in, which is complemented by their posh lifestyles characterized by expensive cars, jewelry, make up and penthouses they live in, goes a long way in enriching the fashion trends in the country. The youthful generation copies much of their lifestyles, including the fashion sense from these people. The young movie stars like Selena Gomez have had a lot of positive influence on the lives of many young girls regarding dress code.
I have noticed that the young Americans fashion sense is also influenced by the music industry. Many young people borrow their fashion trends from their favorite musicians as Welters (6), points out. Young men tend to align themselves with the male musicians of their choice. For example, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber and Kanye West have influenced the fashion of many young males in America. Every young male wants to be identified with the latest trend adopted by their favorite musician. Another example is the extra accessories like “Bling” and “Grills” used by many musicians around their necks and teeth respectively. These trends are also taken up by the young generation who revere them as the sole source of pride and belonging.
The other major influence of fashion I have analyzed is the fashion industry. Both the fashion media channels and fashion houses where the models walk on the runway to showcase the different fashion designs have a toll on the young people’s fashion sense. Through these fashion houses and media houses, the young people have been able to adopt striking and latest fashion trends in the market. Fashion media houses I looked into include both the audio-visual TV channels and the fashion magazines where young people get information on the current dressing styles and other latest fashion accessories.
It should be noted that all these influences of fashion are largely aligned with the informal trends. I have seen that there is no specific formal dressing code. Every person dresses in whatever clothes that interests them. A few Americans, however, have specific codes. For instance, I earned that Americans of Scottish descent have a specific dress code. Chinese people also have a specific dress code, especially those that are conservative and follow their cultural practices to the letter. Most of the American population does not follow any dress code.
Coming back to American schools, I realized that many schools from elementary schools to colleges also have the freedom of dressing. Most of the people dress in casual clothes when attending school. Except for a few mission schools and private schools, the rest of the students dress in home clothes with no standard uniform. I traced this back to the laws passed in congress concerning the freedom to choose what to wear to school.
Another critical area I discovered, is that social stratification also has a lot of influence in fashion. I noticed that most young people in the middle and higher social classes, especially the professional elites have a liking for designer clothes. They usually visit their tailors for the latest designer clothes which would make them conspicuous amongst their peers as well as unique from the rest. From the analysis of young suburban population which includes all people in this subculture, such as street musicians, hairdressers, tattoo artists, and dancers, I learned that they adopt different sets of fashion. They prefer nudism and imprinting of tattoos all over their bodies. This was a way of expressing themselves in the society.
Let us now focus on some of the major fashion trends adopted by young people in America. I came to learn that Christian Louboutin is a popular fashion designer among the young people. Christian (1) explains that his footwear, purses, and wallet designs are loved by many young people. The striking feature of his footwear is the high heel design. I appreciated that his high heels are shiny and with red soles. They are always used by the younger generations who love going out clubbing or attending social dinners. These shoes are comfortable on the feet and ladies can stay overnight with them. The shorter heels usually complemented young professional’s taste of class and comfort. They wore them to work together with the Christian purses as an accompaniment.
Consequently, I saw that Kenzo clothing is another clothes line popular with the young people. It offers all sorts of informal and formal clothes which include both male and female clothes as pointed out by Kenzo in his website (Kenzo 1). The clothing line deals with jackets, trousers, shoes, tops, dresses, skirts, bags and shoes for both genders. The quality offered is excellent and that what makes Kenzo one of the main shopping destinations for young people in America. I liked the idea that it also offers online services to the clients.
Another profound clothes line I paid attention to is Fendi clothes. Fendi clothes are also popular with the young people. Fendi clothing included all sorts of clothes, handbags, shoes and other accessories as I checked in the Fendi Clothing Website (Fendi 1). These clothes are of excellent quality and elegance. Both male and female clothes and accessories can be acquired from Fendi clothes line.
Ultimately, it is good to appreciate that the fashion trends amongst the young Americans are rich in diversity. Different people prefer different modes of dressing. One striking feature of all these choices is that informal dressing code is the preferred type in America. The formal dressing is only popular with the young elites and professionals.
Works Cited
Christian Louboutin. Web, Accessed, 20 February 2016 <http://us.christianlouboutin.com/ot_en>
Fendi Clothing. Web, Accessed, 20 February 2016 <http://www.fendi.com>
Kenzo Clothing.1. Web, Accessed, 20 February 2016 https://www.kenzo.com/en/globaltraveler
Welters, Linda. “The fashion of sustainability.” Sustainable Fashion: What’s Next? A Conversation about Issues, Practices and Possibilities (2015): 4-24.