BYUH students say fashion is a way to express themselves and overcome stereotypes
The way to represent and express oneself. Self-empowerment and confidence. These are the common insights BYUH students shared on what fashion is and its impact in their life and society.
What is fashion?
Intercultural peacebuilding major Elena Vallejo, a senior from Utah, said, “To me, fashion is the way that we choose to present ourselves. The way we want to be perceived by people. I feel like we use clothes and our accessories to identify with groups, music genres, cultural, sexuality or even political groups. Our clothing is associated with our identity, the way we show ourselves to others.” She noted how fashion can bring about body image positivity. “When we dress in a way that feels authentic to ourselves, [fashion] helps us accept our bodies more.”
Anaïs Fry, a senior from Massachusetts majoring in social work, said fashion to her is “when you put together different accessories and clothing in a way that expresses yourself.” Fry said fashion impacts self-image because it “determines if you feel confident or self-empowered. If you are to use fashion in the right way, it can increase your self-image.”
“I think fashion is confidence in what you are wearing. It is something that gives us a sense of ourselves and helps us feel ourselves,” said Jane Kanchana Udomtawee, a junior majoring in elementary education from Thailand. She shared her thoughts on how fashion can help with our self-image, “I think for the first impression, people always look at what you are wearing and through your fashion. I think it expresses yourself and your personality.”
Society, culture and media in fashion and body image
Fry noted, “Societal expectations and standards on what the perfect body is unrealistic. So it has been a process to not compare myself to that and to accept myself for who I am. I want to work on being healthier, but I do not want to do it for just that reason, I want the right mindset.”
Fry said, “Society’s expectations on how each person’s body should look are very unrealistic because everyone is so different in so many ways and that is what makes us beautiful. But it is so harmful to have the idea that everyone should look that specific way.” She added how gender norms in fashion are also an issue, with what is considered masculine or feminine clothes and expecting people to fit into categories instead of wearing whatever they feel like.
In Udomtawee’s culture, she said body type plays a huge role in the fashion industry. Udomtawee shared her experience growing up: “When I was in high school, in my culture, we have this idea that if you are bigger you couldn’t wear this, you couldn’t wear that. You couldn’t wear what was tight on you. So, I always felt insecure when I wore something form-fitting because I thought they would judge me.”
She said back at home, people expected her to wear certain clothing even if she did not like it because it was what fit her “body type.”
Another issue in the fashion industry in Asian culture Udomtawee explained is how darker-skinned Asians were advised to not wear brighter color, because in their culture, bright colors do not look good on darker-skinned types.
Vallejo said she believes society and mainstream culture are not very helpful with body image. “Frequently, we were shown one type of body and this idea of an ideal body shape, body type. I feel like Eurocentric features are so prevalent in what we believe is beautiful or what we should aim for. And I feel that is reflected in fashion as well, so I feel like it can be harmful to people’s body images.” Vallejo noted how representation is getting better with types of people and fashion. However, she said she thinks there is still much to do and more work towards inclusivity.
Body image and its struggles
“I think sometimes we limit the way we dress because we don’t have confidence. Sometimes we [observe] other ways people dress and we [judge and limit] ourselves because we believe our body does not fit well with the style. And I think it lowers your confidence,” Udomtawee stated.
She shared how she dreaded shopping because of what was offered in stores and the judgments she would receive. “I feel like what I struggled with the most was shopping. Sometimes, I would go to the clothes shop and be too shy to try on clothing, so I would ask my friend because I was afraid of someone judging me. I was afraid that they would come up to me and say it didn’t look good on me or it was too small for me,” Udomtawee said. She said how people’s opinions on what fashion is supposed to be affects other people and the best thing for her was to just let their expectations go.
Vallejo, sharing her experience of body image, stated, “When I was younger, I struggled with body image and the way I felt about my body. I used clothes as a way to hide myself rather than using clothes as a form of expression. I had these feelings of myself where I was ashamed of my body, I felt like I needed to hide it.” She said she wore very loose-fitted clothing not because she enjoyed wearing it but because she felt like it hid her body since she felt like she was taught to hide her body.
Udomtawee said there is an emphasis on modesty growing up in the church [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] and that it played a negative role in her body image.
Vallejo said, “There’s nothing wrong with modesty and you wanting it for yourself. But I think when it is pushed onto other people, especially to women and little girls, that they need to hide parts of their body because it is wrong, I feel like it creates these ideas of being ashamed of our bodies. And now we aren’t covering our bodies to empower ourselves, but we are doing it because we feel ashamed of them.”
Fry talked about some struggles she faced in the fashion industry, which included “just finding clothes that fit the right way because sometimes, with jeans it might fit right in most places but be too loose around the waist or something. It is hard to find clothes that cater to different body types. I struggle with finding something more flattering or fitting,” she said.
Fry added shopping can be hard on a person's mentality, she said, when clothes “are made in a very specific way. So if you do not fit into that, it definitely affects how you feel. Also, sizing it could be another hard experience, especially when you start comparing sizes.”
Growing past body issues
Udomtawee shared how fashion makes her feel beautiful, “I like to wear white now and some earth tones. These colors give me lots of confidence…It’s simple yet feminine.” She said her fashion describes parts of herself and how wearing white and dressing simply makes her feel feminine. Meanwhile, she said other styles make her feel beautiful and others show her fun side.
She said it is important for people to wear what would make them feel beautiful and what would motivate them to have a beautiful day. “Wear what feels comfortable to you. Whether it is through a dress, baggy clothing, skirts and more,” Udomtawee exclaimed. She said it is important to wear what makes you feel beautiful. “It’s important because it can show how much you love yourself. It’s your body and your mind. It’s just you, so it’s important to wear something that makes you happy.” She added how worrying about people judging will not create happiness but instead disrupt it, and if a person continue to focus on judgments, it can impact their mental health, “so free your mind and worry less.”
Fry remarked how fashion can uplift body image “when it is clothing that you feel confident in, it can help with your attitude and mentality and it will help you feel better throughout the day.”
She shared what makes her feel beautiful depends on the day and the vibe she is going for. “Usually, I like to wear baggy clothing or cargo pants. It makes me feel better about myself. If I was wearing something that I didn’t feel beautiful in, I would probably be thinking about it too much that it might get in the way of other things.”
Vallejo said she feels most beautiful in outfits that make her feel like her. “Sometimes I wanna be really cute or cool or mysterious or really comfy. I feel like I have different feelings day-by-day so I dress to express those feelings of those different sides of me. Whether it is more feminine or more masculine, I feel the most beautiful when I feel the most like me. When I feel like I am showing people who I am and being more authentic to myself. And I really like that you can do that through clothing.
“I think it is really important for people to dress in a way that makes them feel like themselves. I feel like it is vulnerable sometimes, whether it is because it isn’t as accepted or isn’t as popular. Being vulnerable is always scary, but I feel like being true to yourself is always worth it… . It’s empowering. People should feel empowered in the clothes they wear.”
Vallejo said she still struggles with negative body thoughts, but she reminds herself to switch the narrative from appearance being a woman’s best quality to thinking of all the wondrous things her body can do. “My body gets me to school every morning… It helps me connect with people through touch like holding someone’s hand or hugging them. Our bodies are so much more than the way they look. I think remembering that when I am feeling upset with the way my body looks helps me put into perspective that my body wasn’t made to look good every single day… My body is not an ornament but my body is an instrument.”