Response to Speaker

On Tuesday we had a speaker come into our dynamics of clothing class and talk to us about self-esteem, especially focused on eating disorders. I was shocked by the percentage of young teenagers already having these problems. The speaker told a story about how Oprah had a young kindergarten aged girl on her show who told Oprah how important her weight was. And that was a kindergartner! I was shocked by the fact that "becoming fat" was rated the biggest fear for teenage girls, ranking over losing their parents or a nuclear war.

It was interesting to discuss the fashion side of these problems. All of the models are very underweight. And every magazine has photos that are photo-shopped and airbrushed to perfection. Because of these things, the worlds view of the perfect beauty has been so distorted that it has become unattainable. During this class we also discussed the different eating disorders, and how to help those people who are having eating problems.



I loved listening to this guest speaker and I walked out of the class having my self-esteem renewed. We are all beautiful people trying to all look like one perfect person. We should stop trying to conform and realize that having a healthy, beautiful body is something that is unique to each person on this earth. Elder Jefferey R. Holland said, "no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that he loves each of us-insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all."

Self-Concept Paper

Gretta Warner

February 23, 2016

SFL 280-Dynamics of Clothing

Self-Concept Paper

            I did my self-concept assignment on Monday February 15^th, 2016 and Wednesday February 17^th, 2016. On Monday I wore sweats and a running shirt, and on Wednesday I wore a dress with tights and short booties. I was so surprised at the different reactions that I got at school and at the clothing store I visited on both days. The reactions of the people around me were very different depending on what I was wearing. I felt much better about myself on the day that I was dressed up compared to when I was not. This activity has definitely made me realize how much effect my clothing has on my life.

            On the day that I was dressed down, I got a lot less attention and comments.  I normally dress very casual, so this day was most common to my normal attire. My mother was the only one that commented on my casual attire. She wondered why I was dressed down, but she didn’t think much about it after she commented. All other people (friends and strangers) never commented on my attire. People probably wondered why I was dressed down, but they usually don’t comment because it could be awkward or offensive.

I went to a clothing store named Called to Surf in the Riverwoods on both of these days. When I was at this store during my dress down day, I was not really noticed when I walked in the store. This is compared to when I was dressed up, I walked into the store and I was greeted right away. When I was shopping in this store, in my sweats, I was not treated as an important shopper. But when I was wearing a dress, I was treaded as someone who had money to spend and someone who would spend it. I noticed that the workers were nicer to me and would smile more and talk to me more when I was wearing a dress instead of sweats.

There are five psychological factors that are effected by the way we dress. These are found in Elaine Stone’s book, The Dynamics of Fashion they include: boredom, curiosity, reaction to convention, need for self-assurance, and desire for companionship (page 63). As I was at this clothing store for the two different days, I noticed the psychological factor of reaction to convention. This factor is defined as either conforming to the norm or straying from it. When I was wearing sweats I was straying from the norm, and was not treated with the same reaction compared to when I was wearing normal clothes. For this example, the norm was dressing nicer which influenced how I was treated.

My body image definitely changed during these two days. There are three different types of “self’s” the first in actual self, which is defined as how we see ourselves. The second self is called the ideal self, which is how we want to see ourselves. And the third self is the social self, which is usually a mediation between the actual self and ideal self. The social self is most like how we actually are. During this activity, I was able to see my social and ideal self in better light when I was dressed nicer. My actual self-image was lowered when I was dressed down compared to when I was dressed up and looked good.

When I was wearing sweats I did not feel like I was very attractive. And I noticed that when I was dressed up boys would look at me more than when I was wearing sweats. I felt like I was a lot prettier when I was dressed up. I noticed that when I wear sweats I feel like my legs are a lot bigger than when I wear jeans or a dress. There were a lot of small things that really made me feel better about myself when I was dressed up compared to when I was wearing sweats.

After doing this assignment, I decided that I should probably dress nicer more often because I was able to be happier and was able to talk to other people a lot more during the day. Because my self-esteem went up when I was dressed nicer, I was more confident than usual. I got a lot more comments about my outfit, which produced more opportunities for conversation.

Elaine Stone says in her book The Dynamics of Fashion, “Fashion is instant language. It has an impact on every stage of our lives from the womb to the tomb. Fashion involves everything from the clothes we wear, the dances we dance, and the cars we drive (page 27).” I realized after this assignment that I was not always sending the message that I wanted to. I admit that I usually dress more towards the dressed down outfit that I wore during this assignment. But because of this activity I have begun to dress nicer. I have been able to see many benefits even in these two short days including things like better conversation, better treatment by strangers, and even better self-image.

Gender Interview

Gretta Warner

February 10th, 2016

SFL 280-Dynamics of Clothing

Gender Interview

For my gender interview, I asked my dad questions about his views on fashion and clothing. I was interested in seeing what he felt about his clothes and how they impacted him. So, we sat down in the living room next to the blazing fire and discussed our views on fashion.  It was quite hilarious. First I asked him simple questions about his clothing, like what he wore, how much time he spent, and why he wore certain clothes. Then I asked him about what others thought about him because of what he was wearing and what he wanted to communicate to other people through his clothes.

My father obviously doesn’t care much about fashion, which is probably a little different than if I had interviewed a women. When I asked him how long it took him to get ready in a day, my mom yelled from the other room, “30 seconds, in the dark!” It was hilarious and totally true! My dad on an average day wears athletic clothes or a suit, if he has an important business or church meeting. He chooses his clothes because of comfort, function, and protection.

When I asked him about what others thought about him because of him clothes, he pondered it for a while and then realized that you can actually tell a lot about other people by the way they were dressed. We both decided that you could tell that my dad was athletic and didn’t care much about fashion by the way he dressed. Overall, there are obviously many differences between boys and girls when it comes to fashion, at least for me and my dad. And by doing this interview we were able to give our relationship a new edge because of the similarities and differences in our views of fashion.

Yes he is wearing ski boots (caught him right in the middle of re-sizing hah!)

Here is a transcription of the interview:

  How important is clothing in your life? 

Not very important. It keeps me protected.

How much time and thought do you give to what you will wear on an average day? 

  Less than a minute in our dark closet.

What do you hope to accomplish from being dressed in a particular way - now or in the future?      Comfort and function. And I don’t want to look bad. I want to dress for others so they now what authority I have, like when I am in court or at important business meetings.

Do you dress to please yourself or others?  

  I dress to please myself by being comfortable, and I dress for my wife.

What are your most common outfits and why? 

  T shirts, athletic clothes (that dry quickly), jeans, stretchy pants, pullovers, button-up shirts and suits for church and important work meetings.

Do you care what type of brands you wear? 

  I don’t expect for small specific things like my skiing pants.

How many pairs of shoes do you own? 

  Probably around 20, I have a lot of shoes.

Do you think that others can tell a lot about you from the clothes that you wear? 

  I don't feel like people can tell a lot about me. I don’t really ever wear high end clothes… But I suppose you could tell that I am active and don’t care that much about what I wear.

Why Modesty Is Important To Me

Modesty is important to me for many reasons, but the most important is displaying myself in a way that others will know what I stand for. By being modest we are able to truly show our standards are beliefs. As a disciple of Christ, I want to show that I love and honor my body. Our bodies are the greatest gift we have been given, because through gaining a body and making the right decisions we can have eternal life. I want to show others that I am thankful for my body and by being modest I can do that. If we dress modestly, we can have the spirit with us and be examples to those around us.