Philosophy of fashion

Dear SF members

My interest in fashion is young and so is my body (also my english knowledge , so please forgive me for the grammar). Until half a year ago, to me, people who were knowledgeable in fashion issues appeared to be superficial and in possession of some sort of shortage of some part of their physical or psychological existence as a human being.
Now that I'm sitting here in front of the computer, I can't observe anything missing at myself even though I read this forum every day. Good. I'm a boy that enjoys his life and tries to live it in the fullest. This calls for my second problem: How can I justify philosophically to spend a major part of my time with clothing. Clothing has always been a tool for the human being to reach goals for a higher level of survival or for social purposes.
It has never been a major world's concern though. There are people dying of hunger out there and we are discussing hermès scarfs and gucci shoes.
How do you guys philosophically justify your dedication to fashion?

your
swiss dandy

Its an interest like any other. People buy cars. People go to college and spend tons on their education. Some people collect art but no one ever asks them why they do such a thing when they could be contributing the money to someone who is dying of hunger. Clothing is just another one of those things. Its a love that we all have and thats why we spend so much time with it.

Hermes scarfs and Gucci shoes aren't made by robots. Though, it could be argued that buying Nike stuff supports manufacture in third world countries, helping to alleviate those issues. That's economics -- I wish people would actually buy real goods rather than senseless stuf many people buy that merely perpeturates consumerism and does, essentially, lower the quality of living for all, but that's a whole nother discussion.

I'm not dedicated to fashion in the least sense, so I have no need to justify....anything. I also don't spend a major part of my life on clothing. SF is already far more than that. Can't really help you justify it to yourself, either. I've always thought that if you need to justify something, you should seriously consider why.

Regards,
Huntsamn

Eat to please yourself; dress to please others.

-- Benjamin Franklin

There are people dying of hunger out there and we are discussing hermès scarfs and gucci shoes.
How do you guys philosophically justify your dedication to fashion?

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Simple, we are different. Each of us dedicate him/herself to different kind of things. I personally can't care less about people dying of hunger, war, disease etc. Yes there're plenty of them suffering out there but I just choose not to care.

Originally Posted by ghulkhan

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Its an interest like any other. People buy cars. People go to college and spend tons on their education. Some people collect art but no one ever asks them why they do such a thing when they could be contributing the money to someone who is dying of hunger. Clothing is just another one of those things. Its a love that we all have and thats why we spend so much time with it.

what's your religious belief and what role do your hobbies play in your spiritual life?

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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I've always thought that if you need to justify something, you should seriously consider why.

Regards,
Huntsamn

people that try to justify their actions are people that care for ethics, as long as they keep it to themselves. especially people that are in the stage of life I'm in right now... wanna make some long-term decisions

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

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Eat to please yourself; dress to please others.

-- Benjamin Franklin

he was such a pedantic dick

Originally Posted by metkirk

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I personally can't care less about people dying of hunger, war, disease etc. Yes there're plenty of them suffering out there but I just choose not to care.

how come? give me some philosophical basis for that please. guys, i want to hear how you guys come to this conclusions...!

Originally Posted by dandywarhol

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what's your religious belief and what role do your hobbies play in your spiritual life?

Atheist...I don't have a spiritual life

how come? give me some philosophical basis for that please. guys, i want to hear how you guys come to this conclusions...!

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Everyone has to have interests. Some people study the bible. Others study clothes - and if you look at this forum, that's what's happening. It's not simple consumerism, although there is a degree of that. People are genuinely interested in the craftsmanship, and, dare I say..."artisanship." Of nice clothes.

To whom are you justifying? If God, I would suggest a)there is no God and b)if there was why would he care about clothes? If yourself, then it's on you to figure it out.

hm anyone here that isn't a nihilist?

Originally Posted by dandywarhol

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hm anyone here that isn't a nihilist?

Friend, I don't think that word means what you think it means...

Nihilism (from the Latin nihil, nothing) is a philosophical position which argues that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. Nihilists generally assert some or all of the following: there is no reasonable proof of the existence of a higher ruler or creator, a "true morality" does not exist, and secular ethics are impossible; therefore, life has no truth, and no action can be preferable to any other.[

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Would you agree that people can dispose of their time and resources as they see fit? You seem to be suggesting that we ought to feel guilty about the amount of both we expend on clothing. I'm simply asking by what yardstick you measure that?

I don't think you could argue that our clothing hobby hurts anyone, except maybe our bank accounts, and it often helps skilled, niche craftsman. It makes us happy. Why should we have to justify it?

Originally Posted by Augusto86

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Friend, I don't think that word means what you think it means...



Would you agree that people can dispose of their time and resources as they see fit? You seem to be suggesting that we ought to feel guilty about the amount of both we expend on clothing. I'm simply asking by what yardstick you measure that?

I don't think you could argue that our clothing hobby hurts anyone, except maybe our bank accounts, and it often helps skilled, niche craftsman. It makes us happy. Why should we have to justify it?

please don't understand me wrong. i started this thread out of curiosity; I didn't mean to offend anybody or attempt to make anybody feel guilty.

Nihilism is basically a more explicit form of atheism so therefore I used it to exaggerate the combined statements of you and other people that replied.

Well... if you disagree that a justification theory for fashion would be an interesting thing and would make you - in your words - even happier, then, maybe this thread is not the right place for you (not meant offensive... please write here if you desire

Well, if you did want to justify it...I suppose you could go with the utilitarian uses of fashion - attracting a mate, impressing peers, boosting self-confidence.

I think the best argument might be that a well-dressed man looks and feels confident, and confidence is at the heart of happiness and success.

The other argument might be that we need a sort of "release valve" from the pressures and stresses and tragedies of life, and being into fashion allows us to be a little dilletantish and ignore some of those harsh realities for a while and just have some fun.

Originally Posted by dandywarhol

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people that try to justify their actions are people that care for ethics, as long as they keep it to themselves. especially people that are in the stage of life I'm in right now... wanna make some long-term decisions


What I was trying to get across is that when people are"trying to justify their actions" it is most commonly a sign that they know they are in the wrong. Not always.

Believe me, I am not one who shirks the responsibilities of a personal code of ethics. I'll die by mine. I try to live by it. I am neither an atheist nor a nihilist.

Regards,
Huntsman

Originally Posted by dandywarhol

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How do you guys philosophically justify your dedication to fashion?
your
swiss dandy

Fashion is communication, and to be stylish is to be fluent in the system of signs and symbols which make up fashion's language. What you wear is an encoding of your beliefs and attitude towards the world which others can read.

By studying fashion one can learn to communicate better to others, and better communication leads to a better life in general.

Plus it's good fun to dress up. Whenever I have the time and money to focus on how I look it's because I've not got any worries such as how to pay the rent or meeting approaching deadlines, which is a great feeling.