Fashion and Television

Television has become the biggest and best medium for advertising. The majority of our population watches television. Television portrays celebrities as icons, and follows their fashion trends. A lot of time and energy can be devoted to keeping track of the fashions that are portrayed on television. Entertainment Tonight. These programs focus on what people in the spotlight look like, and what clothes they are wearing.The media then goes on to idealize or tear apart the person based on what they look like, rather than for what they have accomplished. When the red carpet rolls out at the Oscars it doesn't matter who wins an Oscar, the best dressed person will get all the attention. A recent example is when Jennifer Lopez showed up at the Grammy Awards in a dress that became the most talked about thing in the press. It seemed that no one even cared about who actually won an award.

The adornment of the body allows people to communicate different non- verbal messages to whomever is looking. These messages are not necessarily accurate representations of the truth but are manipulated by the person to portray the image he or she desires. Fashion on television is used as an indicator to portray what a person is like: a business guy, a bum, a surfer, or a student.

Today television shows like day time soap operas, Friends, 90210, all set fashion trends. Television's feel-good shows present images that make people think, "If I wear this, I will be like my idol."

The psychology of it creates our consumer society. Style of clothing can display the role a person plays in society: it displays status, wealth, age, gender, and profession. Advertisers create images, big designer logos, and patented combinations of colours in clothes that represent a certain status, and portray an image of what type of person you are, and apparently contributes to the diversity of our culture. The roles played on television all follow guidelines of what the popular fashion trends are for that character type.

Our fashion obsessed culture has an impact on other societies in other countries. In western societies, you can often read the emotional mood of a person depending on his or her style of dress and the colours they wear. A person who usually takes time to dress themselves in tailored colourful clothes, may be communicating that they are tired or unhappy if they suddenly dress in shabby or drab attire. A person can also non- verbally communicate that they are celebrating a special occasion if they are dressed more formally or fancily than they're usually dressed.

Daytime soap opera's are often known for portraying a false sense of reality, (like most television shows). They portray a world where everyone is rich and wears $3000 Versace dresses, every night. People see this and begin to see it as a goal worth aspiring to, as they are often not able to differentiate the showsfrom a false sense of reality. They think that by obtaining some of these articles they will gain the same sense of happiness that the person on the show with the same outfit has.

The 1990's shows like 90210 and Melrose Place portrayed a "carefree" California lifestyle that had a sense of coolness. There were many characters, all of course differentiated to the viewers by what they were wearing.

The fashion trends portrayed on the show are more significant than the show itself to some viewers. That's why we are so vulnerable to seeing fashion on television. Fashion is all over the television and now every article of clothing is brand- named and might be seen around the world.

A real life example of this was when I asked my girlfriend and her friend why she and her friend like the television show'Friends so much, and tuned in devotedly every Thursday. Her reply, "I want to see what they are wearing.… and because it is funny."