Fashion is an ever-changing pattern of style and taste in dress, hairstyles, makeup, lifestyle and accessories. It is closely linked to culture, social class and time period. It is often seen as a form of self-expression.
It is widely believed that changes in fashion reflect societal change and the financial interests of designers and manufacturers. However, it is also possible that fashions are initiated by individuals within a group, such as judges wearing robes, soldiers in uniforms or brides wearing long white dresses. In this case, the individual is acting as a catalyst to create a new fashion for the rest of the group to follow.
Clothes are the most obvious expression of fashion. They reveal a person’s personality and character, whether it is a goth with green hair and many piercings or a preppy boy in crisp white button down shirt and khakis. They can even define groups such as skaters or preps, causing them to be labelled by others as either rebels or conformists.
In modern times, most people have a huge choice of clothes to choose from. It is unlikely that they will be exactly the same as somebody else, so it is less likely to be a fashion statement and more a reflection of their own personal taste and character. Having said that, it is also a fact that when celebrities or people in the public eye wear something different, others will often copy them and a new fashion may develop.