Madelyn Parr
Module 1: Final Paper
9/18/2020
Clothing and Identity
Introduction
Identity is what can make up a person. This can be explained as who or what a person is
and why they are that way. some people do not fully figure out their identity, ever. The use of
different pieces of clothing, body art, and achievements can give off the stereotype of who and/or
how someone may be. There are so many ways a person can express their identity through
different visuals on their bodies. Clothing, any artifact and/or object addition to the body that
changes its appearance, allows a person to show the world who and what they are. Clothing can
include anything along the lines of garments, cosmetics, treatments, and possibly equipment. The
clothing “functions in determining the symbolic boundaries between people in a sense. Fashion
and clothing are a field where clothes are used to create and reveal a cultural and social identity.
The identity phenomenon of the person is embodied in body by clothing and fashion” (Nihan,
2018). Today’s world, the way someone looks is stereotyped into who they are, why they are that
way, and what they believe in. The stereotype may be wrong and misinterpreted but their identity
can be correctly learned and seen through their occupational attire, body art, and academics.
Occupation Attire
In everyday lives, the clothing people wear are connected to their identity and
uniqueness. An identity can be made up of many different factors and influences including
beliefs, personality, looks, expressions, and/ or group(s). Business professionals, teachers, sports
teams, and small group affiliations dress differently than each other, making them individual in
their own ways. Business professionals can be more likely seen as authoritative and dominance
by wearing different outfits formed by dress pants, ties, and other formal dress wear. Based off
of their causal dress and formal dress, they are connected to different characteristics. Causal
dress connects with trust and productivity while formal dress connects with friendliness and
creativity. Teachers, depending on class subject and office location, can be spotted by the way
they dress. Teachers outfit can look anything from casual long sleeves and jeans to a more
dressed up look including sports coat, tie, dress pants/shoes. A study was conducted in a
classroom by Matthew Etherington where different sets of students were told to pick a role to
play and act as they would the entire day. Students had dressed up as bloggers, high school
teachers, CEO of companies, and many others. The feedback that was giving was about “the
