In reply to Karl Fuler:
... and with the economic crisis going on perhaps people will resort to reflect seriously on the topic for their own personal benefit ...:)
Fashion
The designers, the models, the shows and of course, the clothes
In reply to dromedary:
No, fashion helps to trap people in their 'class', while style, art and personality transcend it.
In reply to Karl Fuler:
PERSONALITY ! .. . indeed ... and that is the problem with many people with the status of being fashionably ' glamourous ' ... most of them do seem to lack true personality as in PERSONALITY . It seems somehow that people try to compensate PERSONALITY with the apparel of FASHION .... the problem is that fashion is just clothes .... style on the contrary , I believe, is a way of manifesting your personality . But then again style is an art in the matters of uplifting aesthetics.
The following an excerpt from FRIDA KHALO'S biography by Hayden Herrera
“For Frida the elements of her dress were a kind of palette from which she selected each day the image of herself that she wished to present to the world. People who watched the ritual of her dressing recall the time and care she took, her perfectionism and precision. Frequently she tinkered with a needle before donning a blouse, adding lace here, a ribbon there. Deciding which belt would go with what skirt was a serious matter. “Does it work?” she would ask. “Is it good?” “Frida had an aesthetic about her dress,” painter Lucile Blanch remembered. “She was making a whole picture with colors and shapes.”
In reply to Galileo's Universe:
Yes, our current culture pressures us to conform to fashions, rather than encouraging individual personalities.
In reply to Karl Fuler:
PIC>:COVER STARTERS FOR THINKERS by ROBERT FISHER
REF>:http://www.teachingthinking.net/
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Perhaps there is a way or ' weapon ' around it ..... but it must indeed start at a very early age !
Children as young as FIVE get philosophy lessons - and here are the questions they will be asked
By LAURA CLARK
Last updated at 08:20 07 februari 2008
While other five-year-olds are learning to spell their names and tie up shoelaces, infants at one school are debating life's great mysteries - in philosophy lessons.
Staff say that instead of "thumping each other" in the playground, pupils now challenge each other's ideas when they disagree.
The Philosophy for Children course encourages pupils to grapple with conundrums such as free will, religion and the nature of luck.
And the classes at tough London primary Gallions have been so successful at improving results and behaviour that it has sold its own teaching kits and DVDs to 150 schools in Britain and abroad.
Paul Jackson, one of the school's two head teachers, said: "Gallions opened in 1999 on a new estate in the East End, with all the problems that an inner-London estate brings.
"Virtually everyone that came here had some kind of emotional or behavioural difficulty."
The school, in Beckton, East London, brought in a consultant to instigate philosophical discussions six years ago and the youngsters immediately took to it.
Formal lessons in philosophy begin at five, but preparation starts even earlier, in the school's own nursery.
Three-year-olds are introduced to the concept of justification through simple exercises, such as getting them to sit on a "magic carpet" and then asking where they plan to travel on it and why.
Five-year-olds are challenged to consider why music sounds harmonious and people are more likely to shout outside.
Philosophy is taught across the board in place of citizenship lessons and the school has hired a dedicated "philosophy for children" teacher, Lisa Naylor.
Look and learn: Pupils at Gallions Primary in Beckton debate a theory during a lesson
She said: "I have witnessed children who barely spoke English and children who had very little self-confidence debating fervently whether the sound of rain on the window was or wasn't music."
At first, she had difficulties getting the children involved without being aggressive towards their classmates.
But soon pupils were able to "challenge each other's ideas in an assertive and non-aggressive way", leading to better behaviour and greater respect for one another.
REF>:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-512649/Children-young-FIVE-philosophy-lessons--questions-asked.html
In reply to Galileo's Universe:
This sounds too good to be true. If the kids really do respond that well this should be introduced to all schools immediately.
In reply to dromedary:
From a lifetime’s experience of living among humans I eventually figured out that fashion is a restrictive and negative influence, a belief reinforced by working in the fashion industry.
It is my experience that, through the process of trying to reject fashion, our lives are enriched.
I wear clothes that I like, but not because they are in fashion, and apply the same method to haircuts, food and drink, music and holiday locations etc.
PIC>:latimesblogs.latimes.com/ readers/2008/04/roun...
................ Importance of Personal Physical Appearance
People nowadays put a lot of efforts to make themselves become more beautiful in order to develop their self-confidence. As we can see that joining a gym or fitness center, going to a beauty salon, or even putting themselves under the knife of cosmetic surgeons become more and more prevalent recently. However, why do people always focus on and take extra care of their physical appearance?
Firstly, people are often influenced by the media. Many advertisements use attractive celebrities to publicize and promote their products. The advertisements usually use a super model who has a slim body shape, big round eyes and perfect white skin to show what beauty is and how superior they are. They want to build up an image of success through an attractive appearance and try to distribute the concept of beauty to the people. If we want to be successful and popular, we must have a so-called charming look just like the models in the magazines. The media would sometimes use ugly or fat people in their advertisements, but always in a negative and miserable way. As we can see that only the obese and hideous people are teased, bullied and repulsed by others in the movies. They always have a lower status and suffer an unpleasant life in the film. Therefore, under the influence of the media, the concept of beauty and slim means successful, favorable and powerful while obesity and ugliness means failure and poor is already deep-rooted in every people’s mind.
Secondly, people are always affected by the peers and the people surrounding. They think that having an attractive appearance is everything. They may misconceive that the more the attractive appearance, the more the benefits and welcomes they can achieve from peers and other people. Therefore, sometimes when they feel unsuccessful and desperate, they would impute it to their appearance or when they are repelled by others, they would blame for their ugly look. On the other hand, attractive physical appearance can build up one’s self-confidence and self-esteem. They will have a very high and positive self-evaluation towards themselves as they think they are more appeal and supreme among the others. It eventually builds up their confidence and beliefs in doing things successfully and favorably in their life. Thus, there is no wonder why so many people strive for a beautiful look and take extra care of their physical appearance while those who have a very low self-image will try their best to alter or enhance it.
Moreover, people also want to attract the opposite sex attention by having an appealing look. Many of them believe that physical appearance is more important than personality in choosing a partner, so they would try every effort to make themselves become more charming and pretty. For example, they would waste lots of money to pursue the brand name products such as Nike, Levi’s or L.V. in order to get people’s attention and show-off their wealth. Besides that, eating weight loss pills, joining expensive fitness centre, starving or vomiting food after eating are very popular and common practices currently in Hong Kong so as to lose weight and have a good body shape. But they do not know these improper ways can develop eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia and they may even die from these disorders. Sometimes, people may take risk to have cosmetic surgery like eyelid surgery or nose reconstruction in order to become more attractive and perfect. They often neglect the danger and lingering effects that would bring from the surgeries and insist to have an unnatural face. However, is it worth to lose health or even life to have a charming appearance? Or do you think they are still beautiful if their faces or bodies are not actually theirs?
Indeed, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder and a good-looking is not everything. If you want to be a really successful and beautiful person, you should be first of all in good health. Also, a good personality is very essential for a person. If you are a kind and considerate person, the people around you will be pleased to get along with you. Therefore, if you cannot change your physical appearance which is inborn, why don’t you put more emphasis on improving your character? It is the only way to be a permanent attractive person!
Ref>:http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=29939