Fashion is a style of dress, manners and behavior that is popular at a particular time. It may also refer to a trend in the choice of music, books, or movies. Alternatively, fashion can refer to the design and styling of clothing, footwear, lifestyle accessories or hairstyles. It is inherently a social phenomenon, relying on dissemination and adoption from the fashion industry and media.
Historically, a change in the fashion of a person’s clothes has been associated with a change in his or her personality. For example, the change from long, flowing gowns to the short, tight dresses of the Edwardians was accompanied by an increasing emphasis on personal appearance and social class.
For a more contemporary example, it has been suggested that changes in fashion reflect a desire to differentiate oneself from others in a crowd. The use of false eyelashes has been a very fashionable way of doing this. Similarly, the popularity of certain perfumes has created a demand for them.
However, other reasons for changes in fashion have been suggested. It has been argued that they reflect a shift in popular taste, or that they are caused by the financial interests of clothing manufacturers and designers. For example, the emulation of star styles in the media can encourage people to buy similar fashions in order to be seen as like their idols. Moreover, research has shown that some changes in fashion are caused by internal taste mechanisms that are unaffected by outside influences.