Fashion speak

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Discourse Analysis Fashion- speak

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Discourse analysis

Transcript of Fashion speak

Page 1: Fashion speak

Discourse Analysis

Fashion-speak

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Fashion

Globalization

Fashion-

speak

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“Fashion changes, but style endures.

” Coco

Chanel

“Fashion is not something that

exists in dresses only. Fashion is in

the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is

happening.” Coco Chanel

“I don't know who invented

high heels, but all

women owe him a lot!” 

Marilyn Monroe

"It’s a new era in fashion - there are no rules. It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together."— Alexander McQueen

"Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live."— Gianni Versace

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Fashion Fashion plays an increasingly important role in an individual’s life because it

is considered as a means of self-expression. The garments and accessories that man or women wear, help them to identify with a group of others-whether it is a lifestyle, profession, a religion, or an attitude. Thus, the fashion-speak and use of fashion linguistic means have changed.

The main reasons for fashion are: protection, individuality, identification, and representation. 

Clothing and fashion industry have a big influence on people. However, this trend has both advantages and disadvantages. Fashion is good as long as it helps people feel good about themselves. When it becomes an obsession it does more harm than good.

Life in a modern community is far more controlled by fashion than many people realize; fashion is big business, invented by original designers and controlled and promoted by business magnates for profit. Moreover, it affects not only clothing, but almost every aspect of daily life from the kind of house we live in, to the kind of book we read. And what is this mysterious thing called 'fashion' ? 

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Globalization impact on

fashion-speak

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Globalization

The culture of

luxuryLinguistic imperiali

sm

The culture

of beauty

Cultural imperiali

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The culture of luxuryIn the 14th century, luxury was originally a pejorative word, denoting “sinful self-indulgence”Nowadays, exist such a phenomenon as “psychological habit” of consumptionPeople spend approximately 13% of their budget on clothes and shoes“Luxury is not the opposite of poverty; it is the opposite of vulgarity”

Coco Chanel

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The culture of beauty

Nowadays, plastic surgery is as common thing as cosmetic procedureMore money is spent on beauty products in the USA annually than on education: over 6$ billion on makeup alone“Being beautiful is the answer to our dreams”An example of beauty culture is the

attention focused on super models and the development of a stereotypical idea of beauty

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Cultural imperialism

The term 'Cultural imperialism' refers to the practice of promoting a more powerful culture over a least known or desirable culture and can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. 

The USA cultural dominance is apparent predominantly through fashion, music and movies.For instance, some people strive to wear merchandise from American designers such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren’s Polo, and Dona Karan’s DK. 

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Linguistic imperialism

American fashion designers speak their own “English” languagePractically all fashion neologisms are EnglishBrands like Fnk Asia that are premised on a fusion of east and west, for instance, have been a front runner in creating a new

diction for fashion → new fashion neologisms

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Fashion-speakWhat makes a clique a definitive

social group is its individual and often zealously guarded boundaries that encapsulate a certain way of life, behavior and language.

And just as there are different cultures and peoples in the world, one observes that there is a certain culture and lexicon specific to every industry, as one observes with the fashion fraternity increasingly catching up to create its own semiotics such as ‘jeggings’ (a marriage of denim and leggings) and ‘swaket’ (a union of sweater and a jacket).

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 Even personal shoppers need fashion dictionaries to understand words such as

• “spants” (hareem pants)

• “swacket”(a sweater/jacket)

— lexicon that is used on a regular basis by fashionistas, according to British department store Debenhams. 

•  The words “jorts”, which refers to a pair of denim hotpants;

• ”whorts”, winter shorts to be donned

with woollen tights; and

• “mube”, a maxi tube dress,

amount to a “secret language”.  

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The ‘shrouzer’ is a western twist on a shalwar with pockets on the side.

For the winter the brand plans on introducing yet another conceptual article of clothing a ‘jacket shirt’ much akin to the international ‘swaket’ that is a cross pollination between a jacket and a shirt. 

Globally one has also observed that while stand out pieces would initially be called ‘statement’ pieces such as a large over sized ring would be termed as a ‘statement ring’, is now christened as ‘cocktail’.

A whole new breed of colored jeggings are now being called ‘cocktail jeans’ for instance

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Fashion exaggerated languageIt’s no longer enough to say you simply like a certain sweater, or

that you find a cocktail dress flattering. Such pedestrian words have fallen out of fashion in favor of exaggerated language that,

while expressing enthusiasm for clothes, doesn’t give us any insight into why they’re so wonderful. We have come to expect

the world’s fashion authorities to “die” or “stop breathing” when they find a pair of shoes that’s especially “fierce” or “tranny,” or

perhaps when they find a model “werking” a particularly “mayjor” “smize” or “lewk.” And we’re happy with this, even

though precious few of the world’s most famous fashion experts truly make a habit of articulating why certain clothes can be so

great.

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Fashion-speak

“Fashionista”

A fashionista is someone who follows fashion, or is

involved in the fashion industry.

Sometimes the term may be used to suggest that

Fashionistas are obsessed with Fashion at the cost of

other issues of importance. However, Fashionistas

are not offended when people call them such, and

many use the term in self Reference, like a badge of

pride.

the word took hold slowly, but “dramatically

expanded” in 1998, when Angelina Jolie starred as

Gia in an HBO movie. In 1999, the word was added to

the OED, and now it’s everywhere.

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Fashion speak

IT – girl "It girl" is a term for a young woman who possesses the quality "It",

absolute attraction. The expression reached global attention in 1927, with the film It, starring Clara Bow.

While "it girls" of today are commonly young females in the worlds of fashion or show-business, the original concept focused on personality.

The "It Girl" is the girl that EVERYONE wants to be. She has everything that you want so you tend to envy her. She does all the things that you can't do so you grow to hate her. Being an "It Girl" is having the latest shits, (the best clothing and always stays fly) and the prettiest face. Her presence is always appreciated, ALL the guys Want her and ALL the girls want to be her! (Urban dictionary)

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Fashion-speak

Luxury pretA terms like ‘luxury pret’ that do not exist any where

in the world but have been coined locally to define certain elements in fashion. In this case, any ready

to wear clothing that is expensive (hence is a luxury) is called luxury prêt.

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Fashion-speak dictionary (neologisms)treggings - thick close-fitting leggings

flannie - (Australian, slang) a shirt made of flannel or flannelettefrugalista - (informal) a person who tries to stay fashionably dressed on a

budgettomboy - a girl who acts or dresses in a boyish way, liking rough outdoor

activities‘jeggings’ (a marriage of denim and leggings) and ‘swaket’ (a union of

sweater and a jacket).“spants” (hareem pants)

“swacket”(a sweater/jacket) “jorts”, which refers to a pair of denim hotpants;

”whorts”, winter shorts to be donned with woollen tights“mube”, a maxi tube dress,

Fashionista – is someone who follows fashion, or is involved in the fashion industry.

It-girl - is a term for a young woman who possesses the quality "It", absolute attraction.

Luxury pret - any ready to wear clothing that is expensive (hence is a luxury) is called luxury prêt.

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To sum it up:Yet despite this whole new range of diction, linguistic purists have criticized the

confusing fashion vocabulary and claim the words are simply recycling existing

terminology. “The world of fashion is reliant on these changing trends, which are

often based on little more than classic foundations with clever twists” 

So ultimately, the language mirrors the runways: Not all of this has to make sense to work (werk?), or, frankly, make its creator some

money. So while it makes more sense to describe clothes as pretty or flattering or well-made, people talking about fashion from on-

high can only say that stuff so many times before the bore themselves. 

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Links:1. “My turban is not a fashion trend”

http://johannablakley.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/cultural-appropriation-in-fashion/2. “English as a lingua franca: a linguistic imperialism”

http://www.dawn.com/news/1028971/english-as-lingua-franca-a-linguistic-imperialism

3. Linguistic imperialism: http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/Linguistic-Imperialism.htm4. What is linguistic imperialism?

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-linguistic-imperialism.htm5. Meera Jain “The cultural implication of beauty”

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/courses/beauty/web5/mjain.html6. Shari Graydon “In Your Face: The culture of beauty and you”

http://www.amazon.com/In-Your-Face-Culture-Beauty/dp/15503785627. “Fashion neologisms, Anna M.I.A. in Paris, and Lacroix’s Last Waltz”

http://www.refinery29.com/fashion-neologisms-anna-mia-in8. “Neologisms: the coming of age. Using neologisms is common these days, but not

so sensibly used” http://www.dgupost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1328

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9. “Fashion’s neologisms” http://hanitaha.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/fashions-neologisms/

10. Emily Temple “The Stories behind 8 of the most irritating neologisms” http://flavorwire.com/387130/the-stories-behind-8-of-the-most-irritating-neologisms/3/

11. Amy Odell “Why do we so rarely say anything meaningful about fashion” http://nymag.com/thecut/2011/11/trouble-with-fashion-speak.html

12. “Globalization impact on languages and communication” http://www.slideshare.net/dochkorleone/globalization-impact-on-languages-and-communication?from_search=1

13. “The United States and cultural imperialism” http://aculturalcollision.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/the-united-states-and-cultural-imperialism/

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Thank You For Your Attention