People dare to wear their own personalities

by Crystal Orquiz

Saturday 18, 2009

EL PASO — Fashion means braving street-baking temperatures of 102 degrees in the Black Testament concert t-shirt you adore. Ivan Hernandez, who places pride in his musical tastes ahead of comfort, thinks people represent their ideas in their clothing.

Fashion is giving people a good first impression, no matter where you are headed. Horizon High School senior Aimee Granados, who wears the jeans, layered t-shirts and flip-flops popular with teens her age, knows that people are watching her.

Fashion is scoffing at all of ads and picking what will make the day easier to bear. El Paso resident Maria Picardi-Ami, who could care less about the hottest fashion trends, is fine trudging through her neighborhood in pair of khaki pants and a short-sleeved, breathable blouse.

The way we dress sends signals

The way people dress sends signals about their personalities. (Crystal Orquiz/Nineteen Underground)

Why people choose what they wear has long fascinated people. From the fashions that fill glossy magazines to the generic threads snapped up at wholesale markets, there are a variety of motivations behind what is worn and reasons why fashion trends come and go.

Psychologist Ana Maria Rubio de Maldonado said a bounty of factors must be weighed to assess trends in fashion. She said people can find comfort in how they dress, send signals to others about their personalities, or simply want to fit in with a particular crowd.

“You always want to make a good impression on people; you don’t want people to think you don’t care about your appearance,” Granados said. “If you don’t wear the right clothes, it seems like you don’t fit in.”

Still, there are simpler motivations that drive fashion forward.

(Crystal Orquiz/Nineteen Underground)

(Crystal Orquiz/Nineteen Underground)

People can revert back to by-gone fashions when money and creativity dry up, Rubio de Maldonado said. She said the current downshift in the economy can prompt a fashion plate to dive back into the closet and resurrect clothes from the past.

Henrik Vejlgaard an author, consultant, and speaker contends that trends are based off of predictable patterns that are developed by people with high influential power. The New York-based fashion expert says on his website that people unknowingly choose the clothes that best fits them, whether looking to create a concept of some sort or initiating the uniqueness that portrays their personality.

Jaime Barba, who designs costumes for the University of Texas at El Paso, recalls his high school days when trying to figure out how a fashion trend can take off.  “I remember when I was in high school in the 80’s there were distinctive things that everybody wore, whatever popular trend that’s what everybody is going to do.”  Periods of time tend to create a social status that determines the essence of a personality, he said. Each era typically has its own silhouette. During the Civil War, ladies squeezed into corsets, their dresses puffed out and exaggerated. In the 1950s, big skirts were again the rage. Fashion, Barba said, is cyclical. But he struggled to define what is shaping up to be the fashion of today. “So right now there really is no silhouette for 2009, I think that whatever anyone wants to wear is fine,” he said.

Hernandez said there is nothing wrong with reliving past fashions. Though new fashions can inspire a change in people, there is value in looking at past ideas.  “There is a lot of awesome culture, really good music, and ideas and stuff,” he said. “By going back you keep those ideas alive, those ideas of what they believe and educate and show how people are different.”

Barba, who spends hours dressing other people, typically chooses his clothing in a matter of seconds. Standing in khaki shorts, a green t-shirt, with sunglasses laying on his olive-colored cap, Barba paused to think about what affects his clothing selection. “I don’t know, I’m not a good guide for that,” he said. “I like to dress nice when I’m teaching but I don’t really think about it, I just put whatever on.”

Perhaps pondering about what to wear will endure.

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