Shoppers in Southampton yesterday gave their views on what fashion means to them. A range of different opinions were presented and a varied knowledge of the fashion industry was noticeable.
Although the majority showed a lack of interest in the deeper side of fashion such as designers and magazine influences, the attention on the more general side, such as reading magazines, and celebrity endorsements proved to be more favourable.
Obvious knowledge of fashion became clear when designers such as Karen Millen and Ralph Lauren were mentioned as being favourites. Although the influences over fashion from magazines seemed to be insignificant, many participants mentioned that they do read magazines with Hello and Ok being the most popular.
Molly, an 18 year old sales assistant at Topshop admitted: “I read loads of magazines, everything like Heat, Elle, Vogue and whatever is out really but my style is more high-street so I wouldn’t be able to say a favourite designer or fashion icon, I tend to just shop in Topshop”. Whereas the older generations that were asked the same question, acknowledged a love for the style of Princess Diana, Victoria Beckham and Sienna Miller, all very influential and admired style icons.
When asked about style icons, Tom Veitch, a 19 year old student said: “I don’t really have a specific one but David Beckham is pretty cool”. He continued to admit “I spend between £100-£200 a month on clothes, which I guess will change now I have a budget but Ralph Lauren and Ted Baker are my favourite designers and there clothes aren’t exactly cheap”.
Laurie Reid, a 43 year old fireman also said: “David Beckham is probably my favourite”, when asked about style icons. This shows that no matter what age, everybody can be influenced by celebrities.
A good representation of how important fashion is in somebody’s life can be perceived by the amount of money they spend on clothes. On a monthly basis, the budgets seemed to vary, however the effects of the recession were not mentioned as reasons behind a lack of spending. Chadene Lewis, a 35 year old cleaner and mum of two said: “I only tend to spend around £30 on myself; I work full time so there isn’t much need for me to splash out on nice clothes, besides I prefer to treat the kids”. This shows the difference in attitudes between the generations, especially as Sylvia Field, a retired 72 year old from Somerset said: “I like to think that fashion still plays a big role in my life because I’ve always followed what’s going on and what is new. I would always keep an eye on what Lady Diana was wearing because she was very classy and I liked that. I read magazines like OK, Hello and Closer but I don’t really spend any money on clothes anymore, not a lot anyway”. This shows that being involved in fashion doesn’t always mean a full wardrobe.
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