There is a view that a person’s culture and personality can be established simply by recognising the clothes they choose to wear. In my opinion, although one’s choice of clothing can tell us a little about these traits, we cannot learn a lot as appearances are only informative up to a point.
To begin with, it is important to acknowledge that the dress sense of many people is reflective of their culture and interests. This is because in many cultures there is a particular code for how to dress appropriately. For instance, a man wearing an expensive suit and holding a briefcase is un-derstood to be steeped in business culture. Because of these social symbols, including suits, sun-glasses and religious garments, it is possible to quickly ascertain that people live in one culture in-stead of another.
That said, there are limits to how much we can discover just by looking at someone’s clothes, especially when it comes to their character. After all, it is said that you should never judge a book by its cover. To illustrate, a woman dressed all in black may be judged to have a depressed, morose, pessimistic personality as we associate such feelings with this colour. However, it is more than possible that such a woman is returning from a funeral or simply thinks she looks good in black, and, more importantly, that she has a happy, cheerful disposition.
In conclusion, while it is not impossible to gather accurate information about a person’s background and character via their dress sense, there is a real danger of being misled if we rely on this method of assessment at all times.
There is a view that a person’s
culture
and personality can
be established
simply
by
recognising
the clothes they choose to wear. In my opinion, although one’s choice of clothing can
tell
us a
little
about these traits, we cannot learn a lot as appearances are
only
informative up to a point.
To
begin
with, it is
important
to acknowledge that the dress sense of
many
people
is reflective of their
culture
and interests. This is
because
in
many
cultures
there is a particular code for how to dress
appropriately
.
For instance
, a
man
wearing an expensive suit and holding a briefcase is
un-derstood
to
be steeped
in business
culture
.
Because
of these social symbols, including suits, sun-glasses and religious garments, it is possible to
quickly
ascertain that
people
live
in one
culture
in-stead of another.
That said, there are limits to how much we can discover
just
by looking at someone’s clothes,
especially
when it
comes
to their character.
After all
, it
is said
that you should never judge a book by its cover. To illustrate, a woman dressed all in black may
be judged
to have a depressed, morose, pessimistic personality as we associate such feelings with this
colour
.
However
, it is more than possible that such a woman is returning from a funeral or
simply
thinks
she looks
good
in black, and, more
importantly
, that she has a happy, cheerful disposition.
In conclusion
, while it is not impossible to gather accurate information about a person’s background and character via their dress sense, there is a real
danger
of
being misled
if we rely on this method of assessment at all times.