The Ways In Which Fashion Is Becoming More Egalitarian

The recent Facebook leaks revealed damning information about the company’s knowledge of certain unhealthy realities. One of those is that Instagram can have a negative impact on body image. This makes sense, considering how some celebrities and influencers present their “perfect” lives (in images which are often doctored). However, the fashion industry itself is, in many ways, changing for the better.

The fashion world is becoming more egalitarian. Instead of serving only the supposed elite, all kinds of people can now find their style and wear it with pride.

Here are the ways in which fashion is becoming more egalitarian.

Affordable Clothing

There has been a lot of criticism of “fast fashion” over the past few years. Fast fashion refers to the relatively cheap clothing that companies like H&M and Zara provide as alternatives to designer brands. Fast fashion is bad for the environment, for one thing, as it wears out more quickly.

However, it has had the effect of making fashion more egalitarian. You should not have to be rich to wear clothing you actually like. Twenty years ago, you could far more easily tell a person’s socioeconomic status based on what they wore.

There needs to be a better balance between affordable fashion and sustainability. But there is no doubt that in the fashion world, it is helping people feel good in the clothes they’ve always wanted.

Different Sizes and Shapes

For far too long, the best fashion was sold specifically in certain shapes and sizes. This serviced some of the population, but left millions of people with few clothing options. You had to try to get your body into a certain shape and size just to wear the clothing you liked. Now, fashion is becoming more egalitarian by providing options for different body types.

Calypsa, for example, provides plus size swimwear that looks and feels great. However, don’t confuse plus size as referring specifically to weight. Rather, it accommodates different body types, because not all body types have the same proportions, and neither should they. Clothing should be attractive and comfortable no matter what body type you have.

Rihanna has done a good job at helping move the fashion industry forward in this sense, featuring clothing in her lines that are geared towards different body types, as well as plus size models in her shows.

Changing Aesthetics

There is no doubt that there are still ideas of how fashion should look that drive the direction clothing companies take. However, this is becoming less prescriptive. While in the past you had to go to niche stores for clothing that was counterculture, it is now easier to pick and choose your style from stores which are accessible to all.

You no longer have to fit into a culture or prescribe to societal standards in order to look good. You can more easily look the way you want to, wearing the fashion that you like for yourself.

You can even do this with the most basic stores. Because fashion is cheaper, you can use scissors and a sewing machine to alter items and make them more to your liking.