Fashion’s Domain

In his article entitled from the May 1900 issue of Fashion, The Baron states “If Fashion were concerned only with collars and cuffs, neckties and fancy vests – with clothes exclusively, to be brief, – its territory, surely, or the sphere of its influence, could hardly be dignified with the title of a “Domain.” These are the little pearls that extend beyond the bounds of my thesis and make me reconsider my own contemporary opinions.

Fashion is anything but confined to clothing.  There is a “fashion” for doing everything from doing up one’s hair to walking to reading a book.  Any daily activity is a further reflection of the way you conceive of and present yourself.  The other use of the word, as in “to fashion oneself” is no accident.  Simply, how do you see your clothing fit into the other facets of your internal/external personality?  Are they similar or contrasting?  Presumably one doesn’t change one’s table manners or style of speech as one does a necktie, but maybe they do.  I know what I’ll be pondering this weekend.