Fashion has always had wealth-based roots. During Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt, it was an indicator of a person’s wealth as they would wear colorful garments to stand out from the crowd. An average person would instead wear neutral colors and cheap clothing because they didn’t have the luxury to do otherwise. Many people’s access to fashion was limited due to its association to wealth and status.
Over the course of time, as fashion became inclusive, society’s understanding of fashion changed along. Nowadays, micro trends on apps like TikTok define aesthetic fashion distinctively in many people’s eyes. TikTok brought revelations to the fashion world as it helped establish a new sense of uniqueness and individuality among Gen Z. Although society’s new understanding of fashion embraced the notion to express oneself freely, it also brought a new reliance on aesthetics.
One of many roles of aesthetics in today’s society is self-expression through one’s individuality. Aesthetic fashion offers people limitless opportunities to become who they want to be. It helps one stamp their identity on an arrangement of things and make friends with people who like the same things as them. Comments like “That person looks so cool!” or “I love their vibe!” has become a common pattern among our generation to predict aspects of a person’s character based on what they choose to wear that day.
Nevertheless, the obsession with aesthetic fashion is dangerous. Through grouping people into categories based on aesthetics, it leads people to be seen only for the piece of clothing they wear. Aesthetic fashion is treated as a status symbol because everyone is expected to make an effort to invest in their wardrobe.
Although this might be a possibility for the financially affluent class, it isn’t the case with low-income individuals who are disproportionately impacted by fashion’s wealth association. Studies show that the more income a person has, the more likely they are to view goods as necessities rather than luxuries. This mentality is detrimental when it comes to aesthetic fashion because it ostracizes people who can’t afford to keep up with expensive trends.
It’s crucial to explore the wealth-based roots in many of the aesthetics we know of. The “clean girl” aesthetic for example is defined by: clear skin, makeup no-makeup look, a slicked-back bun, gold jewelry, high-end perfumes, and expensive minimalist wardrobe. Synonymous with Eurocentric beauty standards and gentrifying a look women of color have owned and been judged for, this aesthetic isn’t achievable for many.
This style creates an elitist standard that simply isn’t inclusive through promoting many expensive products such as a Dior lip oil or a Chanel perfume. Through commodifying self-care, this aesthetic refers to someone who wakes up early everyday, works out, prepares her daily matcha and just can’t pull herself out from her long self-care routine. The clean girl aesthetic romanticizes a costly lifestyle that isn’t realistic or healthy.
It’s not only the clean girl aesthetic that perpetuates such classist ideals; the same pattern is also evident within other aesthetics. Fashion and wealth are mentioned in conversations synonymously, making one another unable to exist without the other. As the creators of these tropes base them in elitism, the rest of the society who can’t afford to dress up as one become obsessed with creating the imitation of wealth. The illusion of inclusivity in aesthetic fashion spreads a harmful rhetoric and attempts to mold people into curated identities.