What your clothes reveal about you - BBC REEL

For as long as we have worn clothes, there have been rules and social customs about what to wear and when to wear them. Our clothes have evolved to reflect our social aspirations and even political ideas.

In his book Dress Codes, Professor Richard Thompson Ford explores what our clothing reveals about us and our society.

Video by Izabela Cardoso & Fernando Teixeira
Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh

#bbcreel #bbc #bbcnews

[LambentOrt]

While I agree with some of his statements about fashion and power especially in regards to feminism, race, and the modern era, I simply can't agree with his assertion that clothes as symbols of status only arrived with the advent of "tailoring". Clothing has been used to assert power and status and group/individual identity across various cultures since forever. Just at look at how important dress is to tribal societies. Anyone can see that kind of power dressing precedes the advent of modern Western-style tailoring by several millennia.

[nataliamaglakelidze]

It started way before than 600 years ago - in China, for example, nobody could wear yellow or even have yellow threads on their garments since yellow represented the sun and was reserved to the emperor. In ancient Rome and other empires, purple was the color for the royalty. In Korea, throughout all dynasties starting from B.C. the color of your clothes indicated not only your social status, but also if you had a son, a husband etc.

[hoptanglishalive]

If you want to be respected in polite society, always wear a bookshelf.

[ChocolateAristocrat]

This book sits on my top bookshelf and catches the eye of visitors to my home. The conversations that have taken place...interestingly many are still trying to consume (dress) their way into societal acceptance.

[maelenaguevarra]

It's like being in an army.
"Hey, we're wearing the same uniform, don't shoot!"

[luciananunes]

A great video, narrated in a very clear way. As my native language is Portuguese, the BBC helps me to improve my speech. Gratitude!

[christianfrommuslim]

This video implies that only Western culture and white people had such dress codes. That is misleading and not true.
If he doesn't know this, he is not knowledgeable enough to be speaking as an expert on the subject. If he does know this, to be honest,
he should specify that he is speaking only of the dress codes in the West in the past few hundred years.

[FreeSpirit]

04:07 Keep in mind that it was not JUST African American people that were prohibited from dressing what was deemed part of their station in society. People who were white were also seen as a threat if they were known to be financially poor, yet, dressed in suits or other fine clothing when they were not working. Native American peoples lives are not much better now than they were 60 to 100 years ago.

[mukhumor]

In Britain there was a rule that only rich people could wear black because it was an expensive dye, and reserved for officialdom. The Irish wore black cloth taken from black sheep, which angered the British... 'Who do they think they are!'

[nl]

Love the analysis about video call background.

[mr_easy]

The title is pretty misleading. It should be something like dress codes and history.

[suitcasesal]

Interesting topic. I wasn't aware that some of these rules and laws existed. Well done video.

[cbeary]

Such a bummer that this has once again turned into a comparison of hierarchy and race. No talk of Hispanics, jews, and asian participants - just whites and blacks. I hope one day our American culture (most specifically the media and higher learning) will expand our narrow focus into something greater than this.

[v.a.l.]

This is an oddly British/American focused analysis. Clothing and how it denotes societal status is a fascinating sociological phenomena and goes back as far as humans have lived in stratified communities.

I understand that he was coming from a particular perspective, but the title implies a broader scope.

[smkh]

Clothes indicate which 'tribe' you belong to: length of hair, use of cosmetics, style, date, are all markers
of which tribe you belong to : manual worker, office worker, professional, social status. It can be generational,
indicating age or 'datedness'. Of course associations of colour and design also flag one's gender.

[chloellabip]

No, a white guy walking behind me with his hood up is still going to make me cross the street... skin colour doesn't matter, it's the way the person carries themselves that makes the impression. At least in the UK.

[biakahmar]

I don't care much about dress but this video is very interesting.. and the narrator is pretty articulate

[flamencoprof]

In the Sixties I began wearing jeans because they were work clothes and I wanted to signal I didn't care for fashion and didn't want to be one of the suit-wearing drones. By the mid-Seventies I was questioning that decision, since so many were wearing jeans it was becoming a kind of uniform. Still I wore them. By the Eighties, jeans were being sold artificially faded, artificially worn, and creatively modified away from the basic work garment I initially embraced. Still I wore them. By the Nineties jeans branded you as old-fashioned. Still I wore them. By the 2000s, ridiculously distressed jeans appeared. Still I wore them. Today, I don't even care what dumb people are doing with jeans. Still I wear them.

[ltlbuddha]

Interesting and informative. I assumed the clothing in the marches in the 60's were and artefact of their time in a different manner.

[deanlol]

I disagree with this summation. I am a blue collar worker. When I work, I wear clothing that I don't mind staining with dirt or other substances and has signs of wear. I have a Carhart coat that I have worn for many years that is dirty and ragged while I work. When I face the public in a private or social manner, I wear Levis, Izod, Northern Face and other nicer name brand clothing. Just because you can afford nicer clothes doesn't mean you always wear them.