Objectives:

• Evaluating personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty.
• Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belongings.
• Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations.

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Just like the girl in all over the world, I like shopping and buy many kinds of clothes. I have a big closet in my room, but without any effort, I make the closet full with my clothes in no time, so that I need to give the closet a regular clean and throw some of them away or donate them to others who need them. I have all kinds of clothes, but I like colorful dress most. Most of the clothes are bright and I do not like wear dark clothes. Moreover, instead of wearing trousers, I like wear skirt and dress. Therefore, the bright skirt and dress take up most of my closet’s space. The space left is taken up by the bright casual clothes. Meanwhile, I like wear all kinds of high-heeled shoes and plimsolls. You can find me wearing bright dress and high-heeled shoes all the time. But sometimes, you can still find me wearing casual clothes and plimsolls. I do not like wear adornment. Even though I like collecting various adornments, I do not enjoy wearing them.

The style of my dress is close related to my traditional values and brief. As I am a girl, my mother keep telling me that girl should be wear bright color clothes while boys should wear dark clothes since I was a child. And my mother also tells me that girl should wear skirts and dresses instead of trousers, trousers are made for the male. Because of my mother’s values and briefs, my mother kept buying me bright clothes and dresses and skirts and dressed me like a princess when I was a little child. Influenced by mother, I get used to the bright color clothes, dress, and skirt and I cannot help buying these kinds of clothes when I grow up. Maybe deep in my mind, just like my mother, I believe that girl should wear bright clothes, dresses, skirts and high-heeled shoes instead of trousers. However, at the mean time, the idea that male and female is equal is widely spread. And I am in the society which is become freer and freer so that I wear causal clothes and plimsolls sometimes as well. Therefore, my clothes reflect my paradoxical values and briefs. On one hand, I am traditional and like wearing like a princess. On the other hand, I accept the value of the society nowadays and dress neutral clothes.

When shopping, I choose the clothes without thinking twice. Instead, I buy clothes according to my mood at that time. I think the choice I made can reflect my subconscious. Sometimes, I feel like wearing bright clothes, but sometimes, I just want to relax and wear casual clothes. But the style of my clothes changes as days go by. When I was a child, I liked wearing bright dress and skirts. When wearing bright clothes, I wore many different kinds of adornment such as necklace, hairpin and so on. But when I grow up, I do not wear adornment at all.

My family is a traditional Chinese family, which believes that girls should wear bright dresses, skirts and clothes, while boys should wear dark clothes and trousers. And they think that girl should be conservative, while the boys should be brave and open-minded. Therefore, my mother keeps wearing bright dresses and my father keeps wearing dark clothes. And as days go by, nothing of their style in dress has changed.

The situation is completely different when it comes to my peer community. Most of my girl friends like wearing neutral clothes, while most of my boy friends enjoy wearing clothes of different colors. And most of the time, the girls around me do not enjoy wearing adornment. But some boys around me begin to like wearing rings, necklaces, bracelet and so on. I thinks it is because the idea of everybody is equal is widely spread and accepted. And as days go by, the difference between males and females become blurry. And as the pressure about the dress of female and male from public opinion become less and less with the development of the society, girls begin to enjoy wearing neutral clothes and behave like boys and boys also want to break the limitation and wear bright clothes and adornment. The great change of my peer community’s body adornment and dress reflect the values and briefs of the society is changing in high speed and the idea of equality between male and female is widely spread in the world.

Reflection:

            It is human nature that people decorate themselves to the way they want because people are attracted by what they like. There is a saying, how you look like expose that who you are. In another words, people could read other’s characteristics from body decoration. For example, someone wears bright clothing may expose that she/he is outgoing and enthusiasm, and they may care about others’ opinions so they try to use color attract others attention; someone wears dark clothing and without decoration may be sober, and they may care about their inside beauty instead of outside. Body decoration reflects what you like which indirectly shows your characteristics and values.

            It is obvious that people in various cultures has different appearance. In Asia, people tend to be more traditional then people from western. Comparing to Asian, people from western like wearing colorful decoration because westerners are more enthusiasm and Asian are more traditional.

Future:

I like adornments. More specifically, I love adornment. I believe for most girls, body adornments are a significant part on showing their personal taste and values. It will also be plays a very important role on developing personal confidence. I think I will continue love the adornment because it will not only makes me beautiful but also give me different moods. Furthermore, keep tracking the adornments makes me feel fashion and young.