| What's in a Name (Brand)? By: Tomi Afolayan We all want to belong in one way or another. Fitting in or being accepted can depend on a lot of things: the clothes we wear, the people we hang out with and who we are. There are a lot of different styles: preppy, gothic, punk, ghetto, skater…the list goes on. I’m sure if you were to ask one of your friends, they would say they have tried to fit into one of these categories in one way or the other; this is all part of how we find our identity. So what is your style? Are the brands you wear important to you? I asked three girls these questions. I first talked to Haley, a seventeen year old girl. When I asked her if name brands were important to her she said yes, because they make her feel better about herself. Some brands that catch Haley’s eye include Max Mara, Marc Jacobs, Mui Mui, Burberry, Rodarte and Christian Louboutin. “It’s like art; it is the way I express myself.” Unlike the two other teenage girls I talked to, Haley prefers more high-scale fashion and designer clothing. Tiffany and Emily were two thirteen year-old girls I also interviewed. Mui Mui, Burberry? “That sounds like a fruit,” said Tiffany laughing. To them the names sounded strange. Some name brands that make Tiffany and Emily feel trendy are Abercrombie and Fitch, Ugg Australia, Hollister and Coach. Tiffany said she cares about name brands because she’s special; Emily said she cares because they are better quality and better looking. So why are name brands so important to us? As a teenager you have to figure out what you want out of your teenage life. Do you want to fit in by wearing the “right,” clothes, or do you want to have your own style that is unique to you? Through peer pressure and the need to identify ourselves with a certain social group, we tend to drift towards certain brands that will be acceptable with the people we are trying to assimilate ourselves with. It’s human nature to want to fit in and classify ourselves by our personalities and interests— which can include the kind of clothes we wear. Rocking that well- known name brand might get you noticed, but can it really make you feel good about yourself? Some people say “if it looks good I’ll wear it,” while other ask “who made it?” Whether we are thirteen or thirty, people will always find something to criticize us for; we all seek approval in one way or the other. But it is important that we find approval with ourselves before we expect other people to approve of us. Once we have done that, we most likely won’t be so concerned about what people think. |
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