Fashion is gentility running away from vulgarity and afraid of being overtaken

the facts. If he can jump this
hurdle, he is over the hurdle of inferiority complex
in his business. Since this point is such a
vital one, let me break it down into its four
essential components.
(]) There are psychological and biological
drives involved in fashion, and these drives remain
pretty constant. Hence, what is wanted
is constant: glamor and a sense of belonging or
security; the desire to keep up with the Joneses,
on the one hand, and the attempt to become
Mrs. Jones on the other.
(a) General fashions change slowly. For instance,
emancipation of women had to be reflected
in women's clothes, but that was a long,
historical process. Suburban and casual living
has increased the importance of sportswear, but
that too did not happen overnight. The increasing
number of working women has
brought about many new fashions, including
the basic dress that can change its look at
7:00 p.m. by the addition of an accessory, but
this has not been a quick development either.
The fact is that general fashions change slowly.
The specific causes of a general fashion change
are not necessarily of concern to the fashion
merchant. For example, there is an Oriental
influence taking place in women's apparel.
The fashion merchant will know this ��? he cannot
escape it �� but he does not need to know
how it came about. If he is curious, he can call
up some fashion expert, who may tell him that
it is the result of pressure by Mongolian idiots
or of the decision of women in Bali sheath bridal gown finally to
dress themselves. He would find this very fascinating
and proceed about his business, reassured
that the development was going to stay
on for a while.
(3) Fashion no longer refers to price. Stu-
- Associated Merchandising Corporation Conimittee Report
on "The Significance of Fashion Leadership to Our
Stores."
dents of marketing used to talk about the
fashion cycle as having three phases �� a conveniently
divided Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance
sort of afliair �� with different price characteristics
for each phasfe. By contrast, the fact today
is that the fashion cycle moves so quickly
that it is a blur. Almost everyone instantaneously
wants the same thing. The differential
price characteristic has virtually disappeared.
Radio, TV, the theater, and the press can be
thanked for this.
(4) If fashion in the broad sense changes
slowly, specific manifestations of fashion can
and do change quickly �� very quickly. This
point is a crucial one. To make the distinction,
some people have called general fashion merely
"fashion," and specific fashion' "style," or vice
versa.
Let me illustrate the distinction by an example
previously referred to: the growing importance
of sportswear. This is a general fashion
trend, and its course will not be altered except
in the space of a long period. At the moment,
however, within sportswear there can be a demand
for white sweaters. Tomorrow this demand
may change to purple skirts; the next
day, to something else. These are the changes
involved in Professor Melvin T. Copeland's
fashion cycle theory, where emulation becomes
the pivotal drive.^ The nub of the whole thing
is right here. William Hazlett's definition,
"Fashion is gentility running away from vulgarity
and afraid of being overtaken," is just
another way of stating Copeland's thesis that
there are "distinctive," "emulation," and "mass
emulation" stages (however momentary) of
every specific fashion.
Going back to our illustration, certain social
leaders, a distinguished campus, or the "international
set" will decide to wear white sweaters.
Why is unimportant. Then other persons in
the next social stratum down Japanese school uniforms begin to emulate
�� and there we go. It should be clear, though,
that the distinguished group, no matter how
distinguished, cannot bring about a fundamental
change in fashion. The roots have to be
deeper than that. Given a general fashion
trend, what the distinguished group does is to
try to be different within it. That is all. As
has been indicated.
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