My Six functions of dress

I found the prospects of finding my own examples of the six functions of dress very exciting.  There are so many cultures and era to choose from, I actually found my self getting lost in the history of some of my choices and some that didn't make the cut.

To start with I would like to highlight my Environmental protection choice.   This piece is from Chanel's 2010 fall ready to wear collection.  In my opinion one would be very well protected in this suit from some of the most inclement weather on the planet.

As an example of decoration, I choose the rich in fashion culture country of Cambodia.  The example here shows the traditional Cambodian dress attire called the Sampot Chang Kben.  The bottom piece is actually one long rectangular piece of fabric, rolled and tucked to create skirt of sort.  The rest of the outfit consists of collars, gold adornments in the form of belts, head pieces, necklaces and arm and ankle bands.  This form of dress dates back to before the 1800's but this was the earliest time I could find photo documentation.

 I thought it would be an interesting topic to see the differentiation of  clothes that children would wear as their bodies have yet to still mature to reveal the natural differences in a very obvious way.  Here is a typical Victorian era outfit for both boy and girl.  The boy clearly wearing pants,cap and  vest and the girl wearing a dress and smock/apron and bonnet.

Here we see the Andrew's sisters personifying our group membership category.  The have this covered in more than one way.  They are wearing military style clothing as they were a staple in the entertainment of the American troops during world war 2, but they also matched each other perfectly showing that they belonged to this musical group as well.

As a depiction of my ceremony, I chose a photo from a wedding.  But this wedding in particular is depicting a Greek wedding.  In this photo you can see the Bride and the Groom wearing Stefana.  Worn of the head, stefana are wreaths or large rings that are attached to each other with a string or ribbon to signify the union between the two people.  They are joined at the head and hands throughout the ceremony to signify the bond that they will share in their future life together.

Here we see Kelly Pickler dresed in a Zuhair Murad Couture gown for the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards.  This enhances her lovely figure and really screams sex appeal with the fit of the dress and also the low bust line.

As an example of all six of our functions of dress I have chosen an equestrian outfit by Jean Paul Gautier.  I could have chosen just any riding outfit as they are all equally fitted and have generally the same fittings, but I thought he did it so well that I would highlight his work.  Here we can see a hat for  environmental protection, lots of ornamentation in the for of lace and feathers for decoration.  The feminine hat, design and cut are definitely feminine and her group membership is clear that she could be the leader of any equestrian team in the world.  In general one dresses in fine equestrian clothes for horse shows or exhibitions which would be considered a ceremony and finally the cut of the Jacket and the close fit of the pants is revealing of the lines of her body and although she is not showing tons of skin, I feel that the design follows her body lines and in many ways enhances it.  I think you don't have to necessarily show lots of skin to be sexy and I think she demonstrates that beautifully here.