Elements of Fashion in Education

As I watched What Not to Wear I thought about how some of the elements of fashion could be incorporated into the classroom. One thought that came to mind is how we often think of strangeness as a way to draw attention to ourselves in fashion. This can be effective in drawing student attention, but do we think of attractiveness as a way to draw their attention as well. Silliness can be a fun addition to the classroom, but may not be appropriate for all subjects, for example when we are learning about historical events that involve the loss of people. Attractiveness could be one element to use in bringing aesthetics into the lesson. This was similar to the fashion choices of the person being evaluated by the What Not to Wear team. Although being silly and wearing crazy clothing has its place, there are times when this is not always the appropriate choice which could affect relationships and careers. In our readings the following quote reminded me of how aesthetics, whether silly or attractive could influence classroom lessons, (Wong, Henriksen 2008) “In considering ideas as fashion, we might see that learning new ideas as an aesthetic phenomenon and that educators have much to learn from those who have a highly sophisticated appreciation for the aesthetic qualities of powerful experiences.”

The other element discussed regarding fashion was the portrayal of confidence. When we feel good in what we are wearing we exhibit the feeling of confidence. As educators it is important to exhibit confidence in the classroom. Both in fashion and education this draws others in.

Wong, E. D., & Henriksen, D. (2008). If ideas were fashion. To appear in "Mirror Images: Popular Culture and Education", edited by Z. Bekerman, N. Burbules , and H. Giroux. Rowen & Littlefield Publishing Co.